Individual Post

At this week's Special meeting of Council, Sinn Féin Councillor Barra Ó Muirí raised the on-going issue of Ambulance call outs to South Armagh, and how our Geographical location was putting people at further risk. 

 

After hearing from the Chief Executive of the Ambulance service how a Category 1 call should be attended within 8 minutes, Cllr Ó Muirí asked if this was realistic for an Ambulance to reach parts of Dorsey or Newtownhamilton in life or death situations.

 

The Sinn Féin Councillor pointed to 3 occasions where it had taken an ambulance more than 45 minutes to reach a category 1 call in Newtown, Cregganduff and most recently in Crossmaglen and stated that the time had come to look for alternatives to compliment, not to replace the ambulance service.

 

Cllr Ó Muirí pointed to the Pilot Scheme in Lurgan, where the Fire and Rescue Service were alerted to emergency calls about cardiac/respiratory arrest and chest pain and urged that a similar scheme be trialled in South Armagh.

 

As well as this, Ó Muirí asked for closer working relations with Ambulance Services in Louth and Monaghan. Stating how ambulances regularly attend incidents in each other's jurisdiction, he asked that this arrangement could be formalised to the mutual benefit of all.