No ambulance available to transfer 4 year old to hospital 55Km from home

 

 

The H.S.E. has come in for criticism for not having an ambulance available to cover in the East Cork and West Waterford area to deal with a recent emergency.

 

On May 18, a mother in the town of Youghal whose husband served as the first and last Mayor of Youghal Town Council had to drive her four year old asthmatic stricken son to Cork University Hospital despite calling for an ambulance to her home after her son went into a chronic attack just before 11pm.

 

Kate Revins has told how she rang South-Doc (Care-Doc in the South-East Region) when she noticed her son was having breathing difficulties and was becoming distraught.

After getting through she was told to ring for an Ambulance to have her son transferred to hospital.

An off duty Paramedic from the area soon arrived at her house to render assistance to her son soon after making the call.

Almost thirty minutes after the call was made for an ambulance, a Rapid Response Vehicle arrived at Mrs. Revins home where the driver told her that no ambulance was available to transport her son to Hospital and he did not know when one would become available.

The H.S.E. does not allow patients to be transferred to hospital in a Rapid Respond Vehicle, so it was suggested that the child be brought to Cork by the family with the Paramedic following in case the child’s condition deteriorated on route.

Travelling alone with her son in the car as her husband remained in the house to be with two other children, Mrs. Revins has told how she had to keep talking to her son while driving to keep him awake while at the same time ensuring how he remained awake and sitting up for the duration of the trip.

Mrs. Revins and her son accompanied by the Rapid Respond Vehicle arrived in the grounds of Cork University Hospital about 12-30am and her son was immediately treated for his difficulties before he was discharged later in the morning.

The H.S.E. have since issued a statement in which they say that they dispatched the nearest available emergency resource (the Rapid Respond Vehicle) which arrived at the house twenty-seven minutes after the call was made. It also says that they contacted an off duty paramedic who was at the scene within five minutes.

The H.S.E. also stated that there was no staff shortages on the evening in question but refused to comment when asked by a journalist from the East Cork area how many ambulances would or should normally have been serving the Youghal and East Cork area at the time.