PARAMEDIC CREWS WERE left angered after they were sent to a callout from someone suffering from a “bad hangover”, meaning the ambulance crew was out of action for nearly three hours.
The callout was one of several made over a single weekend which left ambulance crews frustrated. Current rules mean that an ambulance crew had to attend the callout.
Under National Ambulance Service (NAS) rules, all callouts must be attended to, no matter how frivolous the call may seem.
However, it was this recent callout, along with some others, which enraged many within the NAS who believe that the current triaging system is not the most effective way at managing the fleet of life-saving vehicles.
The hungover patient was not suffering any chest pains or any other symptoms which would have required an ambulance, sources said.
While there is a system in place to further triage patients, it is not used often enough or is not effective enough, according to multiple sources within the NAS.
Several other seemingly frivolous callouts in the one region have angered paramedics.
Last Saturday, an elderly man was sitting on a bench “minding his own business”, according to sources within the NAS.
The source explained: “A lad looking out his window thought he looked unwell but instead of going over to the man and asking him he just dialed 999 and an ambulance was dispatched in lights and sirens to be told by the old man that he was fine and enjoying the weather.
“We are crisscrossing the country, passing other ambulances on the road. Limerick ones going to Cork to cover calls and Cork ones going to Limerick for calls. It is just infuriating.”
In another incident, paramedics were told a patient had suffered “huge blood loss” only to find that they had nicked thmelseves while shaving their legs.
The HSE has repeatedly urged people not to call for an ambulance unless in the case of an emergency.
Many paramedics have consequently asked that a further pre-screening of patients, on top of the usual triage questions posed to callers ought to be carried out more frequently before they are dispatched to calls.
These can include questions about whether patients are breathing or having chest pains.
Staff say they’re aware that many people could be ringing 999 because they are genuinely stressed, but this doesn’t necessarily constitute a medical emergency.
In a statement, the HSE said it cannot comment on individual cases.
“However, while the National Ambulance Service urges members of the public to only call 112/999 in case of emergency, every call must be triaged and treated appropriately.”
Politicians have also spoken out about the frailties within the current dispatch system.
Seaking previously, Labour TD Duncan Smith told The Journal that we are reaching “a perfect storm” in relation to ambulance service in the country.
He said: “Unfortunately, we’re dealing with a sub-optimal system in terms of our emergency ambulance care and cover and we have a stretched ambulance service across the HSE and Dublin Fire Brigade.
“We have had countless examples of delayed responses because ambulances have been sent miles away from centres to pick up and deal with calls well outside their geographic location.”
There are also serious issues with morale in the service, he said.
The HSE said that if services are tied up unnecessarily at a call it can mean that they may have been unable to get to another destination in the case of a real emergency.
To ensure those patients with life threatening or potentially life threatening illness or injury receive the fastest response, all 999 calls are clinically triaged, the HSE said.
A spokesperson added: “National aggregate response times targets for these calls are set out in the HSE’s National Service Plan each year and are described as ECHO (Life threatening cardiac or respiratory arrest) or DELTA (life threatening illness or injury, other than cardiac arrest). These calls account for approximately 48% of all 999 calls.
“All other 999 calls (approximately 52%) are not encompassed by any response time target, are responded to in priority order based on clinical triage and when a response resource becomes available, hence during very busy periods, these calls can wait longer for a response.
“In the case of the lower acuity 999 calls, these can be further triaged through our Clinical Hub by trained doctors and nurses to establish if sending an emergency ambulance is appropriate compared to other options such as self-care, visiting a Pharmacy, a GP or GP Out of Hours Service.”
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