More than €700,000 spent on private ambulances in Galway

More than €700,000 was paid out last year to private ambulance operators for non-emergency transport for patients at UHG, Merlin Park and Portiuncula hospitals.

Fine Gael Deputy Hildegarde Naughton described the spending as “utterly mind-boggling”.

Figures released to her show that spending on private ambulances increased by almost 41% from 2014 to 2015 – when spending on private transport for patients was actually supposed to decrease. In 2015, the Saolta Group spend a total of €729,376 on non-emergency hospital transport to private ambulance operators for patients at University Hospital Galway, Merlin Park and Portiuncula.

That figure was up 41% from the €517,948 spend for the same service at the three hospitals in 2014.

“This level of spending is utterly mind-boggling. In 2012, the HSE established a dedicated patient transport service for patients needing to attend appointments or be transferred between facilities on a non-emergency basis. The HSE purchased specialist ambulances and hired Emergency Medical Technicians to staff the operation.

“Now I learn that spending on private ambulance transport, which this State service was to reduce, has actually increased in the hospitals in the Saolta Group. The payments to June of this year illustrate a similar pattern to last year,” said Deputy Naughton.

The figures up to the end of June this year, show there was €272,243 spent at UHG and Merlin Park, and a further €123,295 at Portiuncula – a total of €395538.

“It is important to note that these payments come directly from hospital budgets and not from the budget of the National Ambulance Service. It is money that is badly needed and is being presently wasted.

“Having investigated the matter, it would appear that the system underpinning the provision of public ambulance transport is dysfunctional. I accept fully that our hospitals need to discharge patients or send them for procedures or appointments in other locations as early in the day as possible, sometimes as early as 6am. This obviously frees up much needed beds.

“However, the Ambulance Service refuses to roster any intermediate care operative before 8am so as to avoid paying shift or overtime pay. Nor will they countenance the payment of overtime on any other occasion,” said Deputy Naughton.