News
Plan to solve ambulance service crux
A possible solution to the community ambulance crux putting lives at risk in rural areas, and particularly Connemara, was outlined at a public meeting.
Up to 70 people from Leenane, Maam and surrounding areas turned up at Leenane Hall last week in response to concerns about bureaucratic restrictions that are curtailing use of community ambulances in emergencies.
A two-pronged approach was agreed: setting up a team of trained volunteers to respond to emergencies and piling on political pressure to secure proper ambulance cover for the area.
It was confirmed at the meeting that community ambulances cannot respond to emergency call-outs because rules state that there are supposed to be two trained paramedics. The HSE rule effectively bans voluntary organisations such as Red Cross and Order of Malta from transporting emergency patients to hospital in the city.
This was confirmed in a statement read to the meeting from Brian Power, programme development officer with PHECC (Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council), which is the regulator for emergency medical services.
The meeting also heard that even if the restriction on use of voluntary ambulances was lifted, there are not enough volunteers to man the service 24-hours every day for seven days.
One of the solutions suggested at the meeting for Maam and Leenane was the setting up of a ‘community first responder scheme’.
Under the scheme, 30 volunteers from the community would be trained as ‘cardiac first responders’ or CFRs. They would be trained to use the defibrillator, administer oxygen and give assistance to patients in need of emergency care until the ambulance arrives.
“With enough volunteers, a simple rota system can be put in place so that when a 999 call is made in the local community the emergency services will have the phone or pager number of the CFR on call that day or night and will message them to attend the scene. This will occur concurrently with the dispatch of emergency resources and will not delay the dispatch of those resources,” the meeting heard.
The meeting heard that some 30 volunteers were needed to operate the CFR scheme, and they would be on call once a month. They would require basic training from Red Cross initially plus ongoing training. Some 15 volunteers signed up on the night.
It was also agreed at the meeting that, given the ongoing restrictions on the use of Red Cross ambulance services, the community would have to fight politically on to secure proper ambulance services for the area.
The area is up to 60 miles away from the nearest hospital, and it has taken three hours in the past for an ambulance to arrive at an emergency. A steering group was formed to lobby politicians and gain support for adequate emergency service cover.
The meeting was chaired by Patricia Keane, who organised the meeting, and Siobhán Woods took the minutes. In attendance were several Connemara County Councillors including, Tom Healy, Tom Welby, Séan Ó Tuairisg, Eileen Mannion, Joe Folan and Niamh Burke. TDs were invited but the meeting clashed with the Budget in Dáil Éireann.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
