RENEWED CALL FOR 24 HOUR SERVICE AT TUAM AMBULANCE BASE

Date Published: 07-Nov-2012

Renewed calls have been made at this week’s Tuam Town Council meeting for a 24-hour service at the new ambulance base in the town.

Local Councillors Tom Reilly and Paul O’Grady have raised the issue and Councillor Reilly has demanded a meeting with the HSE.

Cllr Reilly said that in demanding that the Tuam Ambulance Base be a 24-hour service they were only looking for their “fair share of the cake” from the HSE.

Cllr O’Grady said 11 of the ambulance crew based in Tullamore were living in Tuam but had to drive to work in Offaly and then sometimes turn around immediately if they got a call from the Tuam base.

He also said that if transferred to Tuam they would have to drop their years of service and benefits and could not carry seniority to their new location.

He is calling on the HSE to change this rule as he said the “most senior” person in the ambulance service was living in Tuam but still had to commute to Tullamore to sign in for work.