Ambulance traffic jam outside Tallaght Hospital shows need for urgent reform

TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has called for urgent action to relieve the pressures facing the ambulance services and our Accident and Emergency units after almost a dozen ambulances were left standing outside Tallaght Hospital recently, unable to transfer their patients and move on to other cases. Teachta Crowe said that this sort of log jam is going to cost lives.
 
Teachta Crowe said “There were 11 ambulances left standing outside Tallaght University Hospital recently. Rather than being able to discharge their patients into the care of the hospital, they were forced to wait because the A&E inside was stretched to the breaking point. “Dublin Fire Brigade perform an invaluable service to this city through the provision of ambulance services. They do not have the vehicles or manpower to waste sitting on the tarmac outside Tallaght Hospital as the staff inside try to treat an already overcrowded A&E Department.
 
“This sort of log jams that takes ambulances out of service for indefinite periods of time is going to cause lives in emergency situation. We must adhere to the golden hour principle whenever we can. That first hour of care is critical when dealing with stroke or cardiac arrest or a traumatic injury. We cannot have sick or injured patients spending it out in the car park.
 
“The staff in Tallaght Hospital do fantastic work but need more support from Government to do the jobs we all need them to do. This problem existed long before Covid and has been allowed to spiral out of control once again. “The paramedics and frontline personnel want to ensure quality of care and patient safety but this cannot happen without further Government commitments in terms of enhanced resourcing and personnel being followed through on.
 
“The Government must urgently review the adequacy of National Ambulance Service resources. It is vital that we identify exactly what is needed to phase out the use of private services, reduce reliance on overtime, fill vacancies and expand staffing and the ambulance fleet. We also must provide more appropriate hospital beds to avoid patients being left in the back of ambulances and ensure that they are admitted to hospital and treated.”