2.5hr wait for an ambulance for critical incident.

Podge_irl

Not much use having consultants on site (which there always are anyway) if there is a shortage of radiographers, labs etc. It takes far more than some consultants to run a health service.

The ambulance service always struck me as under-resourced at the best of times mind you.

So sorry to hear this catastrophic illness happened your brother, and I hope he makes as best a recovery as possible, age is at least on his side for the rehab process. The ambulance service in this country is poor, not the training of the paramedics, but in my own personal experience the dispatchers are not always up to scratch.

To give examples, I’ve phoned ambulances for myself and other people. I live by myself and have made this clear. Was asked on one occasion “is the patient conscious?” I said I AM THE PATIENT and obviously conscious, but they weren’t allowed to divert off the formulaic questions. I once had to call an ambulance for somebody locked in an apartment who was known to take very injurious seizures and who did not respond to my arranged expected call to their place. “Is the patient conscious?” was repeated as nauseum and each time I had to respond “I don’t know!”

All patients survived to tell the tale, but I’m inclined to believe not all dispatchers are trained to think for themselves and go off script, which is frightening. Therefore I’m not a bit surprised that triage may be very patchy at times.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120752337#Comment_120752337

I saw an incident today a man lying on the ground beside a car sitting up talking to medics there was a fire brigade and an ambulance there it looked as if he was knocked down by a car he was sitting on the ground talking to the medics

Just because someone is sitting up talking to the medics, does not mean an ambulance is not needed. There could be internal injuries or concussion.

Same with the "elderly emergencies" being wheeled into A&E chatting to the medics.

My mother was once wheeled into A&E conscious and chatting to the medics. Turned out she'd had a minor heart attack, and an hour later she had a second, bigger one and was resuscitated.

I think its best not to judge on whether an ambulance is warranted or not, when you're not a qualified medical professional.

blanch152

A really upsetting and awful story.

There is little that can be done because of the long-standing mess that is our planning system, particularly in rural Ireland.

The problem in Ireland isn't so much rural living, but the dispersed nature of it. People are scattered everywhere, making public services both very difficult and extremely expensive to deliver. Irish people are not prepared to pay higher taxes for these services, making it more difficult.

If we had large numbers of people living in big cities in relatively dense populations, we would easily be able to afford public services for a much smaller number of people living in villages and towns around the country.

Ending one-off housing outside villages and towns is probably the single biggest policy change needed to both address climate change and improve public services. It will still take decades to reap full rewards, but it should have changed 50 years ago.

https://twitter.com/astaines/status/1673056419556339712?s=46&t=LbNX7bxyxl_3B8DnynfQnQ

This is what we should have

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120773855#Comment_120773855

Weirdly coincidentally? I know Arrecife well and lived on the Island for nearly 4 years.

It is a very good set up for immediate care there. They also operate satellite minor injury clinics in PdeC and in Playa Blanca to assess cuts, sprains and other injuries common in tourist areas.

That said anyone with a complex medical need stabilised and sent on to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120772352#Comment_120772352

Very good sign of he’s looking for his phone 😃 and though it is going to be extremely tough for all the extended family, with the surgery, the meds and lots of physio & rehab he stands to do much better than he might do as an older person with other issues too.

The system of prioritising ambulances is no longer fit for purpose tbh. I’ve done occupational training with DFB paramedics and their own standards are excellent, they have a great knowledge of many complex disease presentations, but there needs to be a serious investigation re training of dispatch people, and what systems they are using. Eg, are they using technological assistance in triaging? And what is the quality of the system? If they asked me questions about a patient being conscious & breathing when I myself was the patient what on earth triage path is being insisted on? Is the system able to understand that a person may phone for an ambulance for themself? Or that sone oft may phone for an ambulance for somebody known to have a serious medical condition and unresponsive to an expected visit? Does the path always begin with the scenario of a bystander being beside a casualty?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120773870#Comment_120773870

There was once the case of a man whose head & brain was split in two by a boat propellor, whose life was saved by a Lanzarote born neurosurgeon who was available to stabilise the patient whose brain had been exposed to seawater. He went on to make a full recovery!

I was on the island of La Graciosa last year and a patrol goes around to help endure no tourist is in trouble around the remote parts of the island d outside the village. Due to encroaching MS my foot gave out and this patrol rescued me. I didn’t need medical attention once I got back to village but doctor would have been available and with anything serious a helicopter can transfer straight to Arrecife Hospital.

eastie17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120751977#Comment_120751977

The problem isnt money, we have an extremely well funded health service, we could find billions more and it wouldnt make much difference but would be pissed away with more managers and consultants (not the medical type)

The problem is the unions and ridiculous work practices that tie the service in knots. Look around next time you are in A&E, they are plenty of staff, the systems are so fecked up they just add loads of extra delays, a nurse cant read bloods etc

Root cause of this is Mary Harney and the creation of the HSE, collapsing all of the health boards into one body creating multiple additional layers of management, and subsequent governments for not putting the unions in their place and introducing the reforms that are needed

vickers209

I was recently in the after hour's care doctor in our local primary health care centre

There is an ambulance depot attached to it with 5 bays for ambulances,

While there there was an elderly man ahead of me to see the doctor, he was barely able to breathe,

The doctor rang for an ambulance for him, and the operator asked for the eircode of the centre

The doctor said there is a base attached to the healthcare centre

From what i can gather, they were sending the ambulance from another depot 20k away!!

After i saw the doctor, the poor man was still there waiting. i drove out and met an ambulance coming in the gate, thinking it was for him, i watched, but it went into the ambulance base not to the care doc! along with 2 other ambulances already sitting there.

How does that make any sense to send an ambulance from 20k away and 3 sitting next door,

Have heard same story from others that the ambulance isn't sent from the local base anymore but a base outside the area?

In a life and death situation dispatching the ambulance nearest to the accident would possibly save lives?

Ten of Swords

Mod - can posters please stay on topic, sort out your disagreements by PM if you wish

Thanks

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120775491#Comment_120775491

It’s pointless to spread the existing five day resources over seven days. That’s not a solution to anything.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120775536#Comment_120775536

Would these be the same unions that have supported the development of advanced nurse practitioner roles? Do you have any specific examples of unions causing blockages?

It was Micheál Martin who set up the HSE, not Harney.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120775551#Comment_120775551

Which health centre is this please?

vickers209

Wicklow town

BattleCorp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120775551#Comment_120775551

I don't know for sure but maybe there were no drivers/paramedics for those three ambulances? And maybe the ambulance coming in was off shift? I'm not saying that's the case but it's a possibility.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120775491#Comment_120775491

Biggest problem with discharges over the weekend is not hospitals per se , or their staff , its the Monday to Friday nature of community supports , public health etc . Any patient who can do without this is usually discharged on Sat or Sun morning by consultant or senior reg in my experience .

I have MS and had a collapse episode I won’t go into not long ago, medically experienced person was present, supervised I got over acute phase and decided not to bother with ambulance for presently obvious reasons. By the time I overall recovered I would have still been in a waiting room skunked over chairs.

banie01

To I suppose, bring this thread to a close.

My brother has lost his battle. I was in with him yesterday and he was doing well. The physio's and docs were all delighted with his progress since the 1st stroke.

He had a pulmonary embolism last week and the fúcker even surprised us by surviving that. Although treating the clots did mean that he was treated with heparin which carried a risk of causing the clot that stopped his initial haemorrhagic stroke. He started on the Heparin on Friday and really improved over the weekend. He really was coming on well.

Then this morning he had a 2nd bleed and it was catastrophic.

No coming back from it, we are waiting on the 2nd scan and doctor to confirm brain death.

I carried him home as a baby, I was nearly 10 when he was born so I really was a #BigBrother and I took my responsibility very seriously❤️

We had our arguments over the years but? A decent, hard working and honourable man. A great brother and a fantastic uncle. He even took my place as the bear in the big blue house when I left home.

I love you Colin, and see you in the next cartoon.

Mrs OBumble

Sorry for your loss, RIP Colin.

StrawbsM

Oh banie, I’m so so sorry that you and your family are going through this. You sound like the best big brother anyone could ever need.

Fly high, Colin xxxx

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120847641#Comment_120847641

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120847697#Comment_120847697

Thanks folks. The sentiment is very appreciated.

It has been a very strange month and the curse of hope has for today at least wrung my soul dry. The next few days and weeks will be tough ones, bat as families are wont to do. We will pull together and get through it.

Goldengirl

Sorry for your loss, banie .

This is terribly sad for you all after everything.

RIP Colin .

airy fairy

I'm very sorry to read this. You sound like a great big brother to Colin. There are no words at this time. X

So sorry for your loss 💔, may Colin rest in peace.

Killinator

Sorry for your loss and RIP to Colin.

To those wondering about ambulance bases being only a few minutes away and taking hours or being directed from somewhere further away I may shed some light as in the course of my work I meet paramedics frequently.

The ambulance crews work off a system where the closest ambulance at any given time responds to a call. So a Portlaoise hospital crew may respond to a call in Athy, then be directed from there to Naas then from Naas to Maynooth then from there to Dublin and then from there to Waterford, etc, etc...

The Portlaoise crew at times might actually be the furthest crew away from Portlaoise. I've talked to crews who have been directed over 2 hours away to drive to an emergency (which means emergency driving which is extremely draining) to be stood down half way and directed to another emergency an hour away only again to be stood down. The crews have told me there have been nights they haven't attended a single call as they will be driving and stood down. It's madness!

I've also seen how 'mental health's has put a huge strain on the service. Someone has a few too many pints and has an argument with the partner and send a message saying they are going to top themselves, bingo, ambulance called and then spend an hour trying to coax a 'suicidal' person into the ambulance to go to hospital where they will walk out after 20 minutes when they get bored of waiting (with the crew still waiting also).

We are stretched thin in my job but the Paramedics and Ambulance crews are on another level!