The National Ambulance Service (NAS) has withdrawn all additional resources it had planned for next months Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann event in Ennis which is expected to attract 400,000 visitors.
Ambulance paramedics have been informed by memo, that all additional resources including vehicles and staff, will no longer be put in place for the event which will begin on August 14th.
Paramedics have expressed outrage at the news and have claimed the HSE and NAS are “playing with people’s ives.”
According to paramedics, management had arranged for three additional ambulances, one advanced paramedic rapid response vehicle (RRV) and staff from both the mid-west and western ambulance regions to put in place for the Fleadh.
Over 400,000 people, ten times the population of Ennis and its environs, are expected to visit the town at the height of next month’s event.
Only two ambulances and one RRV are usually based in Ennis while the county has no Emergency Department. The A&E in Ennis was closed in 2009 as part of a reconfiguration of HSE services in the mid-west.
“This is a recipe for disaster. Most of the time, the two ambulances that cover Ennis could be anywhere in Clare, Limerick Tipperary or Galway. With the shortage of personnel we’ve had for some years now, we can hardly cover the county on a normal day with no major events or matches on,” one paramedic said.
“The county is often left without a single ambulance available and this has been proven in recent months with our control centre being forced to call the fire brigade to medical calls,” he added.
“The bottom line here is, with over 400,000 people in Ennis, the National Ambulance Service is not in a position to guarantee that there will be an ambulance available in the county in the event of an emergency.
The medical plan for the event is fine for the event but if something serious happens in or around the town with all the additional traffic and thousands of people, there is no guarantee there will be an ambulance available,” he warned.
Adrian Jackson, Event Controller for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2016 said: “A robust medical plan is in place that does not include the provision of extra cover by the National Ambulance Service for the duration of the Fleadh. Therefore the suggested withdrawal of extra cover by the National Ambulance Service does not impact on the plan as submitted.”
Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Ann Norton said: “Unfortunately, in Clare we don’t have a proper ambulance service across the county at the best of times not to mention when 400,000 additional people come into the county.”
“The HSE has a responsibility to accommodate the safety and care of the people of Clare and the visitors to our county. Limerick A&E cannot cater for sick people at the minute so how are they going to cater for the volume of people that will be in Ennis and Co. Clare during the Fleadh,” the Mayor added.
Ennis Chamber of Commerce CEO Rita McInerney said: “We are concerned to learn of this. The Ambulance Service is a vital part of the emergency response teams who ensure the care and welfare of those attending large events such as the Fleadh Cheoil.”
The National Ambulance Service has confirmed that “additional resources were considered, but in keeping with previous years, NAS has not committed to providing additional resources for this event. However an officer from NAS will be present in the event control room as previous years, who can liaise with event organisers and other agencies as necessary.”
“The National Ambulance Service in conjunction with HSE Emergency Management and the Fleadh organisers have developed a robust medical plan for this event,” the spokesperson added.