This article is from page 11 of the 2009-03-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
SCARIFF is expected to have a 24-hour ambulance service by next Monday. As the county loses its 24- hour A&E services, it is expected to gain a round-the-clock ambulance service for the east of the county.
According to Fianna Fail TD Tim- my Dooley, the long awaited 24-hour service is imminent. “I have consist- ently sought to have the service level upgraded to 24-hour-a-day service thereby eliminating the lack of cover from 7pm to midnight each day.
“Following protracted negotiation with the HSE and the Minister for Health, I am confident the service will be upgraded by April 6 as part of the increased deployment of am- bulance personnel in Clare,’ he said.
The purpose-built, state-of-the- art station in Scariff was opened in 2003, but since then it has opened for just 19 hours a day.
From 7pm to 12 midnight, the sta- tion closes. A series of campaigns lo- cally have been calling for the station to be open all night and all day.
Deputy Dooley said the upgrade of the station to 24 hours a day has come about thanks to the hard work of the HSE, the Minister for Health and the ambulance personnel. “It will take a lot of resources to bring the 24-7 service into place,” he said.
The east Clare deputy said, how- ever, that there will be “an element of on-call facilities” used to keep the service open 24 hours a day.
“This is a result of protracted dis- cussions for some time. A great debt of gratitude is owed to the local cam- paign group that worked so hard, and I would like to compliment Cora Long and her campaign members for their efforts.”
The Scariff ambulance serves a catchment area of 601 square kilo- metres, and a population of 9,220.