West has worst cardiac response record

Just a third of people living in the west who called an ambulance because of a life-threatening cardiac emergency last year received medical attention within eight minutes, significantly short of the response target recommended by the State’s health watchdog.

Although response times recorded in the east of the country, at 60 per cent, were significantly higher than in the west, they still fell short of the 75 per cent target set out by the Health Information and Quality Authority.

People living in the south of the country received medical attention within eight minutes in 42 per cent of life-threatening cardiac or respiratory emergency call-outs, known as echo calls.

Response times for non-cardiac life-threatening emergencies, known as delta calls, were even lower with just 28 per cent of patients nationally receiving medical attention within eight minutes.

The figures were released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act and come just days after the HSE began a review of an incident in which a toddler had to be taken to hospital, where he later died, by a private car after falling from a window in Midleton, Co Cork. The driver of the car was told no ambulance was available but the HSE said later an ambulance was available and it is inquiring into why it was not sent to the scene.

Commenting on the eight-minute target, the HSE said it does not have the technical capacity to capture this data meaning it was “significantly under-reported”.

It also said: “Ireland does not have the capacity anywhere ... to meet current response times targets and it would take several years of significant investment to bring Ireland’s services into line with the UK or NI where such standards and the associated investment has been in situ for 20 years”.