LEAVING THE Iveragh peninsula in the most remote part of Co Kerry without a full-time resident ambulance service would mean loss of life, GPs and other local health professionals warned yesterday.
However, the HSE said the matter is still under discussion with trade union Siptu and changes are at the proposal stage, with a mix of services including rapid response cars and greater reliance on skilled paramedics being considered.
Local GPs and others involved in the health service are outraged at any such proposal and say it would take an ambulance from Tralee or Killarney at least 1½ hours to reach some parts of the peninsula. They have rejected as unworkable any reliance on rapid response cars, saying a full ambulance service was needed.
The area in question stretches along the main Ring of Kerry coastal route from Kells Bay to Castelcove, south of Waterville, and inland deep into mountain valleys, local vet Frank O’Leary said.
The peninsula was “as big as Co Louth” and though beautiful was full of valleys and glens which made journey times long. At times even the local ambulance service was stretched when it had to respond to a number of calls, said Mr O’Leary, who is heavily involved in the volunteer first-responder unit. There had been no consultation with local people, he added.
Dr Kieran O’Shea, a Cahersiveen GP, said the public must be made aware of the health risks in removing the service from Cahirciveen. Serious road traffic accidents, cardiac arrest, epileptic fits and placental eruption were just some of the urgent cases.
The HSE said there were no proposals to close stations “right now but traditional work practices within the ambulance service were changing to ensure the needs of people in Kerry and Cork continue to be met in an integrated, safe and effective way within available resources”.
The HSE reiterated there was no proposal to “remove” the ambulance service from Cahirciveen between 8pm and 8am. What was being considered is a model of service where ambulance staff will move from on-call to on-duty service between 8pm and 8am and use a mix of ambulances and rapid response cars.