A number of weeks ago, I was contacted by a mother in Loughglinn whose son had an asthma attack over the Christmas period. The rapid response vehicle arrived from Roscommon town within 17 minutes and saved his life. If that call had come in on a Monday night, the rapid response vehicle would not be available because it is parked up for 12 hours. The overtime the National Ambulance Service has been paying for a number of years has been pulled and the rapid response vehicle is no longer available for the people of County Roscommon on a 24-7 basis, as it more or less has been since the closure of the Roscommon hospital emergency department in 2011. I have been raising this issue for months. I again call on the National Ambulance Service to please restore 24-7 cover for Roscommon of the rapid response vehicle, which is needed due to our distance from the nearest emergency department.

Sentiment score: -0.05