I have been contacted by constituents who work in the ambulance service locally who asked me to request a rapid response vehicle at Tuam ambulance base. These workers are telling me they are under pressure. They are dealing with a very high volume of calls and they need more cover. The crews in Tuam cover a vast area across north and east Galway and south Mayo. The introduction of a second ambulance on a 24-7 basis in Tuam last year demonstrates the high volume of calls in the area and the need for this vehicle. The figures I have received show Tuam ambulance base responded to 3,578 calls in 2023, 5,297 calls in 2024 and 3,735 calls between January and August of this year. The local staff have told me they are never at the ambulance base because they are constantly out on calls. This vehicle would be at the base when they are out on calls to provide additional cover around the clock. A rapid response vehicle is not like a typical ambulance. It is a smaller vehicle that can respond more quickly. It would be staffed by an advanced paramedic, which is important and they can offer enhanced care and advanced life support in emergency situations. Having that cover there would ultimately contribute towards saving lives and achieving better outcomes for patients. They could administer various medications to treat different illnesses before a patient arrived at hospital, and time is obviously crucial in a lot of emergency situations. Tuam ambulance base is equipped to cater for a rapid response vehicle. There are advanced paramedics in the area who can operate it. This would allow them to support paramedic crews in the various ambulance bases across the region and not just Tuam, because Tuam is at the centre of a very wide region where these vehicles are not operating around the clock. It could provide cover in counties Mayo and Roscommon as well. The National Ambulance Service has informed me that provision of such a vehicle would have to be included in the HSE national service plan for it to be considered. There is a very strong case here on the basis of patients safety, ensuring better outcomes for people and ultimately saving lives. I ask the Minister of State to outline whether this is something that will be considered.

Sentiment score: 0.11

I welcome the commitment to consider this as part of the service planning process for 2026. I sincerely hope it is implemented. I also want to express my gratitude to the staff of the NAS but if we want to demonstrate our gratitude, we need to consider the level of pressure these crews are under and do everything we can to alleviate that and ensure a better service and better outcomes for patients, which is what it is all about. I urge the Minister of State and the National Ambulance Service to engage with staff in Tuam around this issue. They know better than anybody what the situation is like on the ground and what could improve it. I raise this issue on their behalf today. Ultimately, this is about better outcomes for people and saving lives. It deserves to be fully considered and I hope it is. We have had reports carried out into ambulance bases like Loughglynn, County Roscommon, which examined in detail the situation, level of calls and so on. Specific service improvements were implemented after that. That could be considered for Tuam as well, to take an in-depth look at the situation and what improvements could make a difference. I welcome the Minister of State's comments that this will be examined as part of the process for next year. We will wait and see what comes out of that. I hope it is a positive outcome.

Sentiment score: 0.49