Warning over A&E delays for fire crews
Fire brigade ambulance crews are losing crucial hours due to delays admitting casualties to A&E departments, it was claimed tonight.
The Dublin Fire Brigade provides cover for emergencies in the county through its fleet of 11 ambulances, while the Health Service Executive also provides a fleet of ambulances.
Sinn Féin said it was not uncommon for ambulance crews to have be delayed for up to three hours at A&Es while they waited for a patient to be seen.
“In effect, ambulances find themselves stuck in a queue waiting for A&E staff to see their patients with a corresponding lack of ambulances available for responding to emergency calls,” it said.
The Dublin Fire Brigade responded to more than 68,000 ambulance calls in 2004
In a new policy document on the Dublin fire brigade, Sinn Féin said the A&E delays could leave huge stretches of the county without fire cover.
It said that no fire risk assessment has been carried out in Dublin for 20 years, despite repeated requests from frontline firefighting staff.
The policy document also pointed out that the fire brigade was not represented on the Northern Fringe Forum, which is responsible for huge developments of up to 20,000 people around Malahide in North Dublin.
“It is not our intention to be alarmist, nor to indulge in tabloid scaremongering, but we believe that without substantial changes, and soon, a disaster where our over-stretched Fire Service is unable to respond adequately, resulting in substantial, and unnecessary loss of life, is not merely likely, it is inevitable.”
