A Conamara man, who had campaigned for many years for an ambulance in south Conamara, has said that there is a need to establish a new campaign to demand a proper functioning ambulance service for the area.
Pádraig Ó Cuinn, from Leitir Móir, encountered huge difficulties last month when trying to access an ambulance for his mother who was diagnosed with cancer nine weeks ago, when she took ill at home, late at night.
Mr Ó Cuinn said he felt he had no other choice but to use his own car to bring his mother to meet an ambulance in An Spidéal.
He said that on the night of 22 November he rang an ambulance and was told that one was being provided. Ten minutes later, Mr Ó Cuinn rang again and was told that it was in Sraith Saileach, he then said that he would meet the ambulance in Casla to save time.
"As I was going out towards Casla, I rang again and that ambulance was turned away," Mr Ó Cuinn said.
"Of course there is a high possibility of it being turned away for another emergency but that left me with no option then but to make my way to Galway. Eventually, I got an ambulance in An Spidéal to meet me that had been sent out of Galway. The services are there but they are not operating right."
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Over a week ago another incident happened when Mr Ó Cuinn's brother's son who was at home in Ireland from America had a seizure while travelling in the car. They brought him home and rang the ambulance.
However, when they were told it would be another 65 minutes before the ambulance arrived, Mr Ó Cuinn decided to drive his nephew in the car to the hospital in Galway city.
He said that after explaining his difficulties on social media, he received countless messages from other people who have very similar stories.
Mr Ó Cuinn said the ambulance service in south Conamara is not functioning properly due to a lack of staff and also because the ambulance gets called out to attend emergencies in other areas, which Mr Ó Cuinn says can often be miles away from the locality.
Johnny Shéamuis Ó Conghaile from An Cheathrú Rua had campaigned for many years for an ambulance in south Conamara. He criticised the operation of the ambulance service.
"It's scandalous the way the service is at the moment. I am not blaming the team here," he said.
"We have two ambulances and we have a great team but usually they are taken from here and into Galway. When you send for the ambulance here, they could be down in Co Clare or over in Clifden or out in north Conamara. That's not right.
"I suppose the way things are, we have to start another campaign and get the public behind us and again go into the officials and TDs and the people that are supposed to be working on our behalf, talk to them and try and get something done about the situation we are in at the moment," Mr Ó Conghaile said.
"When you send for an ambulance and you are over in Leitir Mealláin and you are told that the ambulance is coming from Sraith Saileach or coming down from Clare or out from Galway, that's not right at all sure."
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In a statement today, the HSE said that the "ambulance service operates on a national basis and mobilises responses to calls for assistance based on patient needs, ambulances may travel to and be dispatched from various locations irrespective of their base as they are not confined to work in geographical areas.
The statement continued: "The current deployment model is designed around international best practice and has eliminated previous practices where the nearest ambulance was not always dispatched due to former legacy boundaries."
Mr Ó Cuinn and Mr Ó Conghaile are seeking an urgent public meeting with local elected representatives and the HSE regarding the matter, as they say people's lives are now at risk in Conamara.
