30/03/10

The roll out of the new paramedic service in North Cork, leaves many questions unanswered. If it were the case that this service would clearly improve outcomes for emergency patients in North Cork, I'm sure that people would buy in to the plan at local level but unfortunately that is not the case.

A similar service was rolled out on a pilot basis in West Cork in 2009, but there has been absolutely no analysis of the results of that pilot project. It is not unreasonable for people in North Cork to expect some scrutiny of the outcomes that have come about in Bandon, Bantry and Skibbereen, before this untried and untested plan is rolled out. Nor can I blame local communities for being concerned about the capacity of this new service. If we have one EMS vehicle in place, and if one emergency situation arises, that is fine, but what happens if there is a second emergency.People are also wary that a brand spanking new service like this may be little more than a Trojan horse, providing cover for the HSE to further downgrade hospital-based emergency services in the area. At a time when A&E services in Cork University Hospital are stretched to breaking point and beyond, this is a real worry.

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