Costello calls for implementation of expert panel report on Dublin Ambulance Service

I welcome the findings of the Expert Panel on the provision of ambulance services in Dublin and the of rest of the country.

The Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) mainly serves the greater Dublin area while the National Ambulance Service (NAS) mainly serves the rest of Ireland.

Because of their separate geographical remits, the Expert Panel reasonably recommended that the  DFB and the NAS operate with two separate  structures and two separate funding mechanisms.  Modern technology will allow for any overlap to be smoothed out in terms of the delivery of services.  It is time to put the vexed question of the delivery of pre-hospital emergency care services to bed once and for all.

What is at required is a streamlined, structured patient-centred operation which can deliver safe and efficient services in Dublin and throughout the rest of the country.

Dublin City Council and the Department of Environment and Local Government should accept the main findings and implement them without delay, in the interests of patient care.