‘Serious concerns’ over turnaround times for ambulances in Cork

ALMOST 30% of ambulances failed to achieve targeted turnaround times in Cork hospitals last year.

Information obtained via a parliamentary question from Cork North Central Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould revealed the percentage of ambulance turnaround delays escalated where ambulance crews were not cleared in line with the process/flow path in the ambulance turnaround framework within 30 minutes.

Figures from the National Ambulance Service (NAS) revealed that around 29.5% of ambulances in Cork did not meet this target in 2023.

At Cork University Hospital (CUH), 28.1% of ambulances failed to meet the 30-minute turnaround target.

The hospital saw spikes in this in February (73%), May (73%), and August (70%).

A similar percentage (28.1%) of ambulances dropping patients at Mercy University Hospital did not meet the turnaround time target during the 12-month period.

Mr Gould, Sinn Féin spokesperson on addiction, wellness and recovery, described the figures as “deeply concerning”.

MUH also saw spikes in this failure to meet the 30-minute turnaround time in February (60%), May (51%), and August (50%).

At Bantry General, around 32.5% of ambulances did not meet the 30-minute turnaround time target last year.

This included spikes in February (61%) and August (60%) in the percentage of ambulances that failed to meet the targets.

The turnaround time indicates the time that elapses between an ambulance arrival through to clinical handover in the emergency department or specialist unit to when the ambulance crew declares readiness to accept another call.

The ambulance turnaround framework indicates that turnaround times should take around 30 minutes.

Mr Gould added: “When we look at CUH, with spikes in February, May, and August, there are serious concerns.

“With over 70% of ambulances delayed in the hospital, there is no doubt that access to healthcare was delayed in these months.”

A spokesperson for the HSE and National Ambulance Service said: “Increased activity in ambulance bays outside an emergency department of our hospitals is to be expected at times of high activity. At any one time, our ambulance bays may be hosting both public ambulances, including inbound emergency and intermediate care vehicles transferring patients to other acute sites or residential care settings and private vehicles.

“Every effort is made to ensure that ambulances are turned around in as timely a manner as possible.

“Hospital ambulance liaison persons [HALP] are deployed by the National Ambulance Service when required.

“The HALP plays an important role in reducing patient arrival to handover times at emergency departments by initiating rapid handover, fit to sit and cohorting responses. Turnaround times at hospitals are a key performance indicator for individual hospitals to report on. We put our patients and the community first at all times in providing the highest quality urgent care.”