Fears for elderly as ambulance service is cut

AN ELDERLY
Southside man, who is financially dependent on a disability pension, has voiced
his concern about cutbacks to local HSE ambulance services.

The 62-year old
amputee from Crumlin has criticised the cutbacks, which have meant that it is
no longer reimbursing patients for taxi fares when an ambulance is unavailable
to transport patients to the National Rehab Hospital in Dun Laoghaire.

The man, who
did not want to be named, explained that the ambulance service has
traditionally provided transport for pensioners and patients in his area who
are in receipt of disability benefits, and brought them to the National
Rehabilitation Hospital on Fridays.

He claimed that
when the service did not run on a given Friday the HSE generally reimbursed
patients for the cost of a taxi to and from the hospital to ensure that they
were able to attend scheduled appointments.

However, he
said that due to cutbacks the HSE was no longer paying for taxis. He said he
had been forced to pay for a return taxi to and from the National
Rehabilitation Hospital recently, which cost him about e50 in total.

He has also had
to forego a scheduled appointment at the hospital when he could not afford the
price of a taxi.

“As a result I
had to wait a further eight weeks for a rescheduled appointment,

? he said.

“I
couldn’t attend that appointment because I just didn’t have the money for the
taxi. I am getting physio for a new prosthetic leg.

?

He also
explained that he frequently attends scheduled appointments at Tallaght
Hospital and sometimes relies on the ambulance service to transport him there.

He explained
that sometimes he might have to attend up to three scheduled appointments a
week at the hospital.

He fears that
cutbacks in the ambulance service will also adversely impact on his treatment
at Tallaght Hospital as well.

“If I miss
appointments and my leg gets diseased I will eventually end up back in
hospital,

? he said.

“What do I have
to do? he asked.

“Do I have to spend

?¬50 on a taxi and then go without eating
because I cannot afford food for the week?

?

Deputy Aengus Ã?
Snod­aigh (SF) raised the issue by means of a written parliamentary question in
the Dail to Minister for Health, James Reilly TD (FG).

He asked the
minister if he was aware of the effects the cutbacks in the ambulance service
was having on patients in receipt of social welfare who had to attend hospitals
such as the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire on a regular
basis.

In response,
the Director of the National Ambulance Service said the primary function of the
service was the provision of pre-hospital emergency care and the care and
transportation of the seriously ill and injured to hospitals.

“Currently, the
HSE National Ambulance Service must prioritise its resources to ensure that the
highest acuity patients, as well as the victims of sudden illness or accident,
receive the appropriate pre-hospital clinical care and transportation,

? he said

“These services
must be provided and delivered within existing service limits and budgetary
constraints. Consequently, low acuity activity may have to be reduced or
curtailed in order to maintain services, as outlined above, within current
budgetary provision.

?