A West Clare mother says she had to endure “two hours of terror” over the weekend while waiting for an ambulance to arrive for her daughter who had become gravely ill.
It comes amid calls for ambulances to be permanently stationed at three fire houses in this county.
On Sunday, Molly Kelly’s seven year-old daughter Rhea, who’s living with autism and is non-verbal, became gravely ill and presented to Shannon Doc.
It’s understood Rhea was treated as a highest priority class emergency by the National Ambulance Service, however a manned ambulance wasn’t available in Kilrush at the time of the incident and the only helicopter available, was unable to accommodate a passenger.
It eventually took two hours for an ambulance to reach Rhea, before she was transferred to University Hospital Limerick.
Her mother Molly says while her daughter received excellent care from paramedics and hospital staff, it was a terrifying ordeal that could’ve been prevented with more resources.
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It’s hoped a newly proposed operating model, however, can drastically improve Clare’s ambulance response times.
Calls have been made for ambulances to be based at fire stations in Ennis, Kilrush and Shannon, to mirror the system that currently operates in Dublin.
HSE Regional Health Forum Mid West member and Ennis Fianna Fáil Councillor Antoinette Baker Bashua wants to see the initiative implemented locally.
