IT took an ambulance over an hour to attend the scene of a serious road crash and it was another hour before second ambulance arrived, resulting in two seriously injured people remaining in a vehicle for an unacceptable period of time, it has been claimed.
Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said the accident occurred at 3.30pm and although a 999 call was made immediately, it was 4.15pm before a fire brigade arrived.
“They had received the call out at 3.59pm, despite the fact it was placed at 3.30pm. An ambulance arrived over an hour later and the other ambulance arrived at 5.30pm meaning that two injured people were left for two hours in a car, with suspected spinal injuries, and could not be removed until ambulance personnel arrived,” the Independent TD remarked.
He further claimed that the first Garda car didn’t arrive at the scene of the crash – on the main Kerry-Limerick road at Templeglantine – until two hours after the accident occurred last Friday afternoon.
“This shocking delay in response to this urgent call-out is obviously a direct result of the centralisation of our emergency call-out system,” he said.
“In this day and age to think that two injured people would be left in a vehicle for two hours is truly shocking. A delay like this should never again be allowed to occur,” the TD said.
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