Pat Breen calls for mid west air ambulance

Fine Gael TD and Deputy Spokesman on Foreign Affairs has called for the establishment of an air ambulance service for the Mid West region. The call came as a result of the recent decision to refer accident and emergency trauma cases from County Clare to the Mid West Regional hospital in Limerick. Western parts of Clare which had previously been served by Ennis hospital are quite remote from Limerick with almost one third of the county's population outside the 'golden hour' for trauma services. Plans to establish an all Ireland Air Ambulance service have recently been put in place but the facility is a charity and requires €85,000 per month in funding to operate. The government's position is that the Irish Air Corps, supported by the Irish Coast Guard provides an air ambulance service but only for certain categories of injuries.