Donegal County Council’s Economic Development Strategic Policy Committee has heard of a need for a wider discussion on the county’s fire service.
A presentation was made by Chief Fire Officer Joseph McTaggart in response to a motion put forward by Councillor Michael McClafferty who called for the fire service to step in as first responders when the need may arise to alleviate the ambulance service when it is facing high demand.
Donegal County Council’s Director of Services, Garry Martin told today’s committee meeting that the HSE and the National Ambulance Service are currently exploring where and how the need for the fire service to respond as a medical service could be addressed.
He says there is a will there to have a conversation around it but at the moment believes it would be a challenge which is being exacerbated by serious incidents and severe weather events.
Mr Martin says as it stands it would not be practical for fire personnel to respond to ambulance call outs while continuing core duties.
That was echoed by Chief Fire Officer Joseph McTaggart who says while there is no agreement with the HSE the service does respond to cardiac arrests however, there are he says potential issues with a medical service being provided including an impact on response to core services, requirement for additional training, potential increase in insurance costs and issues around medical records.
