TD says ambulance service underresourced and under-appreciated Ray houghton latest addition to Liverpool Legends squad

INDePeNDeNT TD Peter Fitzpatrick has called on the government to pay ambulance staff what they deserve to prevent th eongoing issues of retaining staff in the sector. He said the ambulance service was under resourced and under appreciated and noted that pay and conditions were so bad that the sector is losing in the region of ten staff per month.

“New figures from the HSE reveal that the National Ambulance Service is not meeting the response time targets for emergencies throughout the country. While it is outrageous that 62 ambulances dispatched in County Louth to deal with lifethreatening emergencies in 2022 took more than an hour to arrive at the scene, I commend the tireless work of front-line paramedics and operational staff for dealing with increased demand and limited resources. These timelines are not a reflection of the work put in by NAS staff but of a service that is under-resourced and under-appreciated.

The longest waiting time for a non-cardiac life-threatening incident in Louth in 2022 was four hours and 50 minutes, with the volume of work given as the reason for the lengthy delay. On the back of such figures, the HSE has confirmed there is a significant gap between demand and capacity.

“Recruitment and retention issues related to recognition, pay, resources, working hours and poor working conditions, which I have raised numerous times regarding service providers such as gardaí and military staff, now apply to our National Ambulance Service providers. NASRA warns that the service is under significant strain, with pay and conditions so poor that it losing in the region of ten staff per month. Is it any wonder that under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005, the paramedic profession is not even recognised as a profession? On top of this, paramedics do not even get recognition from the largest employer of paramedics within the State, the HSe. This lack of recognition limits career progression, negatively affects retention, restricts alternative pathways of care and, in the case of HSe employees, limits access to health and social care professional education opportunities within the HSe. As a result, the retention of employees within the field of paramedicine generally and within the NAS specifically is an area that needs to be addressed. Since 2019, the National Ambulance Service College brought in 472 staff who commenced training under the three-year paramedic studies programme. Of these, 55 dropped out. That amounts to fewer than 160 recruits a year. With the NAS estimating a requirement of more than 3,000 paramedics within the next four years to meet its workforce plan targets, these numbers of recruits are abysmal. Yet, this is a familiar tale.

“The reality is that if recruitment targets are not met and demand continues to rise, performance will continue to decline and people will die. Patients have unquestionably suffered harm due to ambulance delays. Clinical outcomes are being put in jeopardy as a result of these delays, and this is the real way that this needs to be evaluated. The appropriate measures and steps need to be taken to protect lives.

“Overall, we need to overhaul the delivery of the pre-hospital emergency care services, having better training for staff in schools and childcare facilities and an expanded role for paramedics, helping to reduce the numbers of patients attending emergency departments in the first instance. However, to succeed we need to consider the career recognition of paramedics, the recruitment and retention issues, and the training issues of paramedics and the community. We need to act now before patients die,” warned Fitzpatrick.

RAY Houghton will be one of a host of Liverpool Legends who will arrive in Dundalk on April 15th to take on the Louth Legends in a charity football match in Oriel Park which will help raise money for two important local services.

The team’s will play for the Calvin Cup named in honour of Calvin Gray who lost his fight for life in September 2022 following a tragic accident in the town centre. Calvin was a massive Liverpool fan and the organisers have decided to honour his memory by naming the cup after him.

One of the organisers of the event, Gerry O’Connor, says he hopes that Dundalk will come out and support the event and help raise funds for both the Autism unit in Realt na Mara and the Maria Goretti Foundation which is a respite centre in Lordship.

“Our goal is to raise as much money as possible for two fantastic local Louth services that are both linked with autism. My son has autism and I know how difficult it can be to get the required supports needed for a child with ASD.

“By raising money for these services we hope it will enable them to further the success of many projects and programmes for children on the autism spectrum. As well as the match be- tween Liverpool Legends and Louth Legends we are also offering a meet and greet with the players on the morning of the match in Oriel Park. You will get a chance to meet the legends of Liverpool and get a picture with them with tickets costing €20 for an adult and €10 for kids. eamonn O’Hagan who is also helping to organise the event says that he is delighted with some of the names who have agreed to come to Dundalk for the charity game.

The final part of our fundraiser will be a Legends dinner which is taking place in the Carrickdale Hotel after the match. Dinner with the Legends is an evening of entertainment which will include having dinner with the legends as well as auctions of various memorabilia and raffles. Tickets for the dinner will cost €75 per person.

“We’ve been working hard on getting Liverpool legends to come over and we are delighted to confirm that Ray Houghton, John Aldridge, Steve McMahon, Jermaine Pennant Mark Wright and Alan Kennedy have all agreed to take part.

“On the Louth Legends side we have the likes of Brian Gartland, Gabriel Sava, Steve Williams, John Whyte, David Crawley, Shane Grimes, Nathan Murphy, David Ward, Fabio

O’Brien, Sean Thornton and Killian Brennan togging out and the team will be managed by myself, Tom McNulty and Darius Kierans, “stated eamonn.

Tickets for the match, which takes place on April 15th in Oriel Park can be bought on eventbrite (Search for Liverpool Legends v Louth Legends on their website).

Tickets for the meet and greet which takes place before the match on April 15th between 12 and 1:30 can be purchased from Gino’s Diner on Clanbrassil St. (Adult €20, Child €10) on Wednesday, 22nd of February 2023, deputy commissioner shawna coxon presented scott Medal 1st class commendations to garda damien Welby and garda alan lynch. Both members displayed bravery, courage and resolve in arresting an armed suspect in dundalk on the 3rd of January, 2018.

For dinner tickets in the Carrickdale please contact 0872323641. Tickets cost €75 per person. All proceeds raised will go towards the Maria Goretti Foundation and the Realt na Mara early Intervention unit and Autism Centre.

As part of the fundraiser organisers will also be bringing the Premier League trophy, european Cup and FA Cup to Dundalk on Saturday 25th March. They will be in the Marshes Shopping Centre between 12pm and 6pm on Saturday 25th March and everybody is welcome to come down to get a pucture taken with the trophies. There will be face painting and other fun activities on the day and all are welcome.

Knight of hibernia AGM

JOHN Boyle O’Reilly Society, 30 Clanbrassil St., Dundalk. The annual General Meeting to be held on Sunday 12th March 2023 at our offices on Clanbrassil St., at 12 noon sharp.

Counselling Services

TuRAS Counselling Services are a Dundalkbased not for profit organisation who offer a range of free confidential supports to people at all stages of addiction. Based at 59 Clanbrassil Street they work with people from across the North east region who present at different stages of the addiction cycle.

Turas will host a free ‘Transformational Recovery Programme’ starting on March 13th which will take place on Monday’s and Tuesdays from 10-3:30pm for fifteen weeks.

This service is provided free of charge to recovering substance misusers within the North east area who fulfil the above criteria. For further information email info@turascounselling.ie or call 0429338221 or 0429338224.

1—Can you name the debut album by Limerick band the Cranberries which launched the group to stardom thirty years ago this week?

2—Which American state is known as the Golden State?

3—Australian Steve Irwin was better known by what name?

4—What does the internet slang term YOLO stand for?

5—When Thin Lizzie were an up and coming band they played in The Afton Club in Dundalk. Where was the Afton Club situated?

6—In 2020, which man became the first artist to reach the top 5 of the UK album chart in eight consecutive decades?

7—When it began in 1995, Amazon only sold what?

8—Who managed The Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967?

9—The umbilicus is the scientific name for which part of the human body?

10—Not counting Russia or Turkey which country has the biggest population in Europe? The Stinker: In English, which country’s name comes first alphabetically?

—this week’s answers—

2—California,

Only Live Once,

1—Everybody else is doing it so why can’t we?