News

In a desperate bid to maintain ambulance cover and patient safety, the National Ambulance Service (NAS) has begun rostering paramedics from the West on an ad hoc basis to cover shifts in the Mid-West region, according to multiple frontline sources.

The move means that paramedics logging on for duty in Galway may now be redirected to cover shortfalls in the Limerick, Clare, and Tipperary areas, often at short notice. Crews have been told they may be permitted to rest at certain bases before being dispatched for emergency calls. Despite these redeployments, overtime continues to be required daily to staff ambulances across Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon, where chronic shortages persist.

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The Irish Society of Paramedicine (ISP), representing over 900 frontline ambulance staff, has today issued an open letter to all sitting TDs following yesterday's Oireachtas Health Committee meeting with the representatives of the National Ambulance Service (NAS).

James Mullen, chair of the ISP, stated that "the hearing again highlighted a total disconnect between frontline staff and senior NAS and HSE management,” and called for immediate Government intervention to address a service that he describes as “understaffed, underfunded, and operating outside best international practice.”

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Worrying news has broken that a private ambulance company has won a contract for a "medical taxi service" in the Greater Dublin Area. The service, described as Non-Emergency Transport for Service Users in the Greater Dublin Area, is intended to transport very low acuity patients to hospital. The service is expected to be staffed by one emergency medical technician and one driver. The ISP committee is deeply concerned about this initiative. We feel that it is the thin end of a wedge, opening the door to privatisation of an emergency service that exists for the public good. There follows an open letter to the government outlining our concerns.

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Ambulance staff across Ireland have once again shown their commitment to patient safety by voting decisively against a proposed pay deal. Despite the inclusion of a pay increase, 69% of members rejected the agreement because it would have imposed unsafe staffing changes and other draconian measures that risk compromising patient care.

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The Irish Society of Paramedicine (ISP) is deeply concerned about the treatment of newly qualified paramedics and advanced paramedics (AP) within the National Ambulance Service (NAS). 

We have been contacted by multiple graduates from PD19 and PD20 and APs who, despite successfully completing their studies, internships, and being officially registered as Paramedics/Advanced Paramedics on the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) register, are being denied authorisation to practice as fully qualified practitioners. 

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The ISP has learned that newly qualified paramedics, recently graduated from the University of Limerick, have been contacted by National Ambulance Service (NAS) Human Resources and told their current contracts are due to end. The group, at the very start of their careers, have only been offered a very limited number of stations in which to continue employment. Many of the locations offered are long distances from their current hubs and home addresses. They have been given only a few days to decide or risk losing their employment entirely.

This open letter calls on the Department of Health and the HSE to intervene and support our newly-qualified colleagues.

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As the current pay and conditions proposal is being balloted by SIPTU, the Irish Society of Paramedicine wishes to raise serious concerns on behalf of our members and frontline colleagues.

It has become increasingly clear that SIPTU representatives themselves appear uncertain about key elements of the proposal — the very agreement they have publicly endorsed and urged their members to support with a "yes" vote.

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Paramedic and ISP member, PJ Maguire Kavanagh, shares his analysis of the WRC proposal document that is currently the subject of a ballot.

I’ve been doing a bit of a pros and cons list while reading into the WRC proposals document a bit more over the last few days, generally when it comes to pay increases, scales, the new rostered allowance and overtime conditions it’s looking pretty solid in terms of how they should be interpreted, basically I would interpret them how they’re written. 

However there is an overwhelming amount of ambiguity throughout the rest of the document especially relating to conditions, roles, clinical governance, earning potential (overtime) and processes that they say are going to happen but haven’t even started yet nor any indication of how some terms may play out in the long run.

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The Irish Society of Paramedicine wishes to express its serious concern regarding the increasing reliance on private ambulance providers to fill operational gaps within the National Ambulance Service (NAS).

While we acknowledge the challenges posed by NASCAP levels, high demand, and resource pressures, we believe that the solution lies not in outsourcing, but in investing in and supporting the public workforce—our own highly skilled NAS staff across all clinical grades.

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Ambulance staff across Ireland are being asked to vote on a major proposal—but many feel they’ve had no say in shaping it.

A union that claims to represent the majority of staff may do so on paper, but on the ground, EMTs, Paramedics, Advanced Paramedics, and Supervisors are telling a very different story: they feel ignored, unrepresented, and excluded. 

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Frontline staff across the National Ambulance Service (NAS) say they are once again being sidelined and misrepresented—this time in the lead-up to a critical ballot on sweeping changes to pay, allowances, and working conditions.

From Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) to Paramedics, Advanced Paramedics, and Supervisors, staff are expressing frustration at the lack of consultation and transparency surrounding the latest Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) proposal, now being put to a ballot by trade unions SIPTU and UNITE.

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Between Tuesday, April 29th, and Monday, May 12th, the ISP conducted an anonymous poll to assess attitudes towards the leadership of the NAS amongst its members. 

An overwhelming majority of current, operational ambulance staff have indicated that they do not have confidence in the National Director, and they feel that the leadership of the NAS is not acting in the best interests of staff and the public. It is the view of the ISP that this, alone, indicates that the National Director's position is untenable.

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