Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party) on Tuesday, 6 June 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 8 June 2006. It was answered by Paul Goggins (Labour) on Wednesday, 14 June 2006 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office.

Ambulance Service

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of (a) the facilities and (b) the extent of ambulance cover in the Strabane district council area in each of the last three years; and whether ambulance service staff usually employed in the Strabane area have been redeployed to Derry since the opening of the new Northland Road base.
Answer

Ambulance cover in the Strabane district council area is provided from stations in Strabane and Castlederg. A 2004-05 Estate Appraisal, carried out by the Health Estates Agency, identified the need for separate male and female facilities at Strabane Ambulance Station and some minor alterations at Castlederg Ambulance Station. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) is currently making arrangements to carry out this work.During the last three years, ambulance cover has been provided as follows:

Days
Strabane Ambulance Station
08.00 to 20.00 hours (1 A and E crew) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
08.00 to 20.00 hours cover provided from Altnagelvin Thursday
20.00 to 08.00 hours (1 A and E crew) Monday to Sunday
Castlederg Ambulance Station
08.00 to 17.00 hours (1 A and E crew) Monday to Saturday
17.00 to 23.00 hours (cover provided by Strabane and Omagh stations) Monday to Saturday
08.00 to 23.00 hours (cover provided by Strabane and Omagh stations) Sunday
23.00 to 08.00 hours (1 A and E crew) Monday to Sunday

No ambulance crews have been redeployed from the Strabane or Castlederg ambulance stations to stations in Derry. Cover at the new Northland Road deployment point is provided by Altnagelvin Ambulance Station crews. As NIAS deploys ambulance resources dynamically to match predicted and actual demand, Strabane or Castlederg ambulances may respond to incidents in Derry. However, control staff ensure that time spent by crews away from their base station is kept to a minimum.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
447 c1252W;447 c1252-4W; 76220
Session
2005-06
Subjects
Ambulance services Strabane
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk