Independent TD calls for establishment of National Air Service.
The Air Ambulance Service based out of Custume Barracks in Athlone has performed over 100 missions since being established last June.
Independent Teachta Dála (Irish MP) Denis Naughten said that the frequency of call-outs clearly for the Emergency Aermedical Service shows the importance of this service to communities throughout the midlands and west of Ireland.
“It again highlights the need for the establishment of a national helicopter emergency service which could transport patients directly from the scene of an accident to a major trauma centre,” he added.
TD Naughten believes a national service could support smaller hospital facilities by ensuring that patients who would more appropriately be treated in major regional centres can access the specialist treatment in a timely manner.
Irish Minister for Defence Alan Shatter has said that the government intends to review the operation of the air ambulance service in the first half of 2013.
It is expected that this will see the service enhanced and expanded through the use of a second helicopter based at another location.
Image: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland