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Briain Kelly, 10 Jul
Disappointment has been expressed at the length of time it is taking to
deliver a proposed ambulance base at Recess in Connemara.
The Connemara Ambulance Crisis Group has said that it is very disappointed
at the project taking far longer than anticipated.
The group was informed recently by Galway West TD Eamon Ă“ CuĂv that
planning permission for the project will be submitted by the HSE within
the next two weeks.
A statement from the local group said that it would be an understatement
to say they are “astounded” at the slow pace of the project.
“Initially we were advised that the base would be opened in the spring of
2022,” a spokesperson for the group said.
“At a meeting with NAS, HSE and local politicians in July 2022, it was
pointed out by us that if the tender process was to start immediately,
realistically, it would be 2024 before there would be any chance of the
base being operational, we are now one year further on, and still NO
progress.”
“Connemara Ambulance Crisis Group have lost all confidence in this process
and feel it calls into question the credibility of HSE Capital Estates in
providing the ambulance base, as promised.”
It was first announced in November of 2021Â that the Community Health
Centre building in Recess had been chosen as the site of the new ambulance
base for the region.
The slow delivery of the project has since been criticised by multiple
local TDs, with Minister of State Frank Feighan stating last year that it
was expected that a planning application would be made in Q3 of 2022.
The HSE did, before selecting the site, allocate an additional ambulance,
another emergency vehicle, and eleven staff to improve emergency services
in Connemara.
While waiting for the new base, National Ambulance Service crews in the
region have been operating out of a base in Clifden.
The Connemara Ambulance Crisis Group is seeking a meeting with the HSE
Capital Estates to get an explanation for what has delayed the project.