THE HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) has been asked to explain why there was no ambulance available in Drogheda, Co Louth, to answer an emergency call after it emerged that a motorist brought a dying man to hospital in the back of his van after waiting 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
Van driver Billy Doyle (50) brought Peter Sherlock (52) to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in the town after he was found lying ill on a street by members of the public last Thursday. Mr Sherlock was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Labour TD for Louth Gerald Nash said “a series of very serious questions” needed to be answered by health authorities. “Drogheda is the largest town in the country, yet there are only two ambulances on call for emergency purposes.”
He called for an investigation by the Health Information and Quality Authority. The Minister for Health and the HSE need to take immediate measures to reassure the people of Drogheda about ambulance services, he added.