Visiting a local GP in the west or north-west at the moment involves more than receiving medical advice. In surgeries' waiting rooms posters urge patients to sign a letter asking the Government to agree to the provision of a local Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS).
The campaign is only the latest in a number of campaigns for Mulranny, Co Mayo, GP Dr Jerry Crowley, though he stresses that he is just the spokesman for a group of GPs in the west and north-west.
They have the support of a number of experts, including consultants and neuro-surgeons, in seeking this service.
They maintain that lives are being lost, young people are being disabled for life and terrible hardship is being endured because there is no way of getting people quickly from the west and north-west to the appropriate centres of excellence for severe trauma, most of which are on the east coast.
He said: "We are the only country in Europe without such a service." He stressed that a HEMS service is necessary, not only for accident victims, but for the transport of critically ill patients to special units dealing with head and spinal injuries, serious burns and cardiac surgery in Dublin and other regional centres.
International research showed that this service, avoiding a four to six-hour trip on bad roads, could cut the death and disability rate by half, he said.
He stressed that this implied no criticism of the ambulance service, which supported the campaign. Nor could the need be met by the Air Corps because it had other calls on its resources.
Dr Crowley has already met the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, to press for HEMS. "The chief neurosurgeon in Beaumont, Jack Philips, came with me because he felt so strongly about the inequality in service between east and west. He saw four young men die unnecessarily last year.
"We had 2,000 letters with us at that meeting, and we will have more at our next meeting later this month. There are people in wheelchairs who are prepared, along with their medical advisers, to go public in this campaign.
"Sinn Fein has already arranged to meet us, and we will be meeting Northern Ireland Minister for Health, Bairbre de Brun. This is a North-South issue. HEMS should be jointly funded by the two exchequers. "We have got in tax consultants to find ways for altruistic individuals to contribute to a health trust fund for HEMS and other capital items having a call on it. "For example, people in a local area might be able to contribute to items like a scanner. We have pledges already. We've made it easy for the Government."