Written Answers Nos. 550-567
550. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether adult mental health services receive specific training relating to trauma-informed engagement with care-experienced young adults transitioning from CAMHS or Tusla care settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41017/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra551. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any national policy, protocol or guidance exists governing continuity of care for young people transitioning from CAMHS to adult mental health services where the individual has a history of State care, special care, institutional care or complex trauma; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41018/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra608. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE maintains any data regarding mental health outcomes, service disengagement, emergency presentations or psychiatric admissions among care-experienced young adults following transition from CAMHS to adult mental health services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41127/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 550,551 and 608 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
552. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of PURPLE and RED emergency calls in 2024 and 2025 where no ambulance resource was immediately available at the point of call allocation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41025/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
553. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service records the duration for which emergency calls remain without an assigned ambulance resource after initial triage; and if so, the average and longest duration recorded in 2024 and 2025. [41026/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
554. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether repeated breaches of ambulance allocation time KPIs trigger any automatic operational review, executive escalation, or risk escalation process within the HSE or National Ambulance Service. [41027/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
555. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any analysis has been undertaken correlating ambulance allocation delays with adverse patient outcomes, mortality, ICU admission, cardiac arrest survival rates, or other clinical indicators since 2020. [41028/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra558. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any automatic escalation threshold exists where ambulance allocation delays for PURPLE or RED calls exceed defined levels over a given reporting period; and if so, to provide details. [41031/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra559. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether repeated breaches of ambulance allocation-time KPIs are recorded within any HSE enterprise, regional, or National Ambulance Service risk register; and if so, the current risk classification assigned. [41032/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra560. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any review has examined correlations between ambulance allocation delays and adverse patient outcomes, including cardiac arrest survival, stroke outcomes, sepsis outcomes, or mortality rates. [41033/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra561. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether ambulance allocation delays beyond defined KPI thresholds are retrospectively clinically reviewed where serious harm or death subsequently occurs. [41034/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra562. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch or the Pre Hospital Emergency Care Council have identified any recommendations, findings, deficiencies, or corrective actions relating to ambulance allocation performance since 2020. [41035/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra564. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any cumulative reporting mechanism exists tracking repeated ambulance allocation delays by geographic area, time band, or demand surge category. [41037/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra566. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service records occasions where ambulance demand exceeds immediately available operational resources; and if so, the number of such occurrences in 2024 and 2025. [41039/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra567. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any retrospective clinical review process exists for cases where emergency ambulance allocation exceeded the defined PURPLE or RED KPI thresholds. [41040/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra569. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether ambulance allocation delays beyond KPI thresholds are automatically flagged for clinical governance review. [41042/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra571. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch accreditation process examines adverse outcomes associated with delayed ambulance allocation. [41044/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra572. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether reports produced under IAED accreditation reviews or PHECC Governance Validation Framework inspections are published; and if not, why not. [41045/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra575. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether ambulance dispatch delays beyond defined KPI thresholds are automatically classified as patient safety incidents for governance and reporting purposes; and if not, the criteria used to determine when a delay becomes reportable. [41048/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra581. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any retrospective clinical review process exists for emergency calls where ambulance allocation exceeded the applicable PURPLE or RED dispatch KPI threshold by more than a specified duration. [41054/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra584. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch accreditation process examines adverse patient outcomes associated with delayed ambulance allocation. [41057/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra588. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any formal threshold exists at which ambulance allocation delays must be escalated to senior HSE management or the Department of Health. [41061/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra589. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether NAS maintains any national dataset linking dispatch delays with subsequent serious incidents, protected disclosures, coronial findings, or patient safety investigations. [41062/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra590. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any external review since 2020 has specifically examined the relationship between ambulance allocation delays and adverse patient outcomes. [41063/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra591. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any formal escalation process exists where ambulance dispatch allocation KPIs are repeatedly breached over sustained periods; who is notified under such circumstances; and whether any mandatory corrective-action process applies. [41065/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra592. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether delays in ambulance allocation are formally recorded within any HSE Enterprise Risk Register, National Ambulance Service risk register, or regional operational risk framework; and if so, to provide details of the relevant risk categories. [41066/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra593. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any retrospective clinical review process exists for cases where emergency calls exceeded ambulance allocation KPI thresholds and adverse patient outcomes subsequently occurred. [41067/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra594. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch accreditation reviews or PHECC Governance Validation Framework inspections since 2020 identified any recommendations, concerns, corrective actions, or areas requiring improvement relating to ambulance dispatch allocation performance. [41068/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra596. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether ambulance dispatch delays beyond defined KPI thresholds are routinely linked with mortality reviews, serious incident reviews, or adverse outcome monitoring systems. [41070/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra597. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal threshold exists at which an emergency ambulance allocation delay is automatically escalated to senior operational management or clinical oversight personnel. [41071/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra598. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any threshold exists at which repeated ambulance allocation breaches are escalated to senior HSE management, the HSE Board, or the Department of Health. [41072/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra600. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service maintains any internal reporting categorising prolonged ambulance allocation delays by duration band including delays exceeding 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes or longer. [41075/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra601. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any review has examined the proportion of patients experiencing clinically significant deterioration while awaiting ambulance allocation following a 999 or 112 call. [41076/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra602. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE or National Ambulance Service has defined any maximum clinically acceptable allocation delay thresholds for PURPLE or RED calls beyond the published KPI targets. [41077/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra603. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether repeated breaches of ambulance allocation KPIs form part of any formal risk escalation process under the HSE Enterprise Risk Management Framework. [41078/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra605. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service records the number of occasions where no ambulance resource was immediately available for a PURPLE or RED emergency call. [41080/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra609. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE National Ambulance Service maintains any formal escalation matrix specifying the actions required when ambulance allocation KPIs fall below target levels over sustained periods; and if they will provide details. [41133/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra611. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any patient harm review, serious incident review, morbidity review, or mortality review process specifically examines cases involving ambulance allocation delays beyond defined KPI thresholds. [41135/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra612. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service records the longest ambulance allocation delay experienced for PURPLE and RED calls each month. [41136/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra613. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any ambulance allocation delays exceeding defined thresholds have been linked to adverse clinical outcomes, cardiac arrest deterioration, preventable harm, or death since 2020. [41137/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra614. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether ambulance allocation delays are currently recorded as strategic, operational, or enterprise risks within any HSE or National Ambulance Service risk register. [41138/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra615. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the IAED accreditation process examines patient outcome data associated with delayed ambulance allocation times. [41139/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra617. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any formal escalation threshold exists where repeated breaches of ambulance allocation KPIs trigger mandatory review by senior HSE management, the National Director of the National Ambulance Service, or the Department of Health. [41141/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra618. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether delays in ambulance allocation are linked to any retrospective clinical review process where serious deterioration, cardiac arrest, death, or adverse patient outcome subsequently occurs. [41142/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra619. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service records the duration of time for which no ambulance resource is immediately available for dispatch to a PURPLE or RED category emergency call. [41143/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra620. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal audit, governance review, or risk assessment has examined the patient safety implications of emergency calls exceeding ambulance allocation KPI thresholds. [41144/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra624. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE considers it acceptable from a patient safety perspective that approximately 17% of PURPLE emergency calls and 21% of RED emergency calls exceeded national ambulance allocation time thresholds in 2025. [41148/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra625. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether every ambulance allocation delay beyond the PURPLE 60-second and RED 180-second thresholds is automatically logged within any NAS governance, quality assurance, patient safety, or incident management system; and if so, to provide details. [41176/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra629. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether ambulance allocation delays are monitored by individual call duration bands including delays exceeding 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or longer. [41180/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra630. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any internal reports, dashboards, governance papers, board reports, risk reports, or performance reviews since 2020 have identified ambulance allocation delays as a patient-safety concern. [41181/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra632. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any external body other than IAED or PHECC has independently reviewed National Ambulance Service dispatch performance, governance, or KPI compliance since 2020. [41183/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra633. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service records the longest ambulance allocation delay experienced for PURPLE and RED calls each year. [41184/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra634. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE considers compliance with ambulance allocation KPIs to constitute a patient-safety issue, an operational performance issue, or both. [41185/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Question Nos 555,558,559,560,561,562,564,566,567,569,571,572,575,581,584,588,589,590,591,592,593,594,596,597,598,600,601,602,603,605,609,611,612,613,614,615,617,618,619,620,624,625,629,630,632,633 and 634 together.
As outlined to the Deputy in response to previous questions, National Ambulance Service (NAS) emergency response performance is measured against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), based on HIQA recommendations, that are included in the HSE's National Service Plan (NSP) and fully align to the Priority Despatch Standard set by the regulator for the profession, the Prehospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC).
The Deputy can access at the link below, past completed PHECC Governance Validation Framework (GVF) reports on PHECC-licensed prehospital emergency care service providers, including the NAS. The GVF is an evidence-based methodology, specifically designed to improve quality and safety in the delivery of prehospital emergency care. https://phecc.ie/clinical-resources/pre-hospital-emergency-care-service-providers/gvf/.
As also previously outlined, NAS performance against NSP KPI targets is reported and reviewed on a monthly basis in line with the HSE's Performance Management Framework, which is designed to identify and address any specific challenges to performance, agree required actions and ensure that the delivery of all HSE healthcare services are of the highest quality.
Regarding patient safety, it is the HSE's policy through its Incident Management Framework (IMF) that all patient safety incidents are identified, reported and reviewed so that learning from events can be shared to improve the quality and safety of all HSE health services.
Concerning the Deputy's specific questions, which cover various technical aspects of the NAS's emergency response function, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to revert with any additional information, further to that already provided in earlier direct responses, that it may have.
556. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether ambulance allocation delays are specifically tracked within any HSE Enterprise Risk Register, regional risk register, or National Ambulance Service corporate risk register; and if they will provide details. [41029/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
557. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated absolute number of PURPLE and RED calls which exceeded the relevant allocation thresholds in 2024 and 2025. [41030/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
563. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service maintains any written policy governing prioritisation decisions where multiple simultaneous PURPLE or RED calls arise, and insufficient ambulance resources are immediately available. [41036/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
565. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of emergency calls in 2024 and 2025 where no ambulance resource was immediately available at the point of allocation decision-making. [41038/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
