Nearly 30% of all ambulance arrivals at the region’s main hospital this year originated in Clare.
Of the near 14,000 attendances at University Hospital Limerick, over 4,000 were for emergencies in this county.
A total of 4,122 patients in Clare were taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick in the first seven months of this year.
Outside of Limerick, this means the majority of emergency attendances to the Emergency Department in UHL come from this county.
45 calls in Clare in this period were classified as being ‘Echo’ priority – meaning patients were suffering from a cardiac or respiratory arrest.
Most calls in Clare received the second-highest priority classification ‘Delta’ – with more than 1,800 such instances between January and July.
This category is reserved for people suffering from other life-threatening conditions.
This latest information was released to Kilkee Fianna Fáil Councillor Cillian Murphy, who insists these figures justify reopening the Emergency Department at Ennis Hospital.
Member of the Regional Health Forum West, Councillor Murphy, says even catering for lower-priority cases in Ennis could alleviate huge pressure in Limerick.
The West Clare Councillor believes the baton must now be passed on to Clare’s Oireachtas representatives and that they should use these figures to continue the fight for increased health provision in Ennis.
Councillor Cillian Murphy says questions now need to be answered as to how Ennis could help each category of emergency call.
