Concern raised over Garda cars being used to transport patients to hospital

Concern has been raised over the use of Garda patrol cars to transport patients to hospital instead of ambulances, with the Garda Representative Association saying it was "inappropriate" to put gardaí in such a position.

Members of the association were being forced to make decisions on transporting patients to hospital without the relevant medical knowledge or training, vice-president Brendan O’Connor told Newstalk Breakfast.

Mr O’Connor said while the Garda and the National Ambulance Service often work together, gardaí were now routinely being dispatched to situations that were “purely medical”.

“Gardaí and our colleagues in the National Ambulance Service have always had a crossover. There are numerous occasions where we’d need to assist them, from something as simple as assisting with lifting a patient to if there was a public order element.

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“What we’ve been seeing in recent times is gardaí being sent to calls, where an ambulance is not available or in advance of the arrival of an ambulance.”

Mr O'Connor pointed out that there had been two incidents recently – one in Dundalk and one in Donegal – where gardaí were on the scene, but there was no ambulance and one was "unlikely" to arrive.

“The guards found themselves in a position where they had to make a decision whether it was appropriate to place the person in a car and bring them to hospital.”

The gardaí did not have the medical knowledge to make such decisions, he said, adding that it was “inappropriate and not exactly good practice” to put gardaí in such a position.

There needed to be a clear protocol on such situations, Mr O’Connor said, along with clarity on the role and responsibility of gardaí responding to emergency calls.