Olivia Kelleher
Ireland's community air ambulance, which is based in Rathcoole, Co Cork, has seen an over 20 per cent increase in the number of emergency call-outs from January to March of this year.
The Irish Community Air Ambulance (ICAA) was tasked to respond to 127 emergencies as call-outs reached new heights in spite of the lockdown.
This is a 21 per cent increase compared to the 105 call-outs fielded in the first three months of 2020.
March was the busiest month with the air ambulance being tasked a total of 47 times.
Cardiac arrests account for the most incidents with a total of 32 taskings between January and the end of March.
The other call-outs involved road traffic collisions (18), farm accidents (18), general trauma (15), general medical (15), falls (10) and equestrian related incidents (four).
ICAA has provided support from Cork and Kerry to Limerick, Tipperary, Clare, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny and Mayo.
Life saving service
Emma McGuire from Douglas, Co Cork said she owes her life to the ICAA service.
Emma (22) was involved in a collision between Killarney and Tralee on March 8th, 2020. She was taken to hospital by the air ambulance.
“I’m so grateful to them - I’m so lucky that there was something or someone looking out for me that day,” she said.
The last thing Emma remembered before the crash was coming to a roundabout in Killarney. Her next memory was of waking up in hospital more than a day later.
Emma was in a critical collision after the collision.
Her spleen had burst, she had to be resuscitated at the hospital and was given 14 units of blood.
Emma underwent emergency surgery that night to remove her spleen and the following day had further surgery on her femur and ankle.
She also underwent surgery at Tallaght University Hospital on March 23rd, for a fractured pelvis before returning to CUH. It was June before Emma finally returned home.
Yearly increases
Meanwhile, ICAA Chief Executive Mícheál Sheridan said it has been a very busy start to 2021.
“The taskings have increased year-on-year and this shows that demand continues to grow for our air ambulance service in Ireland," he said.
"The ICAA air ambulance is airborne in under four minutes of being tasked by the National Ambulance Service and is thirty minutes away from most of the areas within its catchment.
"Ireland needs our service and this service needs the continuing support of our community fundraisers and corporate supporters. This
year will be a significant one for our organisation as we grow and expand and continue to help those who need us.”
The ICAA can bring casualties to the hospital that best suits their life-saving needs, not just the closest geographically, and from its north Cork base, it puts a 25,000 sq km area within 30 minutes of emergency medical care.
