THERE will be widespread concern at the circumstances surrounding the death of Jody Keenan while waiting for an ambulance in Newry.
The 39-year-old had been on a night out with friends when she collapsed in the early hours of Sunday.
No ambulances were available in the area at the time, with the nearest crew having to embark on a 45-minute journey from Belfast.
Ms Keenan’s mother arrived at the scene and with the help of a call handler desperately tried to save her life by administering CPR, in what can only have been a deeply traumatic experience.
Tragically, her daughter died before paramedics could arrive.
The Ambulance Service has apologised for how long it took to respond and is to carry out a Serious Adverse Incident Review.
It emerged last week that ambulance delays could have been a contributing factor in the deaths of 14 people in Northern Ireland in the past year.
We do not know whether a quicker response could have saved Ms Keenan’s life.
But what we can say is that a 45-minute wait for a critical call is unacceptable and the episode has again starkly illustrated the deep-rooted problems in our health service.
There would ordinarily be 10 crews in the Southern division on a Saturday night, but only three were available. It is reported this was later reduced to two, both of which were waiting at a busy Craigavon Area Hospital.
Overcrowded emergency departments mean that ambulances are now responding to much fewer calls during shifts because they are unable to offload patients.
At Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry yesterday, a consultant told how "extraordinary pressure" saw 34 patients in A&E waiting for a bed – including one who had been waiting four days.
Time and again there have been warnings that our health service is on the point of collapse. It can be seen in the Ambulance Service, in emergency care and in record waiting lists.
The route out of this crisis has been repeatedly mapped out but the problem has been the inability of our elected representatives to implement and fund the necessary reforms.
We now face into an assembly election with uncertainty about whether there will even be a new government and with no budget in place to allow health managers to plan ahead.
The situation should be a source of shame for our politicians and the question must be asked what exactly it will take to finally prioritise the health of their constituents.
