Disappointment has been expressed at the length of time it is taking to deliver a proposed ambulance base at Recess in Connemara.
The Connemara Ambulance Crisis Group has said that it is very disappointed at the project taking far longer than anticipated.
The group was informed recently by Galway West TD Eamon Ó Cuív that planning permission for the project will be submitted by the HSE within the next two weeks.
A statement from the local group said that it would be an understatement to say they are “astounded” at the slow pace of the project.
“Initially we were advised that the base would be opened in the spring of 2022,” a spokesperson for the group said.
“At a meeting with NAS, HSE and local politicians in July 2022, it was pointed out by us that if the tender process was to start immediately, realistically, it would be 2024 before there would be any chance of the base being operational, we are now one year further on, and still NO progress.”
“Connemara Ambulance Crisis Group have lost all confidence in this process and feel it calls into question the credibility of HSE Capital Estates in providing the ambulance base, as promised.”
It was first announced in November of 2021 that the Community Health Centre building in Recess had been chosen as the site of the new ambulance base for the region.
The slow delivery of the project has since been criticised by multiple local TDs, with Minister of State Frank Feighan stating last year that it was expected that a planning application would be made in Q3 of 2022.
The HSE did, before selecting the site, allocate an additional ambulance, another emergency vehicle, and eleven staff to improve emergency services in Connemara.
While waiting for the new base, National Ambulance Service crews in the region have been operating out of a base in Clifden.
The Connemara Ambulance Crisis Group is seeking a meeting with the HSE Capital Estates to get an explanation for what has delayed the project.
