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A Newry woman has died after collapsing on Saturday night when she was out with friends in the city. An ambulance was called to the scene but it had to be dispatched from Belfast, a journey of 45 minutes, as Southern Trust crews were not available. Tragically the woman in her thirties died before the ambulance arrived.
In a press statement the NI Ambulance Service offered their sincere apologies.
"The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service would like to apologise sincerely and offer our condolences to the family and friends of the patient, in Newry, who passed away in the early hours of Sunday 10 April while awaiting the arrival of an ambulance which was despatched from Belfast.
"NIAS regrets that, on the evening of Saturday 9 April, levels of ambulance cover fell below those which had been planned and anticipated, with the Southern Division particularly impacted."
Explaining how resources levels in the Southern Division were reduced on Saturday night an NIAS Spokesperson said "The planned level of resource in Southern Division on Saturday night is 10. On Saturday night only 3 crews were available at the commencement of the shift and this was further depleted by 1 due to onset of illness. Both remaining crews were not available to respond as they were waiting to handover patients at Craigavon ED."
The Spokesperson continued "As NIAS manages the service on a regional basis with the closest available ambulance responding to the next most clinically urgent call, crews from other divisions will have responded to calls in the Southern division.
"NIAS had 3 A&E support crews and one Independent ambulance crew available to complement the emergency crews. A&E support and independent crews are despatched to lower acuity calls to protect the A&E resource for the most serious and urgent waiting calls.
"NIAS would further apologise to all patients and their carers for any delays experienced as a result of reduced cover."
Sinn Féin MLA Liz Kimmins spoke of the community's shock and requested an urgent intervention to tackle the lack of ambulance staff. "I wish to extend my sympathies to the family and the friends of the young woman who died in tragic circumstances in Newry on Sunday.
"This tragedy has shocked the local community and a family has been left heartbroken.
"It's deeply concerning that this young woman died while waiting on an ambulance coming from Belfast due to huge shortages in the Southern Trust.
"Without an urgent intervention to tackle the lack of Ambulance staff, this crisis will continue to get worse.
"The Department of Health must immediately step in and support our health trusts by putting in place the necessary resources to keep our ambulances on the road."
The Workers Party Assembly candidate in Newry & Armagh Nicola Grant, also expressed her sympathy.
"This is a terrible tragedy and a very difficult and heartbreaking time for this young woman's family and friends. They are very much in my thoughts" she said
Grant added "I would also like to express my sympathy to the ambulance crew which travelled from Belfast, to the call handlers and all their colleagues in the Ambulance Service. This will undoubtedly affect them as well.
"It is important for public confidence that a full and clear explaination of the circumstances is forthcoming as quickly as possible", NIcola said.
"There must also be steps taken immediately by the Department of Health and the Ambulance Service to address the shortage of resources to ensure that this type of incident can never happen again"
* SDLP MLA Justin McNulty also offered his condolences “I am deeply mindful of the fact that a family is in shock and are mourning the sudden loss of their loved one. It is vital that the family are given the space they need to grieve.
“This should never have been allowed to happen and I can’t begin to imagine what they are going through. This is every family’s worst nightmare. I want to offer my condolences to her family and friends.
“I reiterate my call for the privacy of the family to be respected and upheld at this extremely difficult time.”
** Newry.ie asked the Southern Trust for a comment and in reply a Trust spokesperson said "We extend our sincerest sympathies to the family and friends of this woman.
"Whilst we do not know the specific circumstances involved, we can confirm that both Emergency Departments at Craigavon and Daisy Hill were extremely busy over the weekend. Staff always do their best to work with paramedics to minimise ambulance turnaround times at our hospitals and we continue to work closely with Northern Ireland Ambulance Service on this issue."
* Added 3.40pm 11/4/22
** Added 10am 12/4/22
