Friday, August 19th, 2011

Stanton Pleased with Youghal Ambulance Talks

CORK EAST FINE GAEL TD, DAVID STANTON has said that the meeting which he arranged regarding Youghal ambulance which took place today with senior officials of the National Ambulance Service, public representatives, some GPs from Youghal was very constructive and informative for both sides. The meeting was also attended by Minister of State Sean Sherlock, Sandra McLellan TD, Cllr Barbara Murray and the Mayor of Youghal, Cllr Eoin Coyne.

Deep concern and unease has been expressed in Youghal and surrounding areas at reports that the ambulance service in the area would be downgraded.

“We had the opportunity today to express these concerns at the highest level and we received a full briefing from the HSE on their plans and changes that are being envisaged.

“There is certainly a need to ensure that the best possible and most appropriate emergency service is available. I welcome the fact that the HSE have promised to engage fully with local GPs and public representatives.

“Both sides today learned a lot from the engagement and I would hope that the discussion on the very complex issues involved will result in an improved service in the long run.

“There will be further meetings and engagement on this very important issue.

Letter from the Mayor of Youghal, Eoin Coyne, to the Minister for Health, Dr. James Reilly concerning the scrapping of the Youghal Ambulance service.

Subject: Save Youghal Ambulance
Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:06:22

Minister,

I write to you today as the Mayor of Youghal on behalf of the people of the town to express my serious concern and downright anger of the Health Service Executive’s decision to replace Youghal’s 24 hour full ambulance emergency cover with a solo paramedic response car to serve the Youghal and its hinterland from September next.

The town of Youghal has a population of circa eight thousand people within its urban boundaries; it also serves an extensively large hinterland of an estimated forty thousand people in its surrounding villages and town lands. It is seen as the closest hub for post primary education, employment and tertiary services  for all of the surrounding villages in the West Waterford and East Cork region, such as;  Ardmore, Killeagh, Castlemartyr, Ballycotton, Knockanore, Clashmore and Ballymacoda.

The removal of Youghal Ambulance service in the town of Youghal will have serious implications on those who will unexpectedly require emergency assistance. As you are aware yourself, the first “golden hour” in which casualties are taken from the scene of an accident to the A+E department greatly increases that individuals’ chances of survival. If the HSE proposal goes ahead as planned, and the town of Youghal are then only left with a paramedic response car, the following scenario will become an all too regular occurrence;

An emergency 999 call will go out for an ambulance to attend to the scene of an accident or to someone who is in serious ill health and MUST travel by ambulance (paramedic response cars are not permitted to transport individuals who require an ambulance)  to the A+E department some sixty kilometres in Cork City. It will then take at least a half an hour, if not considerably longer, for an ambulance to travel from a neighbouring town to attend to the individual(s). During the time that the ambulance is en route, the paramedic response car is at the scene, almost powerless, telling the said individual that everything is going to be ok and the ambulance is on its way. All the while, the chances of survival become significantly reduced due to the fact that the injured party will not have reached the A+E department within the vital “Golden Hour”.

In many, many cases this WILL result in loss of life.

It is apparent that this is a measure brought in by the HSE in order to cut costs. It is my opinion that cuts cannot be made to frontline services that are absolutely vital in ensuring the wellbeing of our citizens.

Minister, I am all too aware that our country is in extreme financial difficulty, as I see it each day within local government at Youghal Town Council level. However, I strongly believe that cutting costs that will cost lives is totally unacceptable.

I assure you that my plea to you has no political agenda; it is a plea to you, on behalf of the people of Youghal, to intervene and call on the HSE to reverse their decision to scrap the Youghal Ambulance service.

Please, Save Youghal Ambulance.

Yours,

Cllr. Eoin Coyne

Mayor of Youghal

 

The future of Tesco’s bottle and clothes bank facility is in serious jeopardy due to on-going illegal dumping in the immediate surroundings. A wide diaspora of waste, from food leftovers to plastic and electrical appliances is being deposited at and behind the banks on a daily basis, attracting rodents and creating a health hazard around the facility. A breach in the wire dividing the estate from the supermarket car park where the banks are located has exacerbated the situation, allowing easier access to the rear of the facility for illegal dumping.

While the recycling banks are located on private ground, residents in the adjacent Gallagher’s Mews have submitted a petition and photographs to Youghal Town Council to highlight their concerns and seek their assistance. Cllr Eoin Coyne, who lives on the estate, says, “Tesco provided a great facility and the blame for this situation lies completely with the people abusing it.”

Fellow resident Barry Clohessy describes the situation as “totally unacceptable”. He says people on the estate are “worried about disease, particularly with children living here.” Cllr Coyne says he intends to contact Tesco’s to discuss the matter and his neighbour is forceful about one possible solution. “Why don’t Tesco move it closer to their own door?!” asks Mr. Clohessy.

In answer to that suggestion, Tesco liaison officer Michael Sullivan’s says “the car park surface wouldn’t support the lorries needed to access and empty the banks.” Mr Sullivan says he is “very concerned” about the issue and is willing to meet the residents or anyone else involved in pursuit of a remedy. “Unfortunately, if the worse comes to the worse we would have to consider removing the facility entirely,” he explains.

Abolish them

As far as Youghal’s Tesco branch manager Brian Buckley is concerned, the worse has already arrived -and is not getting any better! “My suggestion to head office is that we get rid of the banks altogether,” he declares unequivocally. “I think if we relocate them we’ll only be moving the problem elsewhere.”

Mr Buckley says the facility was working well and up until six months ago. “It has just got worse and worse since then,” he says and “We end up having to collect and store the stuff in our own yard and then disposing of it. Aside from everything else, we don’t have the man hours to be doing that.”  He says the company has been reluctant to install CCTV at the banks, as he once advocated suggested, opting instead to erect CCTV warning signs! “That worked for awhile but it’s no longer much of a deterrent” he concedes.

The banks are emptied about twice weekly and perhaps the other significant aspect to consider is that they are being used considerably. “A lot of people avail of them and in recent months we have noticed a big increase in the usage of the clothes bank,” Mr. Buckley says. “Unfortunately a very small minority of people may now deprive them of all that.” The store manager says he will be discussing the issue with M. Sullivan later this week.

Congratulations to Youghal man, Patrick O’ Shea, the 3 star private in the Irish Defence Force, who won a Silver Medal at the World Military Boxing Championships at Camp Lejune, Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA. The championships were held between the 10th and 16th Oct. 2010.
Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com email:news@youghalonline.com

Patrick, from Raheen Park, Youghal, was delighted with the reception he received by the Mayor of Youghal, Cllr. Mary Linehan Foley and Deputy Mayor Cllr. Eoin Coyne at the Town Hall last Friday. Patrick was accompanied by his parents Stephen and Tina, boxing coach Kieran Joyce and friends.

The Sunnyside heavyweight, a former Irish U/21 champion, stopped Lemerc Herath of Sri Lanka in the first round in the 91Kg semi-final.

But the Irish army private had to settle for silver after he was beaten 6-3 by Brazilian sailor Rafael DiLima at Camp Lejeune.

O’Shea was training with the Irish Elite squad under IABA head coach Billy Walsh and Zuar Antia ahead of the World Championships and sparred with 10-time Irish champ and Olympic silver-medalist Ken Egan before departing for the USA.

According to former Olympian and Irish senior champ Kieran Joyce of the Sunnyside club, O’Shea can be very proud of his achievement.

“Training with the Irish Elite squad was exactly what Pa needed ahead of the Championships, said Joyce. “He did very well to reach his final and a silver medal win is a fantastic achievement.”