The truly shocking state of the ambulance fleet across the country has been revealed by recently released figures.
In total, 235 vehicles broke down over a nine month period, including one instance where the wheels of an ambulance actually fell off while a patient was being driven to hospital. The patient subsequently died, though the HSE said it had nothing to do with the incident.
The largest number of breakdowns occurred in Dublin, followed by Galway.
Chronic under-investment in the ambulance service has left a legacy of unsafe and unreliable vehicles across the board, some with hundreds of thousands of miles on the clock.
Minister for Health Leo Varadkar recently announced an 18m investment plan to purchase new vehicles and replace old ones.