Dublin firefighters on industrial action footing after HSE takes over control of all 999 calls – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Dublin firefighters on industrial action footing after HSE takes over control of all 999 calls




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Representatives for the Dublin Fire Brigade have indicated that industrial action is now very much in the cards after a HSE decision to take away all 999 calls from the control Dublin Fire Brigade.

Dublin City Council announced last night that the HSE’s National Ambulance Service (NAS) operations centre in Tallaght will take full control of all emergency calls.

The facility will also make decisions related to dispatching both NAS and Dublin Fire Brigade ambulances.

The switch in responsibility has come about after a review done by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) criticizing the current ambulance response times.

The HIQA report quoted “inefficiencies”  and “poor co-ordination” in the Dublin call and dispatch system..

Dublin City Council say that the changes will create the right conditions for a more efficient service.

But Council’s CEO Owen Keegan has revealed that  “a history of professional rivalry and non-cooperation” exists between the NAS and DFB.

Union representative Brendan O’Brien said that he does not agree that these changes will be of any help, adding that call out times “beat professional standards in 80% of cases and that this figure could go down.”

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