By Cianna McNally

Concerns were expressed at the May monthly meeting of Monaghan Town Council this week that lives were at risk in the town because of ambulances being unable to find correct addresses on a number of occasions.

The issue, which had been raised at previous meetings by Sinn Féin councillor Donal Sherry, came up again at Monday’s meeting. Cllr Sherry described the incidents as “deplorable” and said that although correspondence had been sent from the town council to the HSE on the issue, the lack of a response meant the council was being “fobbed off.” He spoke of an occasion he knew of where an ambulance looking for a house in Fairview Crescent had ended up in Connolly Park. Supporting Cllr Sherry, party colleague Cathaoirleach Sean Conlon stated that correspondence would be issued once again to the HSE.

Town Manager Declan Nelson found it hard to understand why such a problem would arise as he said there was a “very sophisticated” geographical system in place throughout the country. “Even if the vehicles do not have satellite navigation systems there are up to date maps available,” Mr Nelson commented. Cllr Robbie Gallagher agreed with the Manager and said that the issue had been discussed at a recent meeting of the North-East Regional Health Forum. HSE ambulance personnel had given a presentation and said that information was obtained from the Ordnance Survey and An Post. Cllr Gallagher added that the official had said he would be interested in hearing of individual cases like Cllr Sherry described because such a problem should not be happening.

However, in a statement to monaghanlife.ie, a spokesperson from the HSE said that the location systems fitted in ambulances were as up to date as the latest Ordnance Survey Maps. “On occasions new housing estates or dwellings may not be on the OS maps and therefore are not recognised on the vehicle location system. When this occurs the Ambulance Service need to get accurate directions and other relevant information from the person making the call,” the statement continued. It concluded by stating that there are also difficulties caused by large housing estates where the numbering system is not sequential and stressed the importance of callers providing as much detailed information as possible in order to ensure rapid response times.