Independent Ireland councillor Noel Thomas has called on the Minister for Health and the CEO of the Health Service Executive, Bernard Gloster, to urgently reverse the decision to suspend the Pathfinder service in Galway for the month of March.
Pathfinder – a frontline team of therapists and advanced paramedics – responds to 999 calls where elderly people have suffered falls. In over 80% of cases, the team treats patients safely in their own homes, avoiding unnecessary ambulance transfers and prolonged exposure to overcrowded A&E departments at University Hospital Galway.
The team has now been instructed to cease community operations for March and instead work inside the hospital’s Emergency Department, reportedly due to an anticipated surge in attendances.
Councillor Noel Thomas said Pathfinder is exactly the kind of smart, “preventative healthcare service we should be expanding – not shutting down.
“In more than 80% of cases, they treat elderly people safely at home, sparing them the ordeal of long waits in crowded A&E where they are more vulnerable to infections and viruses.
“We are being told this is because the surge is expected in March. If that is the case, the public deserves transparency. Is there a specific outbreak anticipated? If so, why have families not been informed?” he said.
Councillor Thomas pointed out that the same decision was taken last year, yet the anticipated surge did not materialise.
“Even if there was increased pressure in A&E, removing a service that prevents hospital admissions makes no sense. Every elderly person safely treated at home is one less ambulance journey, one less trolley, and one less patient exposed to hospital-acquired infection.”
The councillor said the decision is particularly difficult to justify when the State’s finances are stronger than ever.
“We keep hearing about record corporation tax returns and significant budget surpluses. We are told public finances are strong and that the country has never been in a better fiscal position.
“If that is true – and government says it is – then there is absolutely no excuse for cutting or suspending frontline preventative services like Pathfinder. This is not a question of resources; it is a question of priorities,” he added.
Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins will raise the matter in the Dáil this week and seek a full explanation from the Minister.
“Galway families value Pathfinder because it works. It protects elderly people, reduces pressure on the hospital, and delivers care in a humane and efficient way.
With public finances in a strong position, there is no justification for disrupting this vital service. I am calling on the Minister to immediately review this decision and allow Pathfinder to continue operating uninterrupted throughout March,” concluded Cllr Thomas.
