A Waterford TD says the consequences of long ambulance wait times in Waterford are severe.
Figures released by the National Ambulance Service show Waterford had the fifth-longest wait time in the country, between July and December 2023.
Sinn Féin Health Spokesperson David Cullinane says the consequences of this are serious in Waterford - especially without 24-hour cardiac services.
"People depend on the ambulance services for emergency care to bring them to major hospitals, and if people are waiting far too long, that puts patients' safety at risk.
"That needs to be dealt with by increasing the capacity of the National Ambulance Service, as they have committed to themselves.
"This simply isn't happening at the pace that it needs to happen. I have spoken to many frontline paramedics in the South East, and they're very concerned about the lack of capacity in the service.
"The only way to deal with the problem is to put in place a workforce plan that trains more paramedics so that we can recruit more into the system to be able to better respond to calls.
"Given the fact that we don't have a 24-7 cardiac service here in the South East, as we know, it's all the more important that we have a proper functioning ambulance service."
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