A baby has died tragically after the ambulance took 30 minutes to arrive because it was sent to the wrong country.
It is understood the ambulance was initially sent to Bishopstown in Cork City, despite the call coming from Tralee in Co Kerry, the Irish Examiner reports.
The newspaper reports that the national ambulance service received an emergency call in the early hours of Tuesday morning after the child suffered a sudden illness but there is believed to have been a misunderstanding between the caller and the service.
The ambulance rushed to Bishopstown in Cork City, to an identically-named Tennis Village area.
The HSE said that after the mistake was realised, the first ambulance arrived at the scene within half an hour of the emergency call.
Sources claim that it actually took 48 minutes.
The HSE also confirmed there were “significant challenges in establishing the exact location of the caller” who raised the alarm. The caller was originally from Eastern Europe.
The infant passed away on Tuesday morning. It is still unclear as to whether the child’s life could have been saved, had there not been a communications error.
A statement from the HSE reads:
“The HSE extends its deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased infant. [We] can confirm that a 999 call was received at 01.16am on June 18. The first emergency resource arrived at the scene 30 minutes after the 999 call.
“The ambulance service is satisfied the necessary protocols around responding to an emergency were adhered to in this case.”
