ambulance access in rural areas

Graces7

i am sure this is well covered but am wondering how ambulances cope with eg farm lanes.
the lane i live on is now in very poor condition and the farmer who owns what was the only place for a large vehicle to turn at the end has decided to padlock the gate.
had to call the ambulance recently after a bad fall and they were not happy and that was before the turning area was locked off.

thank you

Zambia

Graces7 wrote: »

i am sure this is well covered but am wondering how ambulances cope with eg farm lanes.
the lane i live on is now in very poor condition and the farmer who owns what was the only place for a large vehicle to turn at the end has decided to padlock the gate.
had to call the ambulance recently after a bad fall and they were not happy and that was before the turning area was locked off.

thank you

It's in your best interest to have your house accessible to the emergency services.

They will always get to you but it's you who is in pain waiting for them.

Graces7

Zambia wrote: »

It's in your best interest to have your house accessible to the emergency services.

They will always get to you but it's you who is in pain waiting for them.

well yes i understand that. the way is being deliberately obstructed by a third party who is intransigent. his entry is needed to turn and he has deliberately blocked it off.

have emergency services any entry powers in such a case..eg do they carry bolt cutters...would the gardai help...

some ambulance services have smaller vehicles but not this one.

Zambia

Graces7 wrote: »

well yes i understand that. the way is being deliberately obstructed by a third party who is intransigent. his entry is needed to turn and he has deliberately blocked it off.

have emergency services any entry powers in such a case..eg do they carry bolt cutters...would the gardai help...

some ambulance services have smaller vehicles but not this one.

Actually they might not have bolt cutters handy.

Chances are this would be explained to the 000 when the call is made. They would of course try and make arrangements to enter.

However why are you living somewhere that is cut off from emergency services.

If you see this as a problem your right you need to sort it with this person or create an alternative entrance to your property. Hire a builder to Tarmac a driveway to your property then you do not need to worry about it.

flazio

Is the access road to your property solely on his private property? If so then you need to negotiate ownership of the access to your proprty, if it isn't his then he has no right to gate it and is in breach of some law or regulation somewhere.

Graces7

Zambia wrote: »

Actually they might not have bolt cutters handy.

Chances are this would be explained to the 000 when the call is made. They would of course try and make arrangements to enter.

However why are you living somewhere that is cut off from emergency services.

If you see this as a problem your right you need to sort it with this person or create an alternative entrance to your property. Hire a builder to Tarmac a driveway to your property then you do not need to worry about it.

im not. period.

if i say irish right of way situation.....the man concerned is unbelievable. loves litigation and causing grief. he heard the ambulance had difficulty and deliberately made it harder.

hire a builder! lol...tarmac!:P

Graces7

flazio wrote: »

Is the access road to your property solely on his private property? If so then you need to negotiate ownership of the access to your proprty, if it isn't his then he has no right to gate it an.d is in breach of some law or regulation somewhere.

no. the access road belongs to my landlord who is great. the bad neighbour has systematically overused the lane which he has a right of way on, destroying the surface. i am a witness and doing the paperwork for a pending small claims court case to make him pay for the repairs.

cul de sac and the only place for larger vehicles to turn is an area of land owned by him. unused. he has now padlocked it..tiny lock.

so this is simply retaliation now. he loves litigation. wants us to make a great fuss etc, so we are trying
to avoid that.

will be talking to my landlord re a second gate as the drivers seemed inexpert which surprised us in a deeply rural area. there are farms and houses far more inaccessible than this.
.
there is of course a good gate but they drive right past that so will acquire a traffic cone maybe.

which is why i posted, as surely there must be ways when eg a lane is flooded or blocked by a fallen tree.

it was maybe just this one crew. they made heavy weather of it even with the then good turning space and told me they would never come here again.

Zambia

Graces7 wrote: »

hire a builder! lol...tarmac!:P

Why is that ridiculous? Tarmac or concrete would fix your scenario.

Del2005

Graces7 wrote: »

no. the access road belongs to my landlord who is great. the bad neighbour has systematically overused the lane which he has a right of way on, destroying the surface. i am a witness and doing the paperwork for a pending small claims court case to make him pay for the repairs.

cul de sac and the only place for larger vehicles to turn is an area of land owned by him. unused. he has now padlocked it..tiny lock.

so this is simply retaliation now. he loves litigation. wants us to make a great fuss etc, so we are trying
to avoid that.

will be talking to my landlord re a second gate as the drivers seemed inexpert which surprised us in a deeply rural area. there are farms and houses far more inaccessible than this.
.
there is of course a good gate but they drive right past that so will acquire a traffic cone maybe.

which is why i posted, as surely there must be ways when eg a lane is flooded or blocked by a fallen tree.

it was maybe just this one crew. they made heavy weather of it even with the then good turning space and told me they would never come here again.

You need to get your landlord to sort out the access to his property and don't bother with the gate at the end of the lane, land litigation is a great game for solicitors only. When the road is being resurfaced it won't be a big job to create access and it'll be needed for the resurfacing trucks anyway. Are you or the LL taking the small claims case?

It's not just rural areas that have access issues for emergency vehicles. With our stupid planning laws not allowing enough car parking spaces people park everywhere and the fire engine turn about at the end of most estate roads fits loads of cars, so people can have an empty driveway!

Maphisto

Zambia wrote: »

Why is that ridiculous? Tarmac or concrete would fix your scenario.

I would imagine its a question of cost. It sounds as if the bohereen is a considerable length. The cost will be high. Bear in mind that the OP rents this property and will never own these improvements.

ratracer

Graces7 wrote: »

no. the access road belongs to my landlord who is great. the bad neighbour has systematically overused the lane which he has a right of way on, destroying the surface. i am a witness and doing the paperwork for a pending small claims court case to make him pay for the repairs.

cul de sac and the only place for larger vehicles to turn is an area of land owned by him. unused. he has now padlocked it..tiny lock.

so this is simply retaliation now. he loves litigation. wants us to make a great fuss etc, so we are trying
to avoid that.

will be talking to my landlord re a second gate as the drivers seemed inexpert which surprised us in a deeply rural area. there are farms and houses far more inaccessible than this.
.
there is of course a good gate but they drive right past that so will acquire a traffic cone maybe.

which is why i posted, as surely there must be ways when eg a lane is flooded or blocked by a fallen tree.

it was maybe just this one crew. they made heavy weather of it even with the then good turning space and told me they would never come here again.

There is something very wrong with this statement and this thread. I don't believe for one minute a member of the ambulance service told you 'they would never come here again.' I would hope a member of the emergency services would never be that unprofessional. If the ES are required at a location, they will generally make sure they get access to it when needed. Ambulances are relatively small, how does your oil/gas/coal truck get in to your house for deliveries?

Zambia

Maphisto wrote: »

I would imagine its a question of cost. It sounds as if the bohereen is a considerable length. The cost will be high. Bear in mind that the OP rents this property and will never own these improvements.

Granted but if that is the case it's a choice the op is making and as such has to be prepared to accept the ramifications of such a choice.

It's not like the ambulance won't come but it's no use to you if you need to be rushed to hospital and the unit is stuck at the end of your lane way.

Maphisto

Zambia wrote: »

Granted but if that is the case it's a choice the op is making and as such has to be prepared to accept the ramifications of such a choice.

It's not like the ambulance won't come but it's no use to you if you need to be rushed to hospital and the unit is stuck at the end of your lane way.

Maybe, but choices are frequently dictated by circumstance or by choices we made 10 or 20 years ago. We don't really know the OP's situation, they may well not have many options.

Graces7

ratracer wrote: »

There is something very wrong with this statement and this thread. I don't believe for one minute a member of the ambulance service told you 'they would never come here again.' I would hope a member of the emergency services would never be that unprofessional. If the ES are required at a location, they will generally make sure they get access to it when needed. Ambulances are relatively small, how does your oil/gas/coal truck get in to your house for deliveries?

Updating this and thank you all for input. I don;t get anything delivered here, period, except An Post. I bring coal up two or three bags at a time in my small car and that is fine No oil or gas here! So there is nothing suspect going on. We are still waiting on the court system to sort out the mess up here. I would not want any es vehicle to get damaged or endangered and they have stated they will not come up here again. The lane is very narrow and rutted. The Gardai have had to be involved for various reasons and are very well aware of the ongoing problems. Deeply grateful to them for their kindness. So I am hoping now that I never need an ambulance again. I certainly will never ask again.

chrysagon

You would probably get a pizza delivered quicker to your door than any other services!!

Graces7

Maphisto wrote: »

Maybe, but choices are frequently dictated by circumstance or by choices we made 10 or 20 years ago. We don't really know the OP's situation, they may well not have many options.

Access was viable when I came here and this is my home and with rent allowance etc needed no choice.

Graces7

chrysagon wrote: »

You would probably get a pizza delivered quicker to your door than any other services!!

Oh indeed yes. although the ambulance was very fast in March...thankfully I never ask delivery of anything.. unless it comes by An Post, forget it

Graces7

Del2005 wrote: »

You need to get your landlord to sort out the access to his property and don't bother with the gate at the end of the lane, land litigation is a great game for solicitors only. When the road is being resurfaced it won't be a big job to create access and it'll be needed for the resurfacing trucks anyway. Are you or the LL taking the small claims case?

It's not just rural areas that have access issues for emergency vehicles. With our stupid planning laws not allowing enough car parking spaces people park everywhere and the fire engine turn about at the end of most estate roads fits loads of cars, so people can have an empty driveway!

Court case adjourned yet again.. small claims case got bogged down because seen as a part of the wider issues.The Judge was grand but hands tied.. I am fine re not calling anyone. I know they have a duty of care but do not want anyone put in danger, period.

Markcheese

At the local ambulance station last year I saw a 4x4 ambulance (landrover defender) ,didn't look like it was used much - (May not have even been a HSE ambulance) . I looked in the back and it certainly looked basic- space for a stretcher and not much else-
I wonder what the logistics of calling out this ambulance are- who makes the decision to send the landrover , would have though it'd be used as a Shuttle vehicle ,to get the patient to the road-

Graces7

Markcheese wrote: »

At the local ambulance station last year I saw a 4x4 ambulance (landrover defender) ,didn't look like it was used much - (May not have even been a HSE ambulance) . I looked in the back and it certainly looked basic- space for a stretcher and not much else-
I wonder what the logistics of calling out this ambulance are- who makes the decision to send the landrover , would have though it'd be used as a Shuttle vehicle ,to get the patient to the road-

I had thought of that but they dont have one locally. It is a real need in deep rural areas. I have seen a smaller car like ambulance in the next county... Oh I omitted that the statement of the ambulance people that they will not attend up here was made again to a reliable third party who will bear witness to that if need be.. Ah well! Over and out!

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Ambulances won't refuse to go somewhere they are needed in an emergency. And where ambulances physically can't get (say on a mountain) isn't the injured person airlifted in that instance? So nobody will be left without recieving help.

Small roads and farm entrances are tricky for ambulances for sure, I think the biggest obstacle sometimes being actually finding the lane/house.

limericklad87

Graces7 wrote: »

Oh I omitted that the statement of the ambulance people that they will not attend up here was made again to a reliable third party who will bear witness to that if need be.. Ah well! Over and out!

Maybe they are referring to the a physical ambulance not coming up to you....