Ulster Unionist Health spokesperson, Jo-Anne Dobson MLA, has called for an urgent review of the systems and protocols in place following news that 999 calls are being diverted following a phone fault at the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.
Mrs Dobson said:
“I am deeply concerned to hear that a fault occurred causing calls to the 999 service to be diverted. The immediate focus is on the reinstatement of normal service, but after that we need an urgent investigation into how this happened and where the failure occurred.
“This is a critical service and it is up to the Health Minister to get across this as a matter of urgency to stop it happening again. Urgent answers are needed as lives could be put at risk.
“I have written to the Chief Executive of the Ambulance Service, Liam McIvor, asking for an update on the service protocols and any third party contract which exists given the life-critical nature of the 999 service.”