Tipperary Air Ambulance Crash Report

Happy Heart Appeal In Thurles This Week

Anne Riordan representing the Irish Heart Foundation has asked us to mention that volunteers working for the Happy Heart Appeal are around Thurles all this week.

Heatons Homewares are generously supporting this event nationwide this year.

If you have some free time to volunteer and assist please do call Telephone No. 087 270 1689.

Existing local volunteers will be available to take your donation, however small, here in Thurles at the following locations:- Thurles Post Office, Tesco, Costcutters in Friar Street and at Thurles Shopping Centre. Donations are also being accepted at the Anner Hotel, Naomi’s Café Westgate and at your local chemist.

Anne wishes to thank all these locations for their co-operation and points out that donations are also accepted anytime online at irishheart.ie

If you have any concerns about heart or stroke problems please call Telephone No. 1890 432 787.

Mid-Western Regional Hospital 1,473 Outpatients Waiting

According to latest figures supplied by the Health Service Executive (HSE), over 5,600 patients in Limerick, which supplies health care services to North Tipperary, are waiting more than four years for an outpatient appointment.

There are 1,473 patients waiting at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle.

At the end of February, the Mid-Western Regional Orthopaedic Hospital in Croom had 4,148 patients waiting four years or more.

There were 105,632 patients waiting over a year for a first consultant outpatient appointment nationally across Ireland. The hospitals listed with the longest overall outpatient waiting were:- University College Hospital Galway with 41,035 patients, Waterford Regional with 28,625, Tallaght Hospital with 26,119, Limerick Regional with 23,098, Cork University Hospital with 22,944 and Beaumont Hospital with 22,206.

Meanwhile, plans for the new €14m healthcare facility in Balbriggan, North Co Dublin have now been granted planning permission by Fingal County Council today. You might remember that this centre came to national prominence last year after it emerged the Minister for Health Mr James Reilly added Balbriggan to a list of places chosen for primary care centres, after the final list had already been drawn up by the HSE.

In relation to some prescription medicines, Minister of State Alex White has revealed that for the country’s medical card holders, the number of prescriptions for Viagra has risen from 29,000 in 2000, to 115,00 in 2012. Viagra has cost the Irish taxpayer €28million under the general medical services scheme, since being introduced into Ireland in 1999.

Lar Corbett Admitted To Tipperary Hospital

Thurles Sarfields 2010 GAA hurling Star of the Year and Tipperary left corner-forward Lar Corbett was admitted to South Tipperary General Hospital, Clonmel, last night, as a precaution, to assess the possibility of two suspected broken ribs and possible kidney damage, following his outing in Nowlan Park, Kilkenny yesterday.

The Tipperary hurling great Corbett and Kilkenny star J.J. Delaney were both issued with straight red cards, around the 44th minute of the match, having become entangled in a serious off-the-ball altercation.

While it is unclear when Lar actually suffered these injuries, footage shown on TV, clearly demonstrated Delaney striking Corbett’s helmet, however this was possibly only part of a confrontation, which had begun earlier, as the pair pressed for match dominance.

The anticipation of a one-match ban for both players should see the players left out of their counties opening provincial games, against Offaly and Limerick, while the uncertainty now regarding Corbett’s future fitness will certainly raise concerns, during the weeks ahead.

Tipperary wish Lar a speedy recovery to full health.

Thurles Child Kicked In Head By Horse

RTE News report that a two-year-old boy was kicked in the head by a horse in Thurles last evening.

The child is understood to have been playing in the vicinity of the Rosemount Estate, Clongour, Thurles, when this incident happened at around 7.30pm yesterday.

The child was treated by ambulance personnel at the scene, before being airlifted to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick by the Coastguard Helicopter based at Shannon, latter having been summoned by the National Aero Medical Co-ordination Centre.

Thurles Gardaí, who can be contacted at Tel: 0504- 25100, are investigating the incident and would like to hear from any witnesses in the area at the time.

The condition of the child is as yet not known. Our thoughts are with the child’s family at this time.

Tipperary Air Ambulance Crash Report

A final report into the crash landing of an Air Ambulance helicopter near Borrisoleigh, in Tipperary, has established that the pilot & crew did not see power lines until too late to avoid a collision.

The helicopter had been responding to a call from a seriously ill patient, latter who was later transferred to hospital by road, when the collision happened on June 19th of last year.
The report by a special Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) was first published today. It shows that the pilot identified two parallel sets of overhead wires in the selected fields; however neither he nor the other crew members spotted another set of cables, on their final approach to land. Failure to do so resulted in the helicopter, which had 3 people on board at the time, striking the cables.

While a paramedic and a Garda on the ground had spotted the overhead cables, latter individuals had no direct communication to warn the pilot and this was considered a contributory cause.

The Air Ambulance was just airborne for some 20 minutes when the collision occurred and came down heavily in a field in the townsland of Currabaha, approximately 6 kilometres from the village of Borrisoleigh.

The pilot was complimented by witnesses on the ground for his controlled landing ability of the craft, which happened thankfully without any loss of life.