Eire – People who fall suddenly ill in rural Kerry, north Mayo, west Clare and south-west Donegal are more than an hour’s drive from a hospital A&E, new research has revealed.

The healthcare blackspots have been identified on maps which flag up gaps in access to services across the island of Ireland.

Among the worst places to live or work for quick emergency access are Kilkee, Co Clare at 69 minutes and nearby Lisdoonvarna at 59 minutes, while Belmullet on the north-west coast is a 68 minute drive and Templemore, Tipperary 45 minutes.

Professor Rob Kitchin, of NUI Maynooth, who drew up the mapping system, said it is as likely the figures will be used to dictate where cuts are made as to identify gaps in services. “It’s probably more likely to be used for where you rationalise rather than where you look to invest or develop,” he said.

Other regions with the worst records for travel time to emergency units staffed by a consultant include Monaghan, Omagh, Tipperary North, Leitrim and Roscommon. The most startling differences showed access to 24 hour hospital A&E takes on average 21 minutes in the Republic but just 16 minutes in Northern Ireland.

via The Press Association