Pathfinder expands in the Mid-West

PATHFINDER, an initiative that aims to keep older people who phone emergency services out of hospital has now expanded to County Clare and North Tipperary.

The expansion of the Pathfinder programme will help ease some overcrowding concerns facing the University Hospital Limerick emergency department as the winter season approaches.

A partnership between the National Ambulance Service and the UL Hospitals Group, Pathfinder launched in Limerick in October 2022.

The Pathfinder rapid response team responds to low acuity 999/112 calls for older people (65 years and older). This may be someone who, for example, has experienced a fall at home or who is generally unwell.

The older person is assessed by both an advanced paramedic and an occupational therapist or a physiotherapist.

Almost 18,000 people without beds in University Hospital Limerick so far this year

The team supports the older person at home rather than transporting them to an ED, by linking with a wide range of alternative hospital and community services.

If the patient does require assessment in the ED, they will be brought directly to their nearest department.

One patient with direct experience of the Pathfinder service is Pa Buckley, 70, from Ballinacurra Weston in Limerick city, who lives with a number of health conditions including asthma and chronic inflammation.

“I have been lucky enough to have the Pathfinder team out to me more than once and I think they provide a great service. I have a few health conditions so I am used to going in and out of hospital. I always get great care in UHL but, like everyone else, I would prefer to stay at home if I could avoid it.

Pathfinder is currently expanding across the country and over the first eight months of 2023, a total of 2,874 ambulance calls have been referred to the Pathfinder teams.