A mother who made a 999 call for an ambulance for her critically ill baby was told to "keep your hair on" by the operator, the Ombudsman reported. The woman lodged a complaint after she was connected to the Garda rather than the ambulance service when she dialled the emergency number last May. She also claimed the Telecom Eireann operator had dealt with her in an abrupt fashion and that she had to redial the number to be connected to the correct service.
Her baby, who had developed serious breathing difficulties, died later in hospital, although the delay was not a contributory factor.
The Ombudsman sought and received an apology for the poor standard of service. Telecom Eireann also agreed to make a donation of £5,000 to the Irish Sudden Infant Death Association in recognition of the distress caused to the family.
The case was one of 262 received by the Ombudsman last year against Telecom Eireann, a drop of almost 90 from 1996.