Status Orange alert: Temperatures drop to -5.8C as forecasters warn freezing spell ‘isn’t going anywhere’
Irish Red Cross helping patients and emergency services during adverse weather
Since Sunday, Irish Red Cross volunteers have been providing services in the severe weather-affected areas of Cork, Limerick, Kerry, Tipperary, Laois, Donegal, Wicklow, Waterford, Wexford and South County Dublin.
The Irish Red Cross expects it will have deployed up to 140 volunteers over the period of the severe weather alert, operating 15 of its four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicles, including ambulances from its national fleet of community support vehicles.
They have been supporting people in difficult-to-access locations or where road conditions are challenging, including 84 transports at the request of National Ambulance Service (NAS) and HSE.
These include four dialysis patient transports and transport for five essential procedures for home-care patients in hilly, hard to access places.
It also includes two transports of essential healthcare staff to work (paramedics and theatre nurses) to ensure services continue uninterrupted, 72 transports of discharged patients from acute hospital to home or nursing homes and the transfer of patients from hospital wards and emergency departments and patient transport to hospital.
Where resources allow, they are assisting elderly and vulnerable people by bringing essential supplies to those in need.
Irish Red Cross volunteers have also assisted emergency services to respond to calls from stranded motorists in a number of locations, including the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue team in the upland snow-bound Wicklow Mountains.
This includes disaster and emergency response, health and well-being, and supports for displaced people and migrants. Over the busy festive period the Irish Red Cross, together with the Order of Malta and St John’s Ambulance has been supporting the National Ambulance Service by providing patient transfers to other care settings and bringing home discharge-ready patients in an effort to free up acute hospital beds in response to the surge of influenza cases.
Secretary General of the Irish Red Cross, Deirdre Garvey said conditions in North Cork, Tipperary, East Limerick and up into the midlands remain “extremely challenging”.
“Travel time for tasks has easily doubled if not tripled on some routes. Our crews are prioritising support for the HSE with time-sensitive patient requests such as dialysis.
“We have incredible volunteers in the Irish Red Cross who are dedicated to helping others. Many of our volunteers are in full-time employment and use their time rostered off to support the community,” she said.
“From driving our ambulances or treating injuries to helping people whose homes or businesses have been destroyed by storm damage or those who’ve arrived in Ireland seeking safety, our volunteers use their skills, passion and kindness to help people when they need it most. We are hugely grateful to them.”
