Page 27 - Signal Summer 2018

| EMERGENCY RESPONSE |

Improvisation in action. The view Stranded ambulance fleet at Wexford
from the cabin of the JCB that 2nd General Hospital. Photo: 2nd Lt P.Tobin.
Lt Tobin travelled to Wexford in on
the most severe day of the storm.
Photo: 2nd Lt Patrick Tobin.

service, but with the ‘red’ warnings in place, neither of all available plant and manpower were tasked to clear the
these were an option. With dialysis patients requiring a roads to the hospital. With the hospital as the main effort
possible trip to the emergency room should they miss (ME) and Wexford county council buildings nearby, the
their appointments, they were of a high concern to the National Ambulance Service (NAS) base in the hospital
HSE, with the anticipated high demand of the ambulance grounds was the only option for setting up a temporary
service in the coming days meaning that their safety base of operations while remaining in close coopera-
could become a serious issue. Our 4x4s and drivers tion with the local agencies via the Regional Emergency
were accordingly tasked for this and we in Wexford RDF Management Coordination Committee. Being co-located
barracks headed home with our plans made for Friday. with the NAS allowed us to coordinate our response more
efficiently. While initially our role was going to be patient
Friday and staff transfers, it was clear that the ambulances were
On Friday morning, with conditions deteriorating rap- becoming totally ineffective in these conditions and our
idly, it was apparent we’d have an issue completing the role would soon change to providing ambulance cover.
plan. It soon dawned on us that there was now next to In one instance I could see four ambulances stranded in
no viable plan as three foot of snow with five foot drifts the snow from the third floor offices of Wexford hospital.
for most of County Wexford was not built into any existing In liaison with the Operations Cell in Kilkenny and local
plan. It looked like nothing was going to be moving. And if liaison with the NAS and HSE it was decided to transfer
we were to be any use to the people of Wexford, we were necessary medical equipment to our 4x4s along with
going to have to think outside the box. their crews. All the while a 6x6 Scania ROPs was making
the long, slow journey from Kilkenny, eventually arriving
I hitched a lift with a local plant hire contractor in his 4 and half hours later, it is normally an hour and a half
JCB to Wexford as all other forms of transport were out journey. With three Jeeps and a ROPs the taskings from
of the question. Our troops had to be similarly imagina- the Ambulance service that had been stacking up since
tive in getting to work that morning. Though the experi- early Friday morning were finally starting to be completed.
ence of fitting chains in a real life scenario was new to Chest pains, slips on ice, asthma attacks and ventilator
our 4x4 drivers, they all managed it and made their way failures due to power outages were all some of the issues
to our new rendezvous point, Wexford General Hospital. that required our response throughout the Friday and into
Roads into Wexford Town were totally impassable and the Saturday.

38 | | SUMMER ‘18 |