Open Door staff delivering PPE
STAFF members at Open Door were delighted to have been called upon to deliver PPE to nursing homes and other facilities.
They are also helping the HSE with delivery and collection of test kits in Wicklow and Dublin.
‘We are in regular contact with all our members and volunteers each week,’ said fundraising coordinator Suzanne Cox. ‘ The social part is extremely important and the majority of our members are cocooning.’
The day centre on Vevay Road has been closed since midMarch and the staff members available to do any tasks required.
‘Last Friday a team of us went out,’ said Suzanne, who said that they are on call when required. ‘We used three buses and four of our cars to pick up stock from Clonskeagh and deliver it to various locations.’
There was just one person in each vehicle, with the rest of the space used for PPE. ‘We did another small run on Monday and another on Tuesday,’ said Suzanne. ‘We are helping the HSE whenever we can and are very happy to do it.’
THE Bray unit of the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps has prepared and mobilised volunteers to support the HSE, ambulance service and council during the current healthcare emergency.
The Order of Malta is one of the largest providers of first aid and voluntary ambulance services in Ireland and is listed as a ‘Voluntary Emergency Services’ resource available to the HSE under the Framework for Major Emergency Management.
Officer in charge in Bray Bernard Hayden said that volunteers in the Bray unit have competed more than 250 man hours of front-line services on Covid-19 related activities.
‘Our volunteers have been co-ordinating requests from the HSE, local county councils and government agencies all over the country,’ said Bernard. Crews have been providing services such as transporting Covid-19 patients to and from assessment centres, hospitals and isolation facilities, taking them as far as Galway during the course of their duties.
‘We are also delighted to provide non-urgent transportation to and from hospital appointments, shopping and pharmacy collections,’ said Bernard. ‘We are also proud of our cadets who have shown their support in the recent national “Shine your Light” campaign for our front line heroes.’
He said that all volunteers use PPE, and the vehicle is decontaminated after each use, which can take up to an hour.
They are trained to the same standard as the national ambulance service, Bernard said. Over the last number of weeks there was at lease one crew out each day, with two crews out last Thursday.
There are around 50 adult volunteers attached to the Bray unit of the Order of Malta, with not all of those people able to be on the roster at this time. Fundraising efforts and opportunities for donations to support their charitable activities have been seriously curtailed. They are asking for support to help them to expand and continue their activities in the community at this critical time.
Donations can be made on gofundme.com, under Bray Order of Malta Covid-19 Appeal.
Otherwise, the Bray unit can be contacted on 01 4303980, or bray@orderofmalta.ie.