Flying doctors land in
CLUBS AND organisations throughout County Wexford are being asked to help raise funds for a community air ambulance service, which will cost around €2m to operate.
The Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, which is expected to be up and running later this year, was launched with a simulated emergency rescue at Ferrybank in Wexford, which was organised by Irish Community Rapid Response, a charity set up in Cork 10 years ago to provide a volunteer ambulance service.
As a ‘casualty’ was taken from a crashed car, the Irish community air ambulance flew in with a doctor and paramedic on board to administer emergency treatment and airlift the patient to hospital.
The bright red helicopter also made a surprise visit to Ballymurn National School, where young pupils couldn’t contain their excitement as it hovered overhead and landed in front of their eyes, providing a welcome distraction on a mundane Monday morning.
The service described as a mobile intensive care unit staffed by qualified trauma doctors will cover eight counties in south Leinster and Munster, responding to medical emergencies and providing life-saving treatment at the scene.
Similar community air ambulance services are already operating successfully in the UK, including Wales.
The Wexford launch of Irish Community Air Ambulance was attended by Mayor of Wexford Cllr Frank Staples; Minister of State at the Department of Defence Paul Kehoe and the Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin. The Garda, Irish Coastguard, the Order of Malta and Civil Defence were also in attendance along with members of Wexford Motor Club who assisted in the staging of the simulated road accident rescue in Ferrybank which was watched by councillors, media representatives and members of the public. The CEO of Irish Community Rapid Response John Kearney briefed invited guests on the benefits of a ‘flying doctor service’, saying it is an undisputed fact that in the aftermath of a major incident or accident, timeing is key and outcomes are greatest when treatment can begin within the first hour, the ‘golden hour’. Mr Kearney set up the Cork-based charity Irish Community Rapid Response a decade ago to deliver a community ambulance service which is staffed by volunteer consultants and doctors and operated through the 999 service. It is intended that the air ambulance service will support the ground fleet of vehicles and 137 doctors around the country.
He said the service will work alongside the State’s ambulance service which is often faced with geographical challenges and demands that make it difficult at different times.
‘This is a much needed and necessary service thsat will impact on all those who live, work and travel in the coverage areas but it c an only succeed with the support of every member of the community,’ he said.
Irish Community Rapid Response started with a blue-light vehicle and one volunteer consultant doctor who travelled to the scenes of accidents and emergencies.
‘In the first 12 months we saved 12 lives. The following year, we save two lives a month. We expanded that with another doctor and another vehicle and today, we have 137 doctors working voluntarily around the county’, said the CEO.
‘ The majority are GP’s but others are consultants. We provide them with equipment. Now our busiest service is Dublin. It’s been phenomenally successful,’ he said.
That service will continue to operate but Irish Community Air Ambulance is now taking the service to the next level with a helicopter ambulance and making the voluntary service permanent, said Mr Kearney.
The ambulance will be based in Cork and will cover south Leinster and Munster, in a line across the country from Clare.
Mr Kearney said the service was established after a six-year-old girl called Niamh died due to the time it took for an ambulance to arrive.
Ann Kelly, who works with the