Putting your arms around community
WHILE everyone has been trying to do their bit to ease pressure on healthcare workers during the pandemic crisis, a hardy bunch of volunteers have been helping out quietly for years, delivering essential equipment on behalf of the HSE.
The volunteers carry out up to 100 deliveries a week, taking vital incontinence supplies to hundreds of clients all over the town.
‘It used to be done by the HSE, but when they moved from the Haymarket, they couldn’t continue, so we inherited it instead,” explains Tony McKeon, one of the team who undertook the project. “We started trialling it in 2017, and we now deliver as far as Dunleer, Collon, Ardee and Clogherhead, and at this stage, know every client and their prescription off by heart, so they look forward to us coming.”
Tony is part of the vast crew of volunteers at Drogheda and District Support 4 Older People (DDS4OP) and works with Dave Turner, Jackie Crinion, Paddy McCleery, Angela Gartland, Dolores Collier, Anthony McGahey. Eamon Cooney, Christy Kieran, William Redmond and Anthony Lynch to keep the supplies on the road.
“We don’t just deliver to the elderly, but also to children and young people too, and since the lockdown, the restrictions have made it harder to deliver, as we have fewer people and we can only visit one person at a time,” says Tony, who was a logistics manager for Coca Cola before his retirement.
“We have a good system going, with Jackie assembling the orders on Sunday and Monday, Eamon on Tuesday, and Paddy on Wednesday and we deliver on Mondays, Tuesdays and
Thursdays,” he explains. “The deliveries were sometimes done for three months at a time, and the storage was very bulky, and if the prescription changed in between, there was a huge amount of wastage, so this works out better for everyone.”
Dave Turner is the co-ordinator of the project, and is one of the founders of the Drogheda and District Support 4 Older People group, which is behind the service.
“We are on of the first joint operations with the HSE, and are particularly proud of that fact, and that they approached us when they simply didn’t have the facilities to do it themselves,” explains Dave.
“We have about 450 customers, and this gives us a huge amount of contact with people in the community, that we might not normally meet, so it allows us to see how people are doing in general, and we often pick up on things like loneliness and isolation too.”
The service used to be a once-weekly collection at their storage and distribution depot in Greenhills, which is paid for by HSE funding, and donations.
“Until this pandemic started, 95% of the stock was picked up by the users or their family members on a Thursday, but now we are on the road with our van four or five days a week, and we are only 12 volunteers, doing 80 to 100 deliveries per week, so it is a huge operation,” he adds.
“But to be honest, it means we are getting to know the customers better, and they learn about our others services, like Care and Repair, and if they don’t have anyone else to help them with their gardens or odd jobs arouund the house, we can sort something for them.
It’s like putting your arms around the community.”
The service extends outside the town, and they have a rural route too, with extra volunteers coming on board in recent weeks to help with the demand.
“People have been coming down in their cars to help us out, and we are very grateful for that, as we have found ourselves really busy because of this crisis,” says Dave.“A few weeks ago the lads from the Boyne Fishermen Rescue and Recovery Service helped us out too, and it’s the sign of a real community effort.”
The DDS4OP only delivers the supplies and can’t organise someone to be added to the route.
“It is in conjunction with the HSE, so the clients are organised through the community nurse, who looks after contacting is and adding the person,” explains Dave.
“But we love seeing new faces, young or old, and are happy to keep delivering what we can, especially during these difficult times.”
Dave has also just received delivery of a second Trisaw from the Drogheda Lions Club, so when the restrictions are further lifted, they will be able to visit nursing homes and bring older people for a much-needed spin in the fresh air! For more details on DDS4OP, see www. DDS4OP.com.