PICTURES: HSE Mid-West thanks voluntary emergency services for support during severe weather events

The support of colleagues in the Defence Forces was also recognised for their assistance to the HSE during these events in January 2025.

The following voluntary emergency services and partner organisations were thanked by the HSE at a special event at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Limerick:

• Clare Civil Defence
• Galway Civil Defence
• Irish Coast Guard
• Irish Red Cross
• Limerick Civil Defence
• Order of Malta
• Tipperary Civil Defence

Statutory agencies such as the region’s three local authorities and An Garda Síochána were also acknowledged for their ongoing support.

 In January 2025, the HSE Mid West experienced two severe weather events, starting with an eight-day period of extreme cold and snow starting on January 3rd. This was followed by Storm Eowyn, a red level windstorm on January 24th.

Both events caused significant disruption to health services due to the initial weather-related impacts and the damage in the aftermath. Some of the effects included hazardous road conditions, disruptive or limited travel, power outages, water supply issues, and interruptions to communications systems. Impact on services included deferral of services and procedures due to the severity of the weather events.

However, with the support of the VESs and the Defence Forces, first responders provided transport to patients as well as staff into areas where, without these volunteers, critical services would not have been provided in the community.

During the protracted snow event, these organisations assisted with the transportation of 201 priority patients and 479 staff in key frontline roles. As well as ensuring staff were at work to deliver essential services during the worst of the weather, these volunteers and partners ensured care was delivered to vulnerable service users who required treatment in hospital (e.g dialysis) or in the community (intensive home support for older persons and mental health service users, antibiotics at home, wound care etc). House calls in the community ranged from newborn infant screening to supporting service users up to 100 years old.

During the severe weather events, HSE structures for crisis management were stood up by Regional Executive Officer, Ms Sandra Broderick. These included the Regional Crisis Management Team and the Severe Weather Transport Group (SWTG), who oversee exceptional requests for transport to ensure the most urgent services can continue to be delivered.

Speaking at the event, Ms Niamh Wallace, Head of Service, Health and Wellbeing, and Chair of the Severe Weather Transport Group, HSE Mid West, said: “The severe weather events of January 2025 presented significant challenges for the HSE in terms of service continuity, staffing and logistics. HSE Mid West and our interagency partners plan for and regularly train for such events through our major emergency planning structures. Despite the significant challenges presented by the severe weather events of January 2025, it is a tribute to everyone involved in the response that no adverse event was reported relating to a delay in access to healthcare. A major part in this success was the essential role played by our partners in the voluntary emergency services, who we are so pleased to welcome here tonight.”

Ms Wallace said the snow event in particular had been protracted in nature and varied in impact across the region, with the road network compromised in localised areas for up to seven days. As care delivered in the community and in the home grows in volume and in complexity in line with Slaintecare, the severe weather events of January 2025 provided valuable experience on how agencies will respond in the future.

Maria Bridgeman, Integrated Healthcare Area Manager, Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary, HSE Mid West presented a plaque to representatives from each of the eight voluntary emergency services and partner organisations thanked on the night.

“We are fortunate in the Mid West to have built strong relationships with voluntary emergency services and with colleagues in the Defence Forces. We worked well together during the weather events, showing the value of that partnership; and the experience of January 2025 has only strengthened these relationships further,” Ms Bridgeman said.

“It was heartening to see that the community spirit that is such a part of Irish life remains as active as ever. I want to acknowledge the help of local communities who assisted the HSE and our partners during the very worst of the weather last year, including members of the farming community who helped clear snow and transport staff from more remote and isolated areas.

“I wish to also acknowledge the commitment and dedication of staff across HSE Mid West services. These staff left their homes and families, travelled in hazardous conditions and, in some cases, resided in their workplaces, such as in care facilities, to ensure business continuity of essential services,” Ms Bridgeman added.