Ambulance cover hampered

AMBULANCE staff had to use a 4x4 service vehicle to get to work so they could provide full emergency cover as Londonderry froze and demands on the ambulance service soared over the past month.

Battling sub-zero temperatures, ambulance staff also fought personal difficulties - including injuring themselves in falls - to ensure they were there for others in need as the Arctic conditions tightened its grip on the North West.

A number of staff fought the pain of cracked ribs due to falls on the ice and snow, yet amazingly only one member of staff had to take time off - the staff member had broken their wrist.

At present a large volume of calls to the Ambulance Service based at the Altnagelvin Depot include those who have sustained fractures from falls.

"We are having difficulties on the roads, as you can understand," said Station Officer Sammy Nicholl, adding: "We cannot treat roads any differently, we have to treat them with respect, and treat other road users with respect and not put their lives in danger if we are on an emergency call. We also cannot put staff members' lives in danger, but the problem comes when we move off the main roads and into the housing estates, because a lot of the estates are not gritted and once we try to move a patient from home we encounter the problems that everyone else has encountered with the treacherous condition of the footpaths."

Mr Nicholl said pavements in particular were the biggest concern for staff, because of the lack of gritting or salting.

"Once we come out of people's houses that's when our problems really start, particularly when we are trying to get people into the back of the ambulances.

"Some of the roads in and around the housing estates are also very treacherous. This is particularly true in the early hours of the morning and late at night when it starts to freeze.

"Rural areas are something different again because the roads are not gritted and there can be as much as four inches of ice on them which is impacted. We have ordinary vehicles the same as any other commercial vehicle, so we are having difficulty getting through the countryside.

"The lack of gritting in rural areas is definitely impacting on us. Rural areas are considerably more difficult to get through, and we have had some of our staff who live in rural areas and we have had to use our 4x4 vehicle to bring them into work, which shows you their level of dedication to their jobs and to serving the public," he said, adding: "I have to commend the staff for their job they are doing despite the past three weeks or more really bad weather. They are really dedicated professionals and it just shows that their primary aim is to assist the public at all times."

He added: "We have had a few of our own staff members slipping and falling, cracking ribs and bruised while they have been out at work, and we have one off presently with a fractured wrist but that injury did not occur while they were at work. We have seen a higher number than normal for this time of year of people having falls and fracturing bones, and we have also attended where people have fallen and sustained quite nasty head injuries.

"We have also experienced a large number of calls to patients with chest complaints and breathing difficulties as you can imagine with the cold weather. But, as with other callouts, the difficulties arise moving patients from their homes out to the ambulance where the footpaths aren't gritted," he said.