01/03/2018

A message from the HSE in Cork and Kerry.

The HSE in Cork and Kerry would like to thank the public for their understanding and assistance at a time when severe weather has impacted on the health services.

There has been a significant impact on services today, and that will continue tomorrow.

In particular, staff will not be outdoors or travelling from 4pm today until at least midday tomorrow while the Red Weather Alert for blizzards is in place.

Every effort has been made to ensure that vulnerable people in the community have received visits by public health nurses and home helps in the hours running up to 4pm.

We would ask people to continue to check on older and vulnerable members of the community where it is safe to do so – bearing in mind that everyone should take shelter from 4pm today.

Chair of the HSE Crisis Management Team Ger Reaney said:

“We’d like to pay tribute to our staff working in difficult circumstances. We know that medical staff have reported early for work and have slept on-site to make sure that rosters are covered. Home helps and public health nurses have been able to make priority calls earlier today, in some cases thanks to the help of the Defence Forces and voluntary defence forces. The dedication of our staff has meant that we have been able to keep the most vulnerable members of the community safe and well. We’d now like to remind everyone, staff and public alike, that they should be safely at home by 4pm and remain there.”

The HSE Department of Public Health would like to remind the public of the importance of staying warm during the cold weather.

There is extensive advice on https://www.winterready.ie/en/guides/health

The regional director of Public Health for the region, Dr. Augustine Pereira has summarised the advice as possible:

·         Stay indoors

·         Keep at least one room heated to 18 degrees

·         Eat well and keep active

·         Be mindful of risk of slips, trips and falls

For those with a life-threatening emergency, the emergency services on 999 or 112 remains the appropriate point of contact.

All updates about HSE services, locally and nationally, will appear on hse.ie/weatherupdates. Follow @HSELive on Twitter for updates.

ENDS