Delivering Medical Support in Challenging Environments
Friday 29 January 2010
Farmleigh House in Dublin was the location this week for a cross border seminar on providing emergency medical assistance in adverse environments, and particularly timely given the current disaster in Haiti. Attendees at the seminar, which included medical, nursing and other health professionals from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, had the opportunity to hear at first hand, the experiences of a range of internationally recognised medical practitioners. Many of the speakers have worked in adverse conditions including humanitarian relief operations, natural disasters and UN supported peace operations. The range of topics delivered covered the management of pandemics, medical support to UN missions, trauma management at the point of injury, medical emergency response and massive transfusion protocols.
Over the last decade there has been an upward global trend in natural disaster occurrence, mainly due to weather related hazards such as flooding, droughts and other climate related events1
The seminar, organised by the cross border health services partnership, Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT), was officially opened by the Minister for Health and Children, Ms Mary Harney. Commenting on the successful event, she said: “Today’s seminar is not only a significant learning opportunity, it also allows us to build and strengthen cross border relationships between health care professionals who work diligently in emergency medicine in both jurisdictions. We can achieve much more by working together across the island of Ireland than by working in isolation. Much can be gained by sharing knowledge, skills and experience for the benefit of our both own and international communities when emergencies and disasters strike.”
Director General of CAWT, Colm Donaghy, commenting on the event said: “Training seminars like this are extremely important because they enable our doctors and health care professionals to be better prepared for medical emergency situations. Today’s seminar is just part of the work of the CAWT cross border partnership, which comprises the health services in both jurisdictions, including the Health Service Executive. Our role is to improve access to health services and to facilitate greater integration between both health services in the border area.”
Speakers at the event include Dr Gerry Glynn, Consultant Microbiologist and Infection Prevention and Control doctor, WHSCT; Anthony Corcoran, Deputy Director, Irish Medical Corps; Dr Neal Gillespie, GP, North Yorkshire; Dr Andy Griffiths, Consultant Anaesthetist, James Cooke University Hospital, Middlesex; Dr Rob Dawes, Dept of Anaesthesia/Pre-hospital Care, Southampton; Prof. Aidan Halligan, Chief of Safety at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals; Dr Alan Mistlin, Consultant in Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Medicine, Headley Court, Surrey.
Ends….
Contacts
Sadie Bergin
Communications Manager, Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT)
Tel: 028 71 272100 / 048 71 272100 (from Republic of Ireland)
Mob: 077 64204430 / 00 44 77 64204430 (from Republic of Ireland)
Email: sadie.bergin@westhealth.n-i.nhs.uk
Notes to Editor
1. Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT) is a cross border health and social care partnership comprising the border counties of the Health Service Executive in the Republic of Ireland and the Southern and Western Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland. The Health and Social Care Board and the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland are also partners. CAWT is managing a range of cross border health and social care programmes, part financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund through the INTERREG IVA cross-border Programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.
2. Since 2007 CAWT has co-ordinated three separate major medical emergency planning exercises in the border region which provided the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and the Republic of Ireland’s National Ambulance Service with practical opportunities to work together so that their readiness for a real medical emergency is further enhanced.