A fundraising campaign has been established in west Waterford for the procurement of a new state-of-the-art critical emergency medical response vehicle, amid a rise in road and farm accidents across the county.
The new initiative, led by a Dungarvan-based volunteer group, aims to enhance emergency medical services in the region, ensuring advanced A&E emergency pre-hospital care is swiftly delivered throughout a very large mostly rural 100 square mile area.
The voluntary group intends to raise over €150,000, with the objective of acquiring and operating an emergency vehicle equipped with advanced medical facilities, which would have the capacity to bring the A&E to the scene of an accident.
The rapid response vehicle will be able to respond to incidents like cardiac arrest, road traffic collisions, workplace and farming accidents.
Fundraising campaign
It will enable a volunteer doctor to provide lifesaving treatment at the scene while an ambulance is on the way.
Donations will fund the vehicle’s conversion to an emergency vehicle and essential medical equipment, enabling the volunteer doctor to provide lifesaving treatment to patients.
The rapid vehicle will cover west Waterford, the Copper Coast, along with the Comeragh Mountains and surrounding areas.
The fundraising team is reported to have started negotiations with a medical response charity that has already two emergency vehicles covering the eastern half of the county.
Once funds have been raised, it is expected that Waterford will be the first county in Ireland to be covered for three of the critical emergency medical response vehicles.
Michael Ryan who chairs the ‘Rapid Response Vehicle for West Waterford’ group said the vehicle would undoubtedly make a profound difference to the lives of the people in west Waterford.
“This region is mostly rural, with a lot of farmers working on their own and served by a predominantly poor road network,” he said.