Emergency Services Ireland E-LEARNING MODULE IS CRITICAL FOR AMBULANCE STAFF UCC LEADS RESEARCH TO TEST EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS RAPID RESPONSE TO IRISH AID RECRUITMENT DRIVE AGSI BACKS NEW AUTHORITY TO POLICE THE GARDAI issue 48 21 3 NEWS UPDATE 63 INCIDENT RECORDING SYSTEM 21 CRITICAL INCIDENT Cork City Fire Brigade is the first emergency STRESS services agency in Ireland to purchase a The first eLearning module on Critical new incident recording and management Incident Stress Awareness Training, recently information system, following the launch of launched by the National Ambulance Service the ‘IRS Plus’, which has been designed for CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management) all fire and rescue services/mission critical Committee, aims to deliver a high standard services worldwide. of training to all members of the National Ambulance Service at all grades. 67 GP EMERGENCY CARE 35 A pre-hospital immediate medical care 27 EXTRICATION & TRAUMA training initiative is providing GPs and GP Carlow Fire & Rescue Service and Laois Registrars with updated and best practice Fire Service were the overall winners in both emergency care protocols, as well as the ‘RTC Extrication’ and ‘Trauma’ categories at confidence to deliver the practical skills this year’s National Extrication Challenge in necessary to implement them. Bray, Co. Wicklow. 71 SPECIAL REPORT 35 CFOA CONFERENCE An emergency homeless centre, opened by Fire officers, academics, industry experts Dublin Civil Defence earlier this year, has 45 and government and local government been forced to close its doors due to a lack officials from home and abroad will come of available resources. The Government together to discuss and debate ‘Leading is now planning to provide a sustainable the Fire Service of the Future’ at this year’s housing-led approach to homelessness. Chief Fire Officers’ Association conference on 7-8 May in Naas, Co. Kildare. 77 POLICING CONFERENCE Factors that contribute to confidence in 37 EMS IRELAND GATHERING policing were discussed during a recent EMS Gathering Ireland, which returns conference hosted by the Northern Ireland to Killarney in mid-May, will focus on Policing Board in Belfast. In light of events ‘Trauma, Education and Leadership’, for within An Garda Síochána lately, there have doctors, paramedics, nurses and voluntary been calls to set up a similar body for the 71 practitioners involved in the patient’s journey Gardaí. from roadside to recovery. 83 ‘RESPOND 2014’ REPORT 39 MOUNTAIN RESCUE Community first responders hope to save Mountain rescue teams across Ireland are 200 lives from cardiac arrest within the next seeking a change to European legislation year, delegates were told at ‘RESPOND that would harmonise VAT exemption for all 2014’ – the first national conference for search and rescue teams. community first responders which was held in Tullamore, Co. Offaly in March. 45 EMERGENCY RESPONSE UCC is leading an international consortium 99 UK-IRELAND MOUNTAIN that has secured €3.5 million in EU research RESCUE CONFERENCE funding to standardise procedures in crisis Workshops on water rescue techniques, management. The three-year project aims trauma counselling, search management 77 to develop new decision support systems skills and mountain recovery vehicles will emergency planning, preparedness, feature at the UK & Irish Mountain Rescue response and recovery across borders. Conference on 12-14 September in the Scottish Highlands. 53 RAPID RESPONSE CORPS Following Irish Aid’s 2014 recruitment 100 ARMED FORCES DAY campaign for the Rapid Response Corps, 23 Northern Ireland’s Armed Forces Day, taking individuals have been selected to undergo a place on 21 June in Newtownards, Co. two-week training course in May before they Down, has become a major feature on the are invited to join the roster for deployment calendar north and south. to overseas aid missions. Emergency Services Ireland 1 issue 48 128 108 Emergency Services Ireland E-LEARNING MODULE IS CRITICAL FOR state-of-the-art equipment and technology AMBULANCE STAFF 101 CRITICAL HEALTHCARE by leading transportation and emergency Critical Healthcare’s €5 million contract UCC LEADS RESEARCH TO TEST to provide emergency and non-emergency services providers. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS medical products and services to the HSE RAPID RESPONSE TO IRISH AID National Ambulance Service will provide 133 MEDICAL VILLAGE RECRUITMENT DRIVE cost savings of over 30 per cent across the Barringtons Hospital in Limerick could be AGSI BACKS NEW AUTHORITY the foundation for what its medical director TO POLICE THE GARDAI 90-plus ambulance stations nationwide. Paul O’Byrne describes as a medical village 107 IRISH GUIDE DOGS for the city centre. PUBLISHER The Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is looking for volunteers to run in the 137 SATELLITE NAVIGATION Patrick Aylward upcoming marathons in Dublin and Cork, Now in its 11th year, the European Satellite in addition to its own ‘Kinsale10’ run. Navigation Competition (ESNC) 2014 is EDITOR inviting participants across Europe to submit Grace Heneghan 108 OVERSEAS AID their ideas for new opportunities in the €100 Members of Dublin Fire Brigade have been billion satellite services market. GRAPHIC DESIGNER working with Action Trust Ireland to develop Catherine Doyle and improve training and resources of local 139 DISABLED CRIME VICTIMS A new study by the Irish Council for Civil ADMINISTRATION fire services in Lesotho, since the charity rolled out its first project there in 2011. Liberties has highlighted protection gaps for Anne-Marie Moran people with disabilities who become victims of crime. CIRCULATION 114 AVIATION AWARDS The inaugural Aviation Industry Awards will Lynda Garry be presented to those who have made an 141 CROSS-BORDER EXERCISE A multi-agency cross-border emergency Emergency Services Ireland outstanding contribution to Ireland’s aviation sector, at a special reception on 10 June in training exercise in Jonesborough, Co. 14 Upper Fitzwilliam Street Dublin. Armagh has tested operational command Dublin 2 and response from the responding agencies T: 01-6785165 125 COLLEGE OF PARAMEDICS to an extensive railway and multiple road traffic collision incident in the border area. F: 01-67851910 Pre-hospital care issues such as treatment techniques and procedures in haemorrhage E: [email protected] control, key steps in research projects 147 WORLD RESCUE W: www.emergency-services.ie and auditing of voluntary organisation CHALLENGE T: www.twitter.com/EmergencyIrlMag standards by the Pre-Hospital Emergency The Fire Service College will join forces with the World Rescue Organisation to host the F:www.facebook.com/ Care Council formed the basis of a recent ‘Scientific Day’ organised by the Irish ‘World Rescue Challenge 2014’ in the UK emergencyservicesireland College of Paramedics. on 9-12 October for rescue and medical personnel to share rescue science and Whilst every effort has been made to 128 CHILDREN’S AMBULANCE technology ideas. ensure that the information included in The world’s first interactive ambulance correct, the publisher cannot accept service, designed to make hospital journeys 150 UK NEWS responsibility for errors, omissions or more about fun and less traumatic for young discrepancies. The views expressed are no patients, has been gifted an assortment of 158 INTERNATIONAL NEWS necessarily those of the publisher. All Rights Reserved Emergency Services Ireland © 2014 ‘FOLLOW’ us on Twitter @EmergencyIrlMag or ‘LIKE’ our Facebook Page www.facebook.com/emergencyservicesireland Emergency Services Ireland 3 NEWS UPDATE RNLI’S ‘MAYDAY APPEAL’ CALLS OUT FOR VOLUNTEERS he RNLI is appealing for volunteers in Ireland buy new crew kit, or contribute towards the running to help with ‘MAYDAY’ from 1 to 5 May. The costs of a lifeboat station. For further information and to Tcharity’s forthcoming national fundraising event volunteer visit www.rnli.org/Mayday or call hopes to exceed the €114,000 raised last year. 01-8951837. The charity is calling on people to show their support by volunteering to help with street collections and a range of other fundraising events, which will be taking place across Ireland during the five days. Events will have a ‘welly’ theme, in a nod to the iconic yellow wellies – worn by the RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew members. Last year, RNLI lifeboat crews from Ireland’s 44 lifeboat stations launched 1,087 times, rescuing 1,278 people. They are on-call 24/7, every day of the year, ready to respond to emergencies at sea. Emma Gibson, RNLI Community Fundraising Area Manager, says: “We hope people will volunteer a bit of their time to help run some of the great fun events Pictured with Lough Ree RNLI crew for the five days spanning the Mayday bank holiday member Stan Bradbury are from left, Evie weekend.” Hodges, Naomi Pickard and Ben Jordan. All money raised will be used to fund crew training, LIFESAVING FOUNDATION CONFERENCE he 2014 Lifesaving Foundation Drowning Prevention and Rescue Conference will take place in Bracken Court Hotel, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin Tfrom 30 September to 2 October. General details are available on www.lifesavingfoundation.ie. The key topic will address the ‘Handbook on Drowning (Second Edition)’ which is due for publication. The handbook contains over 1,200 pages of specific detail on all aspects of drowning prevention, rescue and treatment; authored by over 200 world experts. Lifesaving Foundation Honorary CEO John Connolly said that a hard copy of the handbook costs over €200, adding that some papers can be quite technical. “Working with the editor we aim to have a group of experts present the key points in plain language understandable by the general rescue community,” Connolly told ‘Emergency Services Ireland’. INDIVIDUAL POST CODES DUE FOR DELIVERY BY 2015 mergency services are will join other European countries, finally to benefit from a new which have used postcodes for Eunique national post code decades. But this country will be the system, due to go live in early 2015, first in the world to have a unique following the recent announcement postcode for each individual address.