As we assess the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, it is obvious that the sustained loss of power for people with particular needs was not fully addressed. We witnessed a substantial disconnect between service providers and the communities they serve.
From the top of Government down, it is plain to see how poorly prepared we are for natural disasters. Speaking to the Taoiseach Micheál Martin as he visited a community hub in Castlerea, Rachel Connolly from Co Roscommon told him how she had been without power and water for days, and for the third time in the past year.
The Taoiseach told her he understood her points and that the National Emergency Co-ordination Group met every agency and every local authority, and that they all made resilience plans in advance of the storm. Ms Connolly replied: “With respect, Taoiseach, those plans didn’t work.”
[ Roscommon woman’s comments to Taoiseach were based ‘on frustration’Opens in new window ]
Which leads to an important question: what can we do in future to protect those who are medically vulnerable? Probably the first thing is to acknowledge that natural disasters pose a humanitarian crisis for certain groups. It is a label readily applied to recent events by a GP in Dunmore, Co Galway, as she described the situation in her practice which serves more than 3,000 patients.
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“This is a crisis situation in large swathes of the west of Ireland. This is becoming a humanitarian crisis. If you have no water, no electricity, no communications ... if you have limited access to medical care, that is essentially a humanitarian crisis. There is, in my opinion, huge inaction by our elected representatives,” Dr Catherine Sweeney told RTÉ‘s News at One. “We have had no communications from any officials or from the HSE. We’ve had no offer of assistance.”
Storm Éowyn has exposed a major lacuna between the HSE, Irish Water, the ESB and Civil Defence. We need fully resourced and staffed relief hubs ready to be unveiled when natural disasters occur. The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) is the core of the EU civil protection mechanism. It is available to help “upon request from the national authorities or a United Nations body”.
Did the Government activate this support mechanism in the wake of the recent storm? In any event, it seems the ERCC will have a role to play in Ireland now as its website states that “the centre can identify possible gaps … and propose how to cover these gaps through financial support from the EU”.
In terms of our most recent event, here is a list of those for whom a prolonged period of electric power breakdown causes a clear threat to their health and may even pose a risk to life:
- People with breathing problems that require home oxygen or the administration of regular nebulised medication. O2 condensers that extract oxygen from the air for people with end-stage lung disease enable them to live at home. And some patients rely on nebulised drugs to keep them from entering respiratory failure and requiring hospital admission.
- People who need an electric profiling bed to assist with transferring in and out of bed at home. They include older people with mobility challenges and those with neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, and patients who are recovering from a stroke. Not having power for these specialised beds puts the person at risk of becoming bed-bound and developing pressure sores.
- Those who use powered wheelchairs, mobility scooters and stairlifts. While they may have some capacity from batteries, the power rarely lasts more than 24 hours.
- Patients using home dialysis for kidney failure and those reliant on CPAP machines for the treatment of sleep apnoea.
- Those who require maintenance of a cold chain for medicines such as insulin and vaccines that need continuous refrigeration.
We must learn from Storm Éowyn.
Vulnerable people must never be as exposed again. It’s time for the ESB, Irish Water, the HSE and Government to step up to the plate.
