Clon First Responders Launch

MARY HARNEY LAUNCHES CLON FIRST RESPONDERS GROUP

Minister for Health, Mary Harney, T.D. was joined by representatives of the HSE and several other first responders groups, as well as local politicians and supporters at the Quality Hotel last Friday when she official launched the Clonakilty Community First Responders Group. 12 local fully-trained voluntary first responders were presented with their certificates by the Minister, in what was a proud day for Clonakilty and the hard working committee who have been organising, meeting and training, ably led by Pat Evans for the last year and a half. A further 10 more volunteers are ready to commence training in September, and the group hopes that by year end, there will be 30 qualified and “on duty”. Three community Defibrillator Machines have been placed at The Imperial Hotel, O’ Donovan’s Hotel and Maxol Filling Station over the last week to coincide with the launch. Now in Clonakilty, the HSE-trained First Responders will be able to attend at Cardiac, Choking, Collapsing and other related emergencies in the town with Defibrillators and Oxygen. If someone feel they or someone in their company are getting chest pains, have gone unconscious, collapsed or are choking or having breathing difficulties, they should ring 999 or 112 as for all emergencies. While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, a First Responder, if available, will be directed to the patient by the Ambulance service, who will deliver immediate care which may prevent deterioration of the victim. They will also carry and administer oxygen to the patient while they await the arrival of the Doctor and Ambulance. As soon as they arrive at the scene the First Responder stands back. All the First Responders are fully trained by HSE experts, having undergone intensive theory and practical courses over the last year. They have made a commitment to serve the local community in their own time, totally voluntary and unpaid, and will work in pairs. A rota has been set up whereby at two are on call at any time right around the clock, seven days a week. At last weeks launch, people saw a simulated situation where the First Responders and the Ambulance Crew went into operation when a man got a “heart attack while watching television at home”. The audience, in the presence of Minister Harney, watched intensely as the system kicked in. The first 15 minutes can be critical for a patient with such a condition, and in Clonakilty, a First Responder can be on the scene within 3 - 4 minutes. (The First Responders operate in a 6 kilometre radius of the town centre). Often unfortunately, the ambulance might be up to 45 minutes away, so the care that the First Responder service administers can mean the difference between life and death. Indeed, a number of people from other parts of Ireland spoke about how First Responders saved their lives, when they had cardiac arrests. Mari Hanly, another member of the Clonakilty Committee that has ensured Clonakilty has a First Responder Group, emphasised that the become involved, doesn’t mean that you have to have any previous medical training whatsoever. Over the course of approximately 20 hours, over a few days, volunteers are trained by highly professional HSE tutors. By the end of the training, they are competent in CPR, using a Defibrillator and administering Oxygen and Aspirin to an at risk patient. For every minute a victim of cardiac arrest does not receive CPR or a shock from a defibrillator, their chances of survival drops 10% for each minute that goes by, so, every moment is crucial. While people with first aid courses, etc. are welcome to be involved, it’s not necessary, she emphasised. The group stresses that at present there are three defibrillators located in Clonakilty town, which is what he group can afford at present. If funds allow in the future, more will be purchased and placed at other strategic locations around the town, and would be delighted if local fundraising groups considered them for donations. At the launch, the patrons of Bernie’s Bar and the Lions Club were acknowledged for their generosity to the group to date. (Indeed, the whole idea of setting up a Community First Responders group, stemmed from the tragic and untimely death of the late Tim O’ Brien a few years ago. Tim was a popular bowler and patron of Bernie’s Bar and died suddenly from cardiac arrest. His friends were instrumental in the setting up of the group). They also encourage other people in the community to consider joining and training as First Responders, as they say that the more people trained up, the lesser the commitment will be on each in terms of being “on call”. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Mari Hanly on 087-7746404 or email clonfr@gmail.com.

MAY SUSTAINABLE CLON MEETING

MAY SUSTAINABLE CLON MEETING

Around 30 people attended the May open public meeting of Sustainable Clonakilty at O’ Donovan’s Hotel, which had three different topics with related local experts as the programme for the night.

First up were the three Transition Year girls from Sacred Heart Secondary School who have come to national attention for their Sea Lettuce Briquettes project. Muireasa Carroll, Denise Hurley and Mairéad Kingston got third prize at this years BT Young Scientist in the Biological and Ecological section. Over the course of last autumn, they collected fresh sea lettuce that was coming ashore in abundance at local beaches. They explained how they washed it out, compacted it into briquettes with the hand-operated appliances readily available in hardware stores for making newspaper briquettes, and allowed the briquettes to dry out for a week in an airy greenhouse. They then carried out numerous experiments, and found that the “Algabrix” they created burn twice as long as the standard peat equivalent and gives out three times as much heat. They have patented their product. They explained that by collecting the sea lettuce while fresh, there are no gases and it’s carbon neutral, as being a living plant it takes in CO2 from the atmosphere. Therefore it has no negative impact on the environment. The three girls are heading for Shenzin in China in July to showcase the Algabrix at the International Youth Science and Technological Expo there. Muireasa, Denise and Mairead will be heading into 5^th year after the summer holidays, received a generous applause for their presentation.

Next up was Paddy Rose, MD of local company Progressive Solar Heating Ltd. With the aid of slides Paddy explained the different models of solar panels, and the basic principals of how they work to provide heat and hot water for households. He advised people thinking about installing a system, to get the best possible advice and company, saying there are some operators who really don’t do the best job. One basic principal, while it may sound obvious, is that solar panels to work effectively, must face the sun. He revealed how he had been called to look at some systems installed by companies who had placed the panels at the back of the houses. While they were out of sight aesthetically for the eye, they were in effect useless for the job they were designed as they received little sun to create the energy. Paddy also predicted that in time to come, electricity will be generated also from solar panels on domestic dwellings.

Last but not least, Consultant Robbie Lambert who is an expert on many sustainable issues spoke about the different type of lighting. He introduced his talk by saying lighting is now just about giving light for the situation, different colour light is used in different situations and it affects the human mood. He outlined various types of bulbs and lighting systems from the standard family home, to street lighting to flood lighting used on sports grounds. He advised that having sensors for outdoor security lighting was the most energy efficient and also effective. He also pointed out the down sides of some new products, where people are changing over from the standard type. Very often, it requires the changing of the whole fitting, which can be expensive and in some cases, messy in a finished house.. But he said in an average home they would pay back for themselves in about two years. He also said he was doing a lot of business with China in developing new lines, and was also working with a number of local authorities in relation to future public lighting, and how new systems are more energy efficient and cost effective. All in all the audience got a good variety of things to think about as they went home and showed their appreciation and interest with many questions coming from the floor during the course of the evening.