Saving lives with the spirit of West Cork

An average of 25 people are saved each year by the actions of the West Cork Rapid Response, which now incredibly has the best survival rates of anywhere in the world, as it continues its critical work in the community.

WEST Cork Rapid Response is set to launch its new Ford jeep later this month – and it’s all down to the support and generosity of the people of West Cork.

So says Dr Jason van der Velde who has been at the helm of the charity which provides voluntary critical care support to the HSE National Ambulance Service.

Set up in 2008, when the first jeep was purchased, WCRR was the first response group of its kind in the country. Joining Dr Jason since 2019, to create a more sustainable model, have been 32 voluntary paramedics, mainly HSE employees, based from Beara to Kinsale, who respond to emergencies in a 10 to 15km radius of their home, while off duty. That number is shortly to increase to 36 voluntary paramedics, further extending the reach of WCRR which saves an average 25 lives each year.

WCRR’s mission statement is that nobody will die due to geography, and that WCRR will have the right people in the right place at the right time, with the right equipment and the right skills to achieve the right outcome.

The combined efforts of all volunteers means that WCRR has the best cardiac survival rates of anywhere in the world. ‘Given the rural nature of West Cork that’s unheard of,’ said Dr Jason. He put the success down to the number of people trained to do CPR, the high use of bystander defibrillation, all backed up by voluntary paramedics who give of their own free time. ‘That’s the essence of the charity,’ he said.

The WCRR committee: Eamonn Barry, Betty Hennessy, Rhona Deane, Aodh O’Donnell, Dr Jason van der Velde; Front: Kate Crowley, Dr Meg Mac Conaill, who retired recently after many years with WCRR, Dena O’Donovan.

Dr Jason highlighted the huge amount of specialised work needed to get the new vehicle on the road, the charity’s fourth jeep, and praised the mammoth efforts of retired engineer Peter Cockeral from Drinagh.

‘There’s been months of work to get the jeep fitted out to accommodate special computer systems to allow for flashing lights, and other functions such as charging sensitive and expensive medical equipment. ‘And Peter has done it all on a voluntary basis – there’s no way we could otherwise afford such a bespoke fit-out. It’s also great to have that support available to us all the time because the vehicles are really punished travelling on rough terrain.

‘That’s what makes this a true community effort, especially when you consider that no one is paid a red cent, and that everything is done on a voluntary basis. That’s why the word “Meitheal” is so appropriate to describe WCRR since the very beginning.’

Dr Jason lives between Enniskeane and Clonakilty and is a pre-hospital, emergency medicine and critical care retrieval physician, based at Cork University Hospital. He trained in Scotland and worked for a few years in England where, he said, services like WCRR existed, and he was involved in them.

‘When I came to Ireland 16 years ago, it seemed odd to me that the support for emergency services didn’t exist here,’ said Dr Jason, who took it upon himself to introduce the service.

At this point, very few people throughout West Cork haven’t been impacted, directly or indirectly by WCRR.

And while there can’t always be happy outcomes, Dr Jason said that because of WCRR, families will always have the peace of mind that their loved one got the very best chance for the best outcome.

‘But there is still a huge amount of happiness and job satisfaction involved. I’ve done open heart surgery and the person survived but it’s often the little things that make a difference on a personal level.’

WCRR chairman Aodh O’Donnell was a founding member and has been involved since 2008, and also stressed the voluntary nature of the organisation.

‘Nobody takes a wage or expenses. All the money funded by West Cork stays here. We had around 300 callouts last year (2023), everything from cardiac arrests, road traffic accidents, farm and industrial accidents. And since we started we’ve saved an average of 25 lives a year, people who would not have survived if they had to go to hospital without our intervention.’

WCRR director Eamonn Barry and Mick Lynch are paramedics and are also responsible for coordinating and maintaining their colleagues kits including defibrillators and monitoring equipment.

The 32 paramedics, trained to the highest standards, in pre-hospital care were a vital expansion of the existing WCRR service and have proved very successful in getting to the scene of a farm accident or road collision in record time, within the ‘golden hour’ or sometimes ‘golden minutes’ to strengthen the chance of survival.

‘Minutes matter in these situations. We play a supporting role and 90% of the time we’re there before the ambulance,’ said Eamonn, from Timoleague.

The jeeps are aptly named “Spioraid Iarthair Chorcaí” in appreciation of the generosity of the communities in the greater West Cork region.

Fundraiser and committee member Kate Crowley said there is an incredible community spirit in the greater West Cork area and WCRR has seen this first hand, from both a volunteering and a fundraising basis.

‘Safe to say nobody knows when they might urgently need WCRR so there is a real awareness of the valuable service and what it means to every family. This is evident in the fact that some fundraising events have been held far outside of the locality, in Dublin, Scotland, and even Australia, in appreciation of the lifesaving work being done here in West Cork, so the spirit of giving goes on and on,’ said Kate.

‘From my own personal view, as a fundraiser for WCRR, I always think of the people who sit at the Christmas table every year, with their families, who might not be there if it were not for Dr Jason coming to their rescue. And if, unfortunately, there is a vacant seat at the Christmas table and a person has passed away in Dr Jason’s care, then I feel the family must know that their loved one was in the very best possible care anyone could have got.’

We couldn’t do any of it without the people of West Cork, Dr Jason said. ‘The launch will be a celebration for everyone involved and a sincere thanks and a chance to show what is the true spirit of West Cork,’ he concluded.

West Cork Rapid Response’s latest emergency vehicle will be officially unveiled on Sunday in Ballinascarthy.

If you want to learn more about WCRR check out their website here.

• The new Ford Raptor jeep will be launched in Ballinascarthy Hall on Sunday, January 21st between 3-5pm. Everyone is welcome and refreshments will be served.