VOLUNTEERS EASE WORK-LOAD OF HOSPITAL COLLEAGUES
VOLUNTEERS EASE WORK-LOAD OF HOSPITAL COLLEAGUES
MEDICAL staff from South Tyrone Hospital in Dungannon, Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital and from the Causeway Trust in Coleraine, along with staff at Omagh Health Centre, have volunteered their services to help ease the workload on colleagues in Tyrone County Hospital.
The offers of help came in the aftermath of the Omagh bombing, and included clerical assistance from Coleraine.
A spokeswoman for the nursing office at the 'County' said she was unable to give any details of numbers, but said, to date, several of the offers had been taken up.
She said: "We have a long list of Tyrone and Fermanagh RGNs, with general nursing experience, available to us, and we call upon them as required.
"We have also had offers from Social Services and from ambulance staff, and have used a number of the Causeway Trust nurses.
What we ask for is readily supplied from whatever source we request it."
Nine administrative staff arrived from Causeway on Monday, and nursing staff there were said to be continually on standby, to release regular staff to attend support sessions and counselling.
The assistance was welcomed by Mr. Vincent Ryan, Sperrin Trust's director of planning, who admitted normal administrative duties had more or less been put on hold because of the necessary 'new' duties thrown up by the bombing.
He said: "Staff here are obviously still affected by the whole thing, and this will carry on for weeks or months. It certainly won't disappear overnight.
"The administrative side of things is behind, while the nurses on standby will allow our medical staff to have counselling. Many have lost families, and staff have been working up to 20 hours a day since the bomb. They need time to reflect."
MEDICAL staff from South Tyrone Hospital in Dungannon, Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital and from the Causeway Trust in Coleraine, along with staff at Omagh Health Centre, have volunteered their services to help ease the workload on colleagues in Tyrone County Hospital.
The offers of help came in the aftermath of the Omagh bombing, and included clerical assistance from Coleraine.
A spokeswoman for the nursing office at the 'County' said she was unable to give any details of numbers, but said, to date, several of the offers had been taken up.
She said: "We have a long list of Tyrone and Fermanagh RGNs, with general nursing experience, available to us, and we call upon them as required.
"We have also had offers from Social Services and from ambulance staff, and have used a number of the Causeway Trust nurses.
What we ask for is readily supplied from whatever source we request it."
Nine administrative staff arrived from Causeway on Monday, and nursing staff there were said to be continually on standby, to release regular staff to attend support sessions and counselling.
The assistance was welcomed by Mr. Vincent Ryan, Sperrin Trust's director of planning, who admitted normal administrative duties had more or less been put on hold because of the necessary 'new' duties thrown up by the bombing.
He said: "Staff here are obviously still affected by the whole thing, and this will carry on for weeks or months. It certainly won't disappear overnight.
"The administrative side of things is behind, while the nurses on standby will allow our medical staff to have counselling. Many have lost families, and staff have been working up to 20 hours a day since the bomb. They need time to reflect."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0301
Published Date: 27-Aug-98
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