St James’s Hospital – Dealing with Inclement Weather in a Hospital Environment

As the Security Service provider for the St James’s Hospital Campus, SAR Group took the responsibility to ensure that the hospital, its staff and patients remained as safe and comfortable as possible for the duration of Storm Emma.

SAR Group were commended for the efforts that were made during this time and for how the Security team went above and beyond helping hospital staff during this time. Some examples of this are listed below.

Providing Transport for Critical Frontline Staff

Through the use of a 4×4 vehicle, SAR were able to transport critical frontline hospital staff, such as ICU, theatre and ED staff and switchboard operatives, to and from work and their homes.

Additional Staff

SAR provided additional staff to the campus during Storm Emma. These additional personnel assisted with clearing the snow with back mounted blowers, salting the pavements etc. SAR also provided additional driving staff to assist with logistics throughout the campus.

Utilising Resources Available Through the Group

Due to the large amount of Shopping Centres under the SAR Group portfolio, the SAR Security Manager at St. James’s was able to arrange for a snow plough that was dispatched to a suburban shopping centre twice daily, to attend the St. James’s Hospital, in order to keep the roadway clear and prevent falling snow being impacted and/or turning to ice.

Assist the Catering Department

Due to the condition of the roads outside the hospital campus, not all staff could make it into the hospital for work. As such, SAR provided assistance to the catering department in order to dispatch meals and refreshments to patients throughout the hospital. SAR staff delivered food to hospital beds and poured tea and coffee throughout the day for patients. SAR staff also sourced and collected bread supplies outside the campus as delivery vans were unable to travel to the campus during the storm.

Assisting the Housekeeping/Porter Facility

SAR Security staff assembled camp beds on loan to the Hospital by Cathal Brugha Army Barracks during the storm. SAR staff assisted with making beds, emptying beds etc. during Storm Emma, as well as delivering and collecting linen daily from staff that slept on Campus during Storm Emma, as they were unable to get home.

Pictured: SAR staff working hard to clear snow and ice from footpaths during Storm Emma.

Pictured: The roads and footpaths regularly cleared of snow and ice by the SAR Security management team at St. James’s Hospital during Storm Emma.

Pictured: Before and after imagery of the clearing of roads and footpaths of snow and ice during Storm Emma.