South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust HART deployed to Somerset Levels
Tuesday, 28 January, 2014
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust’s (SWASFT) Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) has today, Tuesday 28th January 2014, been deployed to the Somerset Levels to carry out welfare checks for residents living in the area.
Weeks of torrential rainfall across the South West has left many communities across the Levels cut off with the main areas affected including Muchelney, Thorney, Oath, North Moor, Moorland and Curry Moor. This prompted Somerset County Council and Sedgemoor District Council to declare a Major Incident for the area.
In conjunction with Avon and Somerset Police and the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, the SWASFT HART team will be manning a boat and visiting 77 houses in the worst affected areas.
The HART team is a specialist unit within the ambulance service that is trained and equipped for swift water access. The main tasks carried out by the members of HART during the operation will include providing medical advice and information, checking on elderly and vulnerable residents and transporting residents to a place of safety if this is needed.
Derek McCullough, East Somerset Operational Locality Manager for SWASFT, said: “You have to feel for the residents who have been affected by the floods. Our main concern is making sure those who are affected have all their medical provisions and the HART team will be on hand to offer medical advice and treatment if this is needed.
