Snow disruption: nurses across the UK brave treacherous conditions to ensure health services keep running

Hospitals and healthcare organisations make urgent appeals for volunteers with four-wheel drive vehicles after severe winter weather caused havoc around the country and many nurses stay overnight at work

Nurses walked for hours through snow and freezing temperatures, while others stayed overnight at work, to ensure they could carry out shifts in snow-struck hospitals and hospices across the UK over the weekend.

Hospitals and other healthcare organisations also made urgent appeals for volunteers with four-wheel drive vehicles to help keep their services running after severe winter weather caused havoc around the country.

‘Amazingly dedicated’ nurses walk miles

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) advanced paramedic Anthony Fearn paid tribute to ‘amazingly dedicated’ nurses from Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital who walked miles to reach patients.

The Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust had earlier used Twitter to ask for help from trained nurses at Good Hope and Heartlands Hospitals as heavy snow disrupted services across the Midlands yesterday.

WMAS tweeted pictures of its ambulances covered in snow and reminded people only to call 999 for ‘genuine’ life-threatening emergencies.

Other snow-related activities

Birmingham Women's and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Sarah-Jane Marsh tweeted her thanks to staff for ‘battling’ the weather to get to work.

Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group tweeted its thanks after 50 volunteers with four-wheel drive vehicles helped get nurses to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service came to the aid at Leckhampton Court Hospice after staff appealed for help to clear its drive of snow so that patients could see their loved ones.

Elsewhere, nurses working at St Giles Hospice in locations across the Midlands stayed overnight on Saturday to ensure they could carry out their shifts the next day.

Group chief executive Emma Hodges tweeted that members of the team were worried about getting in to care for patients so went in early and stayed the night to ensure they could be there.

‘Such commitment – what a team,’ Ms Hodges wrote.

Facebook appeal for nurses and healthcare support workers

In Wales, an appeal for nurses and healthcare support workers to do extra hospital shifts was made on Facebook by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust tweeted a message urging people to check on their neighbours and to look for signs they may need help, such as drawn curtains or milk staying on doorstep.

Weather conditions remain treacherous the roads in many parts of the country and many schools across England and Wales are closed today in response to the wintry conditions.

More than 140,000 homes lost power on Sunday amid heavy snow and high winds, while several thousand remain cut off.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings of ice for Wales, the Midlands and the south east.

In other news

• Risk of heart attacks, strokes rises after cold snap, NHS England warns
• RCN urges better preparations as ‘worst winter’ nears