'You can do nothing without electricity': Care worker tells how Storm Éowyn impacts his clients
Care assistant Arpad Csaba Pap: 'I learned years ago that you have to do good things and not expect anything back because life will bring it back to you in another way.'
A healthcare worker has revealed he has to carry around camping equipment to make tea for his elderly clients amid ongoing disruptions caused by the Storm Éowyn aftermath.
The massive weather event resulted in chaos across the country last week that included structural damage and a loss of power for thousands of households and businesses. It particularly impacted vulnerable people, many of whom have found themselves relying on neighbours and healthcare workers.
One of those healthcare workers, Arpad Csaba Pap, described the challenges this has resulted in for a number of his clients in the Mullingar area of Westmeath.
“One of my clients had to be admitted to hospital because he is on oxygen for 24 hours a day. The company delivering the oxygen to his home didn’t turn up. He has two types of oxygen, one big one which is on standby at home, and another one that is mobile for when he is on the go, but they needed electricity to be charged anyway.
"All these things meant he had to be admitted to hospital which was really difficult for him because he hates being in hospital.”
Arpad has been forced to find creative ways to minimise the impact.
“It’s a really Irish thing to be that worried about not being able to have a cup of tea but this really is the case for some people. I have a camping gas burner so I brought that with me to make tea and my clients were really delighted. It took a while because it’s a slow burner but I did my best.
"When my time is up I just clock out from the system and I’m still hanging around. In this profession, you can’t really look at the time. You have to go with the flow. We are talking about elderly people.”
He highlighted the disruption this has caused to people’s routines.
“One man was stressed out because he wasn’t able to ring his sister and tell her what groceries he needed because she does the shopping for him. I took him for breakfast on a day when I was off so he was able to get a signal to call her.
"It was my own time. I learned years ago that you have to do good things and not expect anything back because life will bring it back to you in another way.”
He hopes that more can be done to prevent similar chaos in the future.
“The government haven’t a clue what they are doing. That’s my guess. They weren’t well prepared. This will be more regular with climate change. In my opinion, we need to change the entire electric system so that the wooden poles are moved underground, but that would require a huge amount of money from the European Union.”
He compared the experience to his childhood in Transylvania where he lived until the age of 10.
“It feels like Transylvania in 1985 when people slept with two layers of pyjamas, a tracksuit and a double duvet just to keep out the cold. However, that was in the rough Romanian communist system.”
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