North Wales volunteer response group in line for new trailer

The north Wales 4x4 response group received more than 250 calls during bad weather earlier this month

A volunteer group which helped more than 100 NHS staff during recent bad weather have been shortlisted for a charity funding scheme.

North Wales 4x4 Response Group drove frontline medical staff to work during heavy snowfall.

The charity, largely funded by its members, hopes to secure a grant through the Your Community, Your Choice initiative

It said the funds would be spent on a much-needed community support trailer.

Vernon Turnbull, from 4x4 Response Wales, said the group is "proud" to be an integral part of north Wales' communities.

• Volunteers help key workers and vulnerable people

• Snow causes widespread disruption, school closures

During the snowy conditions, the 4x4 volunteer group helped more than 100 members of essential NHS staff get to work safely.

Volunteers were deployed to assist critical NHS and care staff from Betsi Cadwaladr University Heath Board (BCUHB) to get to and from work and enabling home visits to patients.

The health board has an agreement with the group as part of its Adverse Weather Plan.

Fourteen different volunteer responders supported communities in recent adverse weather

Michelle Greene, of BCUHB, said: "I would like to thank the response team and all of its volunteers who helped our staff get to work safely, as well as those they helped get home too.

"The volunteers ensured our district nurses saw that patients had their vital medication, and other needs met to keep them safe at home during the snow.

"This invaluable support ensures vital services across north Wales are not interrupted and that our staff remain safe."

The charity's volunteers were working late nights and early mornings, receiving more than 250 requests for assistance over two days, deploying 14 different responders.

The team covers Wrexham, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Conwy, Gwynedd and Ynys Môn authority areas, and has controllers in Llanfair Talhairn, Rhuddlan, Rhewl and Caernarfon.

If they win the grant funding, voted for by members of the public, the group will buy a community support trailer, which will host a communication system to give them communication links around the clock, even in remote areas.

It would also include facilities to offer hot food and drinks to communities in need of support during an emergency incident, to recharge their mobile devices and send and receive messages to family members.