THE snowfall across the region on January 24 saw the MROC (Midland Rover Owners Club) 4×4 Response Team deployed to assist the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) part of the NHS getting key staff into work.
Up to 11 MROC volunteer drivers and their vehicles were based at the WMAS HQ (Millennium Point at Brierley Hill) building from 8am through till nearly 11pm – that is after all testing clear of Covid-19!
They were kept busy getting all sorts of critical workers to their places of work, or back home, in treacherous road conditions.
As well as locations close their HQ, places travelled to included Dudley, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Handsworth, Acocks Green, Ladywood, Sutton Coldfield, Worcester and Telford.
Due to the on-going weather situation, further help was requested the next day.
Three MROC volunteer drivers returned to continue help WMAS with similar assignments from 6am on Monday 25th, until stood down around 2pm with improving weather and forecasts.
Some of the WMAS key workers helped were call centre people handling 999 and 111 calls, plus ambulance personnel, a mental health nurse and a pharmacist.
Over the same period other requests for help came to the MROC Control Centre – for example:
From Chelmsley Wood NHS Primary Care Centre – one MROC volunteer helped ferry district nurses to the homes of palliative care patients on Sunday night, from 7pm through to 7am.
From the West Midlands Fire Service, for help with key staff transfers.
From Solihull and Warwickshire care providers who wanted help transporting some home carers to get to patients.
The above deployments saw a total of 14 MROC 4×4 responders cover 2,440 miles for four of its user services.
Following this they received personal thanks from the local authority’d head of resilience, WMAS incident commander and WMAS chief executive.
Background to the MROC 4×4 Response Group
MROC 4×4 Response is a volunteer organisation that operates 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year, in all weather conditions, helping and supporting local communities at times of greatest need.
The group provides a vital transport logistics solution to resource Local Authorities, Emergency Services, Statutory and Voluntary Agencies in emergency situations where the use of 4×4 vehicles can make a positive difference.
The group is a sub-section of the Midland Rover Owners Club (MROC), a local long-established non-profit organisation made up of Land Rover owners and enthusiasts.
