Mullingar Order of Malta wins Unit of the Year title

From humble beginnings a decade ago, the Mullingar Unit of the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps has risen to the cream of the crop.

This was confirmed in recent times when it was announced that it had been awarded the title of the organisation’s Unit of the Year in Ireland.

At the inception of the Order of Malta in Mullingar, back in 2001, a small band of dedicated volunteers, including the current officer in charge, Julia Dalton, came together to get the organisation off the ground here.

At that time there were fewer than a dozen people involved and it was a case of all hands to the pump when it came to duties.

Fast forward to 2013 and the numbers of members had mushroomed to more than 50 with a packed diary of events.

While equestrian work, the mainstay at the beginning, remains high on the list of duties, the unit is now actively involved in virtually all the major music festivals in the country, including Oxegen and Electric Picnic, while taking a lead role providing first aid services at the annual Body and Soul festival in Ballinlough.

In the past, the unit has responded to calls from the HSE for assistance and was particularly busy during the winter of 2010. The unit is fortunate to have a large number of skilled practitioners in its midst and training up to the level of emergency medical technician is available.

The Mullingar Unit was delighted to be chosen as the recipient of the trophy for ‘Unit of the Year’ at the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps National Conference in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise.

Lieutenant Julia Dalton, who was presented with the award, said: “It was an honour to collect the award on behalf of all the members of the Mullingar unit.

This has been awarded to us in recognition of all the hard work that every single member contributes. They are a fantastic group of people to work with and a very dedicated team.”

Training
It has been a busy year so far for the Mullingar unit and even though the first aid duties and patient transport continue, the focus this time of year changes to training.

Nineteen new members have just completed foundation courses, including Cardiac First Responder (CFR) training. A further nine members began Emergency First Responder (EFR) and two members are studying for their Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

To cap a fine year for the Order of Malta nationally, the organisation recently came top of the poll in the ‘It’s Better Together’ People’s Choice Awards.

Recruitment
While the membership is at an-all time high, the unit hopes to be able to increase its numbers in the near future and to this end a foundation first aid course is being planned for mid-February.

For information on that, contact Lt Julia Dalton directly on 087 91620221 or email the unit at mullingar@orderofmalta.ie.

Cadet Unit
Mullingar also has a thriving Cadet Unit, which caters for boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 16 years.

They receive instruction in life saving, first aid skills, take part in competitions and are entered in a Cadet Achievement Programme.

Four members of the cadet unit were recently chosen to attend a Non Commissioned Officers (NCO) Cadet course in the Athlone unit’s headquarters.

Paul Swaine, Matthew Looram, Magda Kappa and Nicole Penrose met with cadets from other units across the midlands region and took part in activities including team building exercises, learning about the history of the Order of Malta and what it means to be a Cadet NCO.

At Christmas the cadets demonstrated their skills to the people of Mullingar when they went carol singing in the town and also gave demonstrations in CPR and other basic first aid techniques.