Snow: Mountain rescue helps deliver home care in Cumbria

Mountain rescue teams in Cumbria have been shuttling care staff to homes in remote areas and, in some cases, transporting food and medication to ensure home care visits continue despite the snow.

Peter Woodhouse, the council’s commissioning manager, said a team involving mountain rescue, care workers and members of the local community helped arrange a food and medication drop to cover three weeks for two elderly couples.

Even the vehicle could not get close enough to the homes so the team of volunteers had to walk two miles in deep snow to conclude their journey. The teams have also been using their four-wheel drive vehicles to help ambulance staff.

Throughout the county some but not all day centres are closed.

Woodhouse said staff had proved dedicated. “Social workers have been buying fish and chips for people we could not get food to,” he said.

Cumbria is one of seveal areas to face significant disruption to adult care services as a result of heavy snow.

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