Fahan Community Care

Some of the members of Fahan Presbyterian Church are involved in helping in the local community. This has included Meals on Wheels and Fahan & Inch Community Care.
We were delighted to welcome the Chairman of the local Community Care to speak at a Bread & Cheese Lunch.

Below is an article in the local newspaper Inishowen News.
THE CHAIRMAN of the Fahan Care of the Aged Committee, Patrick Lynch is trying to raise awareness of a simple and inexpensive scheme that has the potential to save the lives of elderly people in Inishowen.
In his hands is a small see-through capsule containing a single sheet of paper, but this so-called Message in a Bottle, contains vital information that could save a life in an emergence.
The capsule contains information on a person’s history of illness, what medication they are taking and if there are allergic to any particular medicines and who their local GP is.
The Message in a Bottle is placed in the fridge and stickers advertising its presence there are put up at various points of the individual’s home.
Mr Lynch brought the capsule to last week’s meeting of the local Care of the Aged.

“I heard about the scheme through a friend that works in the health service in the North. I was impressed and brought the capsule to my local Care of the Aged meeting. The beauty of the Message in a Bottle is that it is so simple, yet could save lives. I believe all elderly people should have one their home, especially those people living on their own,” said the Fahan pensioner.
“I want to see if there is a way of sponsoring the Message in a Bottle scheme in Inishowen and am interested in getting the feedback of the public and other community groups,” he added.
In 2007 80,000 bottles were purchased by the Northern Ireland Office for distribution to older people and vulnerable adults across the six counties. The scheme was part-funded by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and the PSNI.
Speaking to the Inishowen Independent, Jackie Barr, a Newtown based Northern Ireland Environmental Health Officer, said the scheme had obvious benefits.
“This scheme will prevent someone from getting the wrong medication. Out of hours, you are not likely to see your own doctor, it’s more likely to be the Now Doc or a locum.”
While admitting she had no documentary evidence to back up the claim, Mrs Barr was confident the Message in a Bottle had already saved lives.
“We live on the same island, maybe it could be put in place on the other side of the border as well. My elderly father in law from Fahan suffers from dementia and I have given him a Message in a Bottle,” said Mrs Barr.
A local HSE official attended the Fahan Care of the Aged meeting where the capsule was shown, however while acknowledging they’d been shown the Message in a Bottle, the official did not wish to comment further on the scheme.