4 days ago
Fire and ambulance chiefs discuss future of co-responders
AMBULANCE and fire chiefs have come together to discuss the future of fire-co-responders across the south west.
As reported, South Western Ambulance Service announced it will be phasing out fire co-responders in order to 'develop and strengthen' its community first responder scheme.
Fire co-responders are firefighters trained to respond to medical calls and are paid separately for carrying out the function in addition to their main role.
The ambulance service has said this is no longer financial viable.
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service chief Andy Cole had already expressed his disappointment at the announcement.
READ: Dorset fire co responders to be phased out amid cost cuts
However, in a meeting between fire chief across the south west and the ambulance service a decision was made to not remove fire co-responders until an appropriate number of community first responders have plugged the shortfall.
In a joint statement from the chief executive of the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and the chief fire officers from across the south west, including Dorset, they said: "The meeting was positive, and all chief executives reaffirmed their commitment to improving the safety of local communities and to ensure that by working together, the very best response to patients calling 999 can be achieved.
"The collective agreement is that the South Western Ambulance Service will continue with their plans to increase the number of Community First Responders across the south West whilst committing to not exiting any fire co-Responding scheme until appropriate backfill arrangements are in place."
Under the proposals fire stations in Dorset including Beaminster, Cranborne, Gillingham, Lyme Regis, and Swanage, would be at risk of losing the service.
During the meeting it was agreed that stations with low levels of fire co-responding would have their resources reallocated to areas where they would be more useful.
The statement continued: "It was agreed that in a relatively small number of Fire Co-Responding stations where Fire Co-Responding activity is very low, that lifesaving equipment will be re-purposed by the Ambulance Service to make sure it is available for people who need it most.
"The Ambulance Service and the Fire and Rescue Services will work together to ensure that this is handled locally and that this is a joint process.
"The chief executive of South Western Ambulance Service took the opportunity to reiterate his thanks to Fire Co-Responders who have provided dedicated care to patients over the years.
"All chief executives stated that they look forward to continuing to work collaboratively in the future."
