This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Firefighters help speed up access for paramedics on 999 calls
12/01/2021
Trial judged a success after Ambulance crews saw a reduction in time spent waiting to enter properties
Firefighters and paramedics are joining forces to speed up access to buildings where an incapacitated person cannot get to their door to enable entry.
It is not uncommon for Ambulance crews to arrive when called on an emergency 999 call to find that the resident, incapacitated by injury or illness, cannot let them in.
In the past paramedics have turned to the police to force entry to a locked property. However, a year-long trial across Thames Valley has demonstrated that involving firefighters in the first-call attendance can result in faster response times, less damage to property, and most importantly, improved outcomes for residents requiring emergency medical treatment.
In a collaboration involving the three fire and rescue services of Thames Valley, alongside South Central Ambulance Service and Thames Valley Police it was identified that fire crews are trained to achieve safe, quick, effective access in situations where buildings are locked tight. Using equipment carried on their vehicles, they can help reduce the damage that forcing an entry can cause.
Over the twelve-month period of the trial, fire crews responded to 626 Thames Valley incidents where enabling entry was required, with an average response time of nine minutes. As soon as the crews had gained access, unless their assistance was required further at that incident, they were placed on standby ready to respond to the next emergency call.
South Central Ambulance Service crews have seen a reduction in time spent waiting to enter properties and this, alongside quicker intervention, has led to faster re-deployment of their crews during the recent trial.
Thames Valley Police has also seen a benefit. It has estimated that as a result of the fire service involvement, more than 200 hours of police time has been saved. This has not only generated a financial saving but importantly allowed for resource to be freed up to prevent, respond to and investigate crime across the Thames Valley.
Grahame Mitchell, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service – speaking on behalf of the Thames Valley Partnership – said: “By working together, this initiative sees our firefighters helping open the door to specialist treatment and care more efficiently and more effectively than emergency services have been able to before. It is another example of where joint partnership working can save valuable time and could save lives, helping to deliver improved outcomes for the communities we all serve.”
Mark Ainsworth, from South Central Ambulance Service, said: “We welcome the findings of this trial and are keen to move forward in looking at ways to make this a more established way of working.
“In many cases, the faster the response and initiation of appropriate treatment, the more positive the outcome and the quicker the recovery time for the patient. People often need immediate medical intervention and in extreme cases, a delay can be the difference between life and death.
“With their access to equipment which enables safe, quick access to a locked building, firefighters are helping our paramedics and emergency first response teams provide ill and injured residents with quicker access to the specialist treatment and care they need.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam