Partnership launched between Beds Fire and Rescue and East of England Ambulance service
A new role of Community Wellbeing Officer has been created through the partnership
The Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has teamed up with the East of England Ambulance Service to improve emergency medical care.
New officers at Beds Fire and Rescue have now been trained as Community Wellbeing Officers (CWOs), aiding in medical emergencies, while carrying out vital prevention work.
CWOs handle various situations, from urgent cases to minor falls, coordinating with ambulance control room clinicians.
Michael King, Station Commander for Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue, looking after the CWO role, said: "It was an opportunity really to for us to be able to do some active prevention work."
"We have some key areas and key people that we want to target, particularly vulnerable adults because we know that they're more at risk of fire and obviously coming out with more severe injuries."
"They're kind of traditionally the people that we find really hard to target because of just getting access to those individuals, it's really difficult, and the cwo role provides us that access into those key vulnerability areas."
Since December 2023, this partnership has assisted over 100 individuals in Bedfordshire, and 362 people across Cambridgeshire and Essex.
CWOs often arrive about six minutes before ambulances in urgent cases, ensuring timely care. Additionally, 42% of cases have resulted in individuals avoiding hospital visits or further ambulance assistance.
Their prevention work further enables them to assist vulnerable adults in situations of need, while testing smoke alarms and ensuring their safety within their homes.
Tom Barker, Head of Collaborative Response for the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) said: "This is around how we can innovate and this is something that, as an ambulance service, and in collaboration with our Fire and Rescues partners, not just in Bedfordshire but across the eastern region, we're really proud of this partnership."
"So this is using innovation to provide the right response in a timely manner to patients and reducing any risk to them as well as utilising other services like the Fire Rescue service that have a proven background in prevention and protection to then also make people safe for in their homes."
This collaboration sets a positive example for efficient emergency care, benefiting communities in Bedfordshire and across the East.