Home News Collaboration and transformation: The hot topics at fire service conference

Collaboration and transformation: The hot topics at fire service conference

0

Collaboration and pioneering transformation work will be at the heart of discussions concerning the future of the fire and rescue service today.

The Local Government Association’s (LGA) annual fire conference will focus on an increased alliance between blue light services and closer working with Police and Crime Commissioners. Fire Minister Mike Penning will deliver a key note speech at the conference today.

New LGA publication ‘Beyond Fighting Fires 2′ shows how the sector is undertaking even more trailblazing collaboration initiatives in order to improve services for local people and deliver a more efficient and cost effective service.

The huge variety of industry-leading schemes run by fire and rescue services include:

  • Using ground-breaking data analysis to inform prevention work by identifying precisely which residents are most at risk of fire and falls
  • Piloting a tri-service officer project – retained firefighters trained to work in local policing and as first responders to support ambulance call-outs
  • Forming a limited liability partnership (LLP) with police – an industry blueprint which allows both organisations to meet collaboration duties, share facilities and services without having to merge
  • Providing the first response to reports of falls in the home in a trial which is helping to reduce demands on the ambulance service
  • Building a blue light tri-service building, which will house fire and rescue, police and  ambulance services as well as council departments to deliver efficiency savings
  • Working on a Public Health England pilot – aimed at reducing pressures on NHS and local council services – by checking for cold homes, making flu jab referrals and carrying out mobility tests
  • Planned home safety visits to focus on smoking cessation and alcohol reduction, and informing residents about bowel cancer screening

Cllr Jeremy Hilton, Chair of the LGA’s Fire Services Management Committee, which represents 49 fire and rescue authorities in England and Wales, said:

“After cutting the number of fires by half in the last decade, fire services are transforming the way they work with the other blue light services and a range of partners to save lives and deliver better services for local people.

“The fire service is stepping up its prevention role with more pioneering joint initiatives and pilot projects. These include working with councils, charities and the NHS on schemes that are making a real difference to efficient and cost effective delivery, across the country.

“The fire service needs to be funded to risk, not demand, to ensure it can respond to unanticipated local and national events, such as the devastating December flooding in Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland and Yorkshire. This means it is well placed to continue to develop new partnerships and improve joint working with a wide variety of partners.

“However, this opportunity could be lost unless government improves its understanding of the capacity of the service to make further savings through efficiencies.”

As well as collaboration and transformation, the two-day fire conference, taking place in Bristol, will include discussions on the Spending Review, devolution, workforce, flooding, the Policing and Crime Bill, and health and wellbeing.

CASE STUDIES

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service

Firefighters are using ground-breaking data analysis to pinpoint precisely which residents are most at risk of fire and falls and in need of intervention through a partnership with local authorities, health services and Age UK. The data gives the gender, age and address of some 211,000 residents aged 65 or over. This is overlaid with information about whether someone lives alone, mortality rates, geo-demographic risk factors – such as whether they live in social housing – and fire service response times. During home visits firefighters assess the needs of elderly people and are able to refer the more vulnerable on to health, social services and other support teams. Half of the referrals to a support service now come from CFRS. The fire service is on track to carry out 25,000 Safe and Well visits this year and 40,000 next year. From May 2016 the visits will also focus on smoking cessation and alcohol reduction, reducing hypertension and blood pressure and informing residents about bowel cancer screening.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service

They are piloting a tri-service officer project – a retained firefighter trained to work in local policing and respond to medical emergencies as first responders in support of the ambulance service. The officer has completed police basic driver training, ambulance co-responders training, a community neighbourhood policing residential course, and has also received training in identifying child sexual exploitation and the Prevent anti-terrorism agenda. The role involves youth engagement and local policing, home and business safety visits and gathering information on community risk. The tri-service officer project has now been adopted by Durham and Darlington fire and rescue service.

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service

Plans are in place for blue light tri-service building, which will house not only the fire and rescue service, police and ambulance, but also other Cumbria County Council departments.

The new building will be a “one-stop-shop” for the local community and a shared training facility, which offers increased efficiency savings by removing the duplication of property costs and savings through shared utilities. Building work will start on the Blue Light Hub in March 2016 and it will be open by the end of the year.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) and the Derbyshire Police have formed a limited liability partnership (LLP), which could be used as a blueprint for similar arrangements in other parts of the country. The LLP is the financial and legal foundation for a new joint fire and police headquarters, which will save about £1.5 million a year and help provide a more sustainable future by replacing out-dated, increasingly expensive old buildings. The LLP allows both organisations to meet their duties to collaborate, share facilities and services without having to merge as one.

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service

Firefighters are providing the first response to reports of falls in the home in a trial project which is helping to reduce demands on the ambulance service. Official figures show that, last year 1,016 people aged 65 or over were admitted to hospital in Hull with injuries due to falls. Now a partnership between the clinical commissioning group (CCG), Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS), means that whole-time firefighters in a dedicated vehicle are often the first port of call when reports of falls are triaged. The six month trial, which began in September 2015, has already had a major impact, freeing up capacity for YAS to deal with more serious call-outs, providing a quicker service to those that have fallen and putting in place prevention measures to minimise the chances of reoccurrence. Ambulance services are brought on if necessary.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service

Firefighters are playing a vital role in a Public Health England pilot, aimed at reducing the winter pressure on NHS and local council services. By expanding their prevention activities on the most vulnerable, they are working more closely with colleagues in safeguarding teams and adult social care, delivering Safe and Well checks aimed primarily at those aged 65 and over. Firefighters check for cold homes and issue residents with room thermometers, discuss isolation, make flu jab referrals where necessary and carry out a simple mobility test, seeing how quickly residents can get out of a chair and move across the room. Referrals to agencies are made to ensure residents get the support needed to reduce the risk of falls. The initiative is proving successful at reducing demand on the NHS from accident and emergency and hospital admissions.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here