Staffordshire firefighters used to winch obese patients into ambulances
FIREFIGHTERS have been called out almost 50 times this year to help paramedics lift or winch obese patients into ambulances.
Specialist lifting equipment carried on Staffordshire’s fire engines – often used to shift wreckage at road accidents – is being used to help ambulance crews haul fat people out of their homes.
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Firefighters have been called out 50 times this year to help winch obese patients into ambulances.
West Midlands Ambulance Service has been forced to spend £360,000 on four ‘fat ambulances’ which can support the weight of patients weighing up to 40 stone.
But figures obtained by The Sentinel show paramedics are increasingly being calling on by their 999 colleagues for help lifting patients when it is considered unsafe for them to attempt it alone.
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Firefighters are now being given extra training to cope with demand.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended 54 so-called ‘bariatric assists’ between 2007 and 2010.
But it has been called out to assist the ambulance service with overweight patients 48 times so far this year.
Specialist equipment included in the ‘fat ambulances’ includes a gantry, a mega-stretcher, mobile hoists and an air-cushion lifting system.
Head of emergency response at the fire service, Bob Dagless said: “Our policy regarding bariatric patients is that we will only send a crew of firefighters to assist if the patient is in a life threatening or critical condition.
“If a doctor or ambulance crew has requested our services but the patient is not in a life threatening or critical condition, we will send a fire officer to review the case.
“We are in the process of rolling out training to all of our crews in conjunction with West Midlands Ambulance Service. The training will cover the manual handling techniques required to use the bariatric equipment that specialist ambulances carry.”
Both the fire and ambulance service confirmed there has been no specific change in policy contributing to the sharp increase in incidents.
But increasing obesity levels and increasing concerns over both paramedic and patient safety have contributed to the rise.
Figures indicate that up to half of all the 249,000 population in Stoke-on-Trent never exercise and 30 per cent are obese.
Some official estimates suggest it costs the emergency services a combined total of £2,800 every time they are called out to a ‘bariatric assist’.
In Staffordshire, the fire service charges £278.50 for the first hour a fire engine is sent out and then there is a fee per 15 minutes after that.
A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “The service has invested significant sums on creating an ability to provide good clinical care to bariatric patients in a dignified manner.
“All vehicles within the service fleet have a bariatric capability but these new vehicles carry specialist equipment.
“The vehicles are strategically placed throughout the region to ensure that there is a facility available around the clock for such cases.
“There are occasions when the fire service is requested to attend incidents where safe access to and exit from premises is deemed problematic. In such cases, we work together to ensure patient safety is not compromised.”
Comments
by warren-lloyd
Saturday, November 03 2012, 6:40AM
“I feel very sorry for you Johnboy, you don't need that in your everyday life. You are just sitting there enjoying the sunshine and a light lunch, next moment BANG, the suns gone in and you have some big old Mutters backside in your face, no good at all. Don't know where this fashion for big birds in black leggings as come from but please ladies, for the love of god, get some black knickers on with them.”
by lanternhead
Friday, November 02 2012, 8:15PM
“johnboy 2011, you'll see similar sights throught the pubs at the weekend, women with an expensive hair do made up to the nines but from the neck down looking like a sack of spuds, it puts you off everything including food.”
by johnboy2011
Thursday, November 01 2012, 8:51AM
“rosieno1, I know what you mean about the big knickers thing, I was sitting in my car in Longton the other day, eating a sandwich for my lunch. When a car pulls up next to me this huge lady got out, she could have been no more 25 years old, and she was wearing these black tights no skirt and white knickers, there were bulges everywhere, then she bent over to get a kiddie out of the back, it put me right off me Greggs.”
by warren-lloyd
Thursday, November 01 2012, 8:43AM
“Hats the problem hear Buster, Longton Crane Hire went under six month ago......lol. It comes to something hen they can't get out of there own front door. Personally I'd put a winch at the back of the Ambulance and drag them out.”
by jackie4582
Thursday, November 01 2012, 8:28AM
“As bad as "fat people" might be, lets just hope that you smokers/drinkers don`t develop Cancer at all in life because that is as big a cost if not more! Almost everybody in the country now has some form of health issue due to their lifestyle etc so just because obese people`s problems are visibly seen through their size certainly does not make them any bigger dreg on society than drinkers/smokers/drug abusers. And more to the point this whole "racism" row going on at the moment should be tied in with the likes of this whole piece in the Sentinel including some of the comments because it is infact the same scenario people thinking they have the god given right to brand people names unknowing to what their actual circumstances are......so the Sentinel in my eyes are disgusting using their choice of words such as "fat people" or "fat ambulances" it would be a totally different story if they had been writting a piece on Ethnic minorities,wouldn`t be using slang there now would we?!?!?!”
by johnwhite18
Thursday, November 01 2012, 7:52AM
“No reason at all to get that fat apart from sitting at home all day and night eating junk food and watching tv and playing on the game stations”
by 7buster
Thursday, November 01 2012, 2:14AM
“Anyone know the number for Longton Crane Hire”
by warren-lloyd
Wednesday, October 31 2012, 7:50PM
“There is one good thing , we have not had to smash anyone house down to get them out, yet. I Saw that on Channel 5 once.”
by Johntoe
Wednesday, October 31 2012, 7:20PM
“YAY good one sentinel, we have 'stirred them up' with benefit scroungers, dirty druggies, dirty smokers, dirty alkies, and dirty racists, it's about time you gave the dirty fatties a go,
Lets see, we are on 19 posts at the time of writing, give it a few days and it could be a 100+ 'classic'
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BISH BASH BOSH, lots of dosh,”
by rosieno1
Wednesday, October 31 2012, 6:23PM
“Theres no excuse just get on a diet and loose weight,im sorry but there are to many bone idle people around here. I see young women up town there very over weight dressed in shabby clothes and they look awful. Remember fridge pickers wear bigger knickers lol. Waste of valuable resourses if you ask me ,a hard days work would finish em of lol :D”