Concern raised over fire crews standing in for paramedics

Figures obtained by The Times have shown that patients are being put at risk by a shortage of paramedics that has led to firefighters being sent to manage serious injuries, heart attacks and strokes.

Fire chiefs have cautioned that the crews were ill-equipped to deal with medical emergencies with firefighters receiving just a few days of medical training. The figures showed that over 4,000 life-threatening emergencies were attended to by 15 of the 35 fire crews who are working as ambulance co-responders.

In some areas the medical emergency callouts were more frequent than fires, with 70 per cent of fire and rescue teams across Britain acting as co-responders for Code Red 1 and 2 emergencies involving cardiac arrests or breathing complications.

The firefighter teams are trained to operate a defibrillator and use a standard first-aid kit in order to stabilise the patient in an emergency but must thereafter wait for a paramedic. Fire officers are not authorised to take patients to hospital.

John McGhee, national officer of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “We’ve had a number of incidents where people have thought they were attending someone who has a heart attack only to get there and discover a major trauma.

“We’ve not got the medical training to deal with somebody impaled on a fence. If we get to an incident where we are as much use as a car of football fans then it raises serious concerns.”

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, argued: “[Firefighters] should not be asked to do the job of a paramedic with just first-aid training . . . It comes as no surprise that as a consequence of underfunding of our health services we are left with this nightmare situation.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Department of Health countered: “It is the responsibility of individual ambulance trusts to decide how best to respond to 999 calls. We strongly support better communication and working between the emergency services, while recognising that it is imperative that people who are unwell or injured receive the care and support they need from a health professional, which is why paramedics will continue to respond to patients in an emergency.”