A positive move or does Leighton-Linslade risk being 'stripped' of its ambulance cover due to firefighters attending medical incidents?

A Leighton-Linslade Town Councillor fears that the town risks being "stripped" of its ambulance cover due to an initiative to give firefighters extra medical training.

Councillor Patrick Carberry, himself a Beds firefighter, has spoken out following a Facebook post from Leighton Buzzard Community Fire Station this week, which stated that its on-call firefighters are working with the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) by responding to medical incidents in the town.

Since the start of the pandemic, fire crews have undertaken additional training from EEAST to ensure that they can deal with each type of incident. Both EEAST and Beds Fire Service insist the move has been very successful.

Responding to the Facebook post, Cllr Carberry wrote: "EEAST are under enormous strain to maintain cover and when ambulances are in demand I fear Leighton Buzzard will be stripped of cover on the basis that an alternative service is available."

Cllr Carberry told the LBO: "I want to make it very, very clear that this is not a criticism of the commitment of the firefighters to do something positive to improve the safety of our community, and it is not a criticism of the ambulances or paramedics.

"But they are under enormous strain, and when things do get really busy, what I potentially see is decisions being made as to whether ambulances are kept in Leighton Buzzard or moved across to Luton and Dunstable."

Cllr Carberry, who is based at Leighton Buzzard Community Fire Station, explained that all firefighters are initially trained in first aid. To further enhance their knowledge for the initiative, they have been given extra skills, such as how to give the medical gas Entonox as pain relief.

The firefighters for EEAST will respond to Category One calls, for example, when a person has breathing difficulties, a stroke, or an anaphylactic reaction.

However, talking about healthcare in the town, Cllr Carberry, of St George's Ward, told the newspaper: "Leighton Buzzard has suffered from a lack of investment in healthcare provision and our town has kept growing. We're the largest town in England that doesn't have a minor injuries unit.

"With the ambulance situation, I once again see Leighton Buzzard ending up with a potentially lesser service.

"I want what's best for the people who live here and when I see something that's a lesser deal I will be objecting to it and continuing to fight for better."

Writing on Facebook, Cllr Carberry also claimed that ambulance response times may be masked by attendance of firefighters whose skill base "does not match those who are the medical professionals".

He told the LBO that he is seeking reassurance that the firefighter initiative will not affect ambulance deployment.

He said: "It's potentially very positive. We could have somebody having a heart attack, and the firefighters are sent to help, and then someone else across town has a heart attack, and the ambulance is sent.

"What we don't want is two heart attacks and no ambulances available."

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “This co-responding scheme sees us work closely with specially-trained blue light colleagues at Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service to ensure that people who live in rural communities can get fast access to the help they need quickly and efficiently.

“All of the calls referred to the fire service have been triaged first to ensure that they are suitable for a co-response, and can include everything from falls to cardiac arrests where time is of the essence. The crews who attend will use their specialist training to begin delivering potentially life-saving care until back up from EEAST arrives.

“The scheme has been very successful so far and does not replace any of the services provided by EEAST.”

David Norris, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We are incredibly proud of the work that we have been doing with EEAST over the past year, it has been a really positive experience from both sides bringing many benefits to the communities of Bedfordshire. Working in collaboration is part of our DNA, and I see this current work as a building block to further collaboration.”

“Our firefighters and community safety team have played an important role in helping to keep patients, staff and volunteers safe by; driving ambulances, providing a Falls Service, operating a specialist response for complex patients and delivering a co-responding service with EEAST. The co-responding service was set up, following requests from firefighters at three remote on-call fire stations, including Leighton Buzzard, to do more to support their communities. Some of our other stations are now interested in how they can do more in their local areas.”

“Firefighters have responded to hundreds of co-responding calls, enabling a swift response to those in cardiac arrest, suffering chest pain or experiencing breathing difficulties. Our firefighters carry out observations and basic life support before handing over to EEAST on their arrival.

“Our support to EEAST has freed up ambulance crews and the NHS to continue delivering essential frontline care. It has also ensured that the communities of Bedfordshire receive the support that they need quickly and effectively. Our public expect to see collaboration between blue light services as routine and as part of the ‘new normal’ as we emerge from the worst effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have embraced these principles with energy and vigour and aim to do more to explore the impact on all of our communities in line with our plans for the future.”

Andrew Selous, MP for South West Bedfordshire, said: "“I have engaged with the East of England Ambulance Service in the past to increase the number of ambulances based in the town from one to two and will work with them and the Department of Health and Social Care to restore a reliable service locally.”

> What do you think? Email [email protected]