Crews keep an eye on elderly people
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FIREFIGHTERS are planning trips in Halton as part of a new initiative to help improve the health of potentially vulnerable people.
Cheshire Fire And Rescue Service (CFRS) will begin Safe and Well Visits at the start of February.
It will build on the service’s successful Home Safety Assessment programme which has helped protect residents from the risk of fire in their home.
The visits will be offered to those over the age of 65 or who are referred to CFRS by partner agencies.
They will incorporate traditional fire safety information but will also offer additional advice on slips, trips and fall prevention; bowel cancer screening as well as offering additional support to those who wish to stop smoking, taking drugs or reduce their alcohol consumption.
Halton’s director of public health Eileen O’Meara said: “We are delighted to be working with Cheshire Fire And Rescue Service in Cheshire, Warrington and Halton. The service is highly regarded and trusted by their communities and are in an excellent position to give health advice and support to some of our more vulnerable residents.”
The visits will be carried out by fully trained firefighters and prevention staff.
A CFRS spokeswoman said it is ‘expected’ over the next year that the visits will be extended further to provide extra help to people who have just been discharged from hospital after a fall and to address hypertension and blood pressure concerns.
Cllr Bob Rudd, Cheshire Fire Authority chair, said: “We have a proud tradition of delivering successful safety prevention programmes.
“Therefore, we are well placed to extend what we currently offer in order to support our health colleagues and promote further potentially life saving advice to the people we visit. It is often the case that those people who are most at risk from fire are at the same time vulnerable to certain health concerns.
“This is an extremely exciting programme that I am sure will bring huge benefits to the wellbeing of Cheshire residents.”
Director of commissioning operations for NHS England in Cheshire and Merseyside Clare Duggan said that the region was ‘one of very few areas in the country’ to be offering the service.
She said that as part of the visits, firefighters will help the NHS to identify those at risk of falling which will allow advice to be offered in a bid to prevent injuries.
She added: “We are particularly pleased to be able to include a focus on slips, trips and falls, which unfortunately are a key factor in many hospital admissions.