Using firefighters in medical emergencies not the answer to squeeze of the NHS
The current controversy over the reorganisation and proposed extended role of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service should come as no surprise. Experience worldwide shows that the life-saving, emotive nature of Fire and Ambulance Services is often used as a political football, to the extent that it sometimes obscures practical realities. Mutual respect and cooperation have been heightened by far-reaching developments in both services.
Naturally, the Fire Service’s success in reducing the number of fires will have an impact on the number and distribution of resources. Ambulance paramedics’ extended carping every time problems are identified, it is about time he realised that his party are the problem and the only solution. He should be working with Ruth Davidson’s dozen Tory MPS and persuading the Chancellor to increase funding for the NHS in the budget, with extra resources for Scotland’s NHS coming through the Barnett formula.
PHIL TATE Craiglockhart Road, Edinburgh role promises to have a significant impact on reducing hospital admissions and GP workloads. Ambulance Service First Responders in rural areas – some of them also part-time or former firefighters – are dramatically improving response times to medical emergencies.
However, while acknowledging firefighters’ existing basic life-support skills, it is questionable if routinely responding to medical emergencies is the most cost-effective solution.
The recent BBC documentary series Ambulance should be compulsory viewing for all. It vividly recorded the unsustainable demands being made on this frontline service. Increasing one service’s costs, against a background of decreased demand, whilst denying another the resources it requires, does not make economic sense.
Of course, we may all be guilty of ignoring the elephant in the room. Unhealthy lifestyles, manifested in obesity, alcohol abuse and drug addiction, threatens the very survival of our NHS in its present form. Politicians, of all political parties, would do well to concentrate on turning off the tap, rather than mopping up the floor.
JOHN WILBY John Neilson Institute Oakshaw Street, West Paisley