Firefighters to treat emergency patients

local community meant they were nearer to the scene in the first critical minutes of a medical emergency, delivering life-saving care until the arrival of an ambulance clinician.

Among the issues raised national level are:

Insufficient communication between ambulance control and fire service staff, leading to firefighters mobilised to the wrong kind of calls or incidents outside the agreement.

The late or in some cases nonattendance of an ambulance.

Failure of the ambulance service to pass on vital information to firefighters – such as ‘do not resuscitate’ orders.

Immunisation from hepatitis B, tetanus and other infection control measures.

The provision of suitable personal protection equipment.

Support mechanisms to avoid worsening the mental health of staff. Violence towards firefighters. In response to national concerns, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Dave Walton, director of service delivery at West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, said: “Inevitably with new, ground breaking schemes such as this one lessons will emerge from experience.

“Our staff are participating in a very successful local scheme, and whilst we look at the lessons emerging nationally we have not seen these making any impact locally.

“The careful planning of the scheme, and continued dialogue with Yorkshire Ambulance Service, has ensured that we have provided a service which has largely been delivered very smoothly and professionally by all concerned.”

The EFR scheme will now run until at least the end of November.