Heavy duty... f iremen now rescuing highest number of obese Scots
THE number of calls for fire crews to help remove obese people from their homes has increased eightfold in seven years, figures show.
rescues’ with Last 40 year incidents soared the number to recorded its highest of compared ‘bariatric level, with only five in 2010.
In the past seven years Scottish Fire and Rescue Service personnel, armed with animal lifting harnesses, have been called out 235 times to assist obese people who cannot move without assistance.
By the end of June last year 19 incidents had already been logged. Highland Council recorded the highest number of bariatric rescues – 60 – since 2010, with Clackmannanshire Council following with 31 and Aberdeenshire Council with 26.
Obesity campaigners argue that it is not down to the SFRS to rescue obese people and have called on the Scottish Government to do more to tackle the country’s obesity problem.
Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘There is no alternative to the NHS or any other authority calling on fire services to “rescue” morbidly obese people from their homes. ‘It is a tragedy that no other specialised service exists to do it, since such activity should not be part of a fireman’s day job. ‘The tragedy is made worse by knowing that these call-outs will certainly increase in the years to come.’ Mr Fry added: ‘These statistics should ring alarm bells in Holyrood that obesity in Scotland is beginning to get out of hand.’
The figures, released via freedom of information requests, show that of all councils that had call-outs the Shetland Islands had the smallest number, only two.
Twelve councils have not contacted the fire service to help with a bariatric rescue.
Last year it took eight fire crew members to help paramedics move a single obese patient.
It is understood that in some cases firefighters were called to help move deceased overweight people.
Bariatric equipment is used by fire services to help assist obese patients, many of whom are housebound, with specialist lifting equipment and work alongside paramedics.
A spokesman for NHS Highland said: ‘Rates of overweight and obesity have been stable in Scotland since 2008 and a lot of work has been going on to prevent any increase in these rates.
‘Everyone has a role to play in this including the Government, food producers, big business, advertising, the media, and health and social care providers.’
A spokesman for SFRS said: ‘While the transportation and care of bariatric patients is a medical issue, we do provide assistance to our partner agencies whenever it is appropriate.
‘Where we have resources and specialist skills that could assist them in the safe resolution of an incident then of course we do so, as a humanitarian organisation that exists to ensure safety and wellbeing.’