Fire chiefs have welcomed the confirmation that a specialist serve supporting people in Staffordshire who have fallen in their homes is being extended.
More than £300,000 in funding has been secured by Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service to continue the scheme until March 2024.
The falls response team was launched in December with West Midlands Ambulance Service and the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB) with the aim of reducing hospital admissions.
It sees fire crews with specialist equipment help people who are uninjured back onto their feet rather than requiring an ambulance to be called.
Ian Read, head of prevent, protect and partnerships at Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said:
“I am really pleased we have confirmed this latest funding and are able to continue to deliver and develop the work of our falls response team.
“Feedback so far from those we have helped has been overwhelmingly positive, which shows the initiative is making a real difference to the community.
“The scheme also allows us to interact with some very vulnerable individuals in our community and use these opportunities to ensure that they are as safe as possible within their own homes.”
Ian Read, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service
So far, the project has seen fire service personnel attend a total of 294 call outs across the county.
Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones, chief medical officer at the ICB, said:
“Falls are one of the leading causes of avoidable hospital admissions.
“Very often the damage is done by not being able to get back to your feet and lying on the ground for an extended time, not the initial fall.
“Fire and rescue officers already do a great deal to make sure people live in safe homes and this is a valuable extension of this work that is already reducing harm and helping with demand on NHS services.”
Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones
