Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has secured more than £300,000 in additional funding for its partnership work assisting uninjured people who have fallen in their own homes. The falls response team was launched in December 2022, with the NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB) and West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS), aimed at reducing demand on the ambulance service as well as local hospital admissions.
The initiative works by WMAS staff working with a care coordination centre to allocate fire service personnel to attend any so-call ‘green calls’; where uninjured people may need help getting back on their feet or to a chair. The team also conduct a safe and well check as part of the visit.
This latest funding means that the scheme will now run until the end of March 2024. Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service can continue to help people in the community and ensure non-injury fall calls are dealt with appropriately. So far, the project has seen fire service personnel attend a total of 294 call outs across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Photo credit: Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
