Pages

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

From obese people stuck in the bath to those who've fallen out of bed - the huge cost of 'Fat Britain' to the Fire Brigade


Firefighters have been called to pick up obese people who have fallen out of bed and help undertakers move bodies too heavy to lift
Firefighters have been called to pick up obese people who have fallen out of bed and help undertakers move bodies too heavy to lift

Firefighters have been forced to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds rescuing severely obese people - including those stuck in the bath – in the past five years. UK fire and rescue services have responded to more than 2,700 calls, with a single incident costing as much as £11,000. As well as rescuing people wedged in baths, firefighters have been called to pick up obese people who have fallen out of bed, help undertakers move bodies too heavy to lift and assist those needing medical treatment that are who large to leave their homes.


A Freedom of Information request, to which 53 out of 58 UK fire and rescue services responded, revealed that South Wales Fire and Rescue attended the most calls – a total of 189 since 2007. London and Essex were placed second and third, with 170 and 159 respectively. Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service had incurred the highest costs, spending £313,000 on assisting obese people with one single three-and-a-half hour rescue costing £11,000.


The most expensive single incident in England was a £5,000 rescue carried out by Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service. London, South Yorkshire and West Midlands services all incurred costs of more than £50,000 over five years. It is likely that the total number of calls is even higher than 2,700, as some services have not kept records of this type of incident.  At the request of firefighters, a new category of rescuing a ‘bariatric’ (severely obese) person was added to the Incident Reporting System used by services in England in April this year.

Three firefighters at County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service have suffered muscle strain while trying to move an obese person, area manager Alan Kernohan told BBC 5 Live Investigates, which submitted the FOI request. It is one of several services which has changed its policy to respond instantly only when people need urgent medical attention. It will carry out a risk assessment before acting in non-emergency cases. Other services are already charging the obese person or, more usually, local ambulance services for their help.
 At the request of firefighters, a new category of rescuing a 'bariatric' (severely obese) person was added to the Incident Reporting System used by services in England in April this year

At the request of firefighters, a new category of rescuing a 'bariatric' (severely obese) person was added to the Incident Reporting System used by services in England in April this year

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service charges £630 per hour and London Fire Brigade charges £312.  Paul Mason, who weighed 70 stone, was involved in an eight-hour rescue when he needed to get to hospital for a hernia operation. He had not left home in two years and the front wall of his flat had to be knocked down and a forklift truck used to get him out. He told the programme that he was ‘embarrassed’ about what had happened. He said: ‘I thought “why are they doing it for me?” My esteem, the way I thought about myself, was non-existent. ‘My eating disorder was way out of control, my depression was severe, and I just didn’t want to get to grips with my life or sort myself out in those days. ‘In this country we have a policy where we treat people whatever problems they’ve got. It took a situation like that for me to realise how bad I got myself.’

Mr Mason has since lost 40 stone. Peter Dartford, speaking on behalf of the Chief Fire Officers Association, told the Today programme that the figures should make people think about their lifestyles. He said: ‘Fire and rescue service are here to help and people find themselves in need of help for a number of reasons. They may be medical conditions, they may indeed be lifestyle choices but we don’t judge we just get on and help people. ‘While we do respond to people in need we are actively seeking to reduce demand for this kind of service by encouraging people to act differently. Prevention is not only better than cure it is very much cheaper than cure. In these restricted times financially it is important we drive down demand as much as we can.’

Source: Daily Mail UK  

Please share

No comments:

Post a Comment