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FIREFIGHTERS responding to medical emergencies are “ill-equipped” to handle some of the 999 callouts they attend, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said yesterday.
Funding cuts to ambulance services by the government mean that fire crews in some areas have to work as ambulance “co-responders” and attend medical emergencies before paramedics arrive.
The FBU said crews sometimes face “major trauma” incidents — patients with multiple serious injuries — that they aren’t trained to help with.
FBU national officer John McGhee said: “We’ve had a number of incidents where people have thought they were attending someone who has a heart attack, only to get there and discover a major trauma.
“If we get to an incident where we are as much use as a car of football fans, then it raises serious concerns.”
Patients Association head Katherine Murphy blamed the problem on NHS underfunding.
