Scheme for vulnerable people launched in Shropshire
They made be there to fight fires and give safety advice, but fire officers often end up hearing about a whole range of other issues going on in people's lives.
Now a new scheme is making the most of that, giving firefighters an official route to flag up where the people they come into contact with might need extra support.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has teamed up with local councils and Citizens’ Advice to create the new method of getting help and support to vulnerable people.
SFRS’s group manager for prevention, Guy Williams, said officers already visit more than 3,500 homes each year to conduct fire safety checks and to give advice to people identified as vulnerable, including the elderly, disabled and people living alone.
He said that if firefighters felt that someone needed additional help they would contact the local authority on an informal basis and pass on their concerns.
But now that informal arrangement has now been swept away and replaced with a new system called “Safe & Well” that aims to ensure that vulnerable people get the help and support they need.
“Our firefighters often pick up on things that need to be brought to the attention of other agencies and until now they would pass on their concerns informally because there were no formal pathways or procedures," he said.
"That meant that people who really needed help could fall through the net.
“This is a big step forward and will help the relevant bodies to intervene much earlier with help and support for vulnerable people,” he said.
The new system is being launched on Monday and at the heart of it is a simple form that the firefighter fills in with the householder.
It asks questions about the top four key issues identified by Public Health England – lifestyle, warmth, social isolation and slips, trips and falls.
If a householder answers “yes” to any question and agrees to a referral, it will trigger an automatic email from the fire service to the appropriate organisation and the householder will be contacted by that organisation within 28 days.
The fire service is collaborating with Shropshire Council to deliver the Safe & Well system across the county, and with Telford & Wrekin Council and Citizen’s Advice in Telford.
A liveried Safe & Well outreach vehicle will visit fire station open days and other events through the summer to promote the new scheme.
