County's fire and ambulance services nominated for a national award

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) and Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) have been shortlisted in the Provider Collaboration of the Year category at the HSJ Awards 2024 - the healthcare sector’s premier awards event.

A spokesperson for EEAST said: “The two emergency services were nominated for their Community Wellbeing Officer (CWO) initiative, which was launched in November 2023 and is designed to bring health response and fire prevention together. The project also runs in partnership with Essex and Bedfordshire fire and rescue services. Across the three counties there are 11 CWOs split into six teams.

“There is an increased risk of fire in a home where someone has fallen. When emergency calls come in for non-injury falls, EEAST dispatchers can task CWOs to respond where available. This usually means the patient gets help more quickly, and while on scene the CWOs will provide fire prevention advice – from fitting new smoke alarms to discussing potential fire hazards with the patient.”

Since the project’s launch just 10 months ago, CWOs in Cambridgeshire, Essex and Bedfordshire have responded to almost 950 calls, and in nine out of 10 of those incidents they were first on scene. In more than 300 lower severity incidents, CWOs have helped patients on scene without the need for an ambulance, freeing up those ambulances to attend more serious emergencies in the area.

The spokesperson went on: “CWOs can also be called upon to assist ambulance crews with the most urgent emergency calls, such as cardiac arrests, as they have been trained by EEAST clinicians in providing basic life support. CWOs have attended over 150 Category 1 emergencies since November 2023.”

Jo Fletcher, Associate Director of Urgent and Emergency Care Integration at EEAST, commented: “I am thrilled to see the Community Wellbeing Officer project shortlisted for a HSJ award. EEAST is proud to work closely and collaboratively with our blue light partners in the fire and rescue services across the region.

“The CWO role embodies the strong relationship between our ambulance service and fire service, and since launching last November it has already achieved fantastic results for patients. Having medically trained officers from the fire service attend non-injury falls means that patients can also benefit from free fire prevention advice.

“I am incredibly proud of how well the CWOs have integrated with our frontline ambulance crews, our control room operators and the unscheduled care coordination hubs. This recognition by the HSJ Awards team is well deserved!”

Cambridgeshire Fire Service Station Commander Scott Fretwell, Community Risk Manager, said: “I am delighted to hear our partnership with EEAST has been shortlisted. The collaboration has seen our Community Wellbeing Officers spend more than 450 additional hours visiting vulnerable residents across the county carrying out safe and well visits.”

The winners will be announced at the HSJ Awards ceremony in central London on November 21.