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Firefighters are being called on average once a day by the NHS to lift
and carry obese people, according to figures released under the Freedom
of Information Act.
The figures show that in England, firefighters have been called
1,784 times in the last five years to assist with overweight patients,
weighing up to 42 stone. Some cases involved people getting stuck in
the bath or in a car, while others involved helping ambulance personnel
moving patients or dead bodies. In other instances, fire crews had to
use equipment such as salvage sheets and even turntable ladders to move
someone.
The figures were revealed by Conservative health spokesman Mike
Penning, a former firefighter himself. “As a former firefighter, I am
concerned at these figures. They show the severe strain that the
growing obesity epidemic is putting our emergency services under.
Labour’s complacent attitude to tackling obesity has meant that years
have been wasted in our bid to deal with this growing problem. It is
about time that the Labour Government woke up and started to take
obesity seriously.”
He told the Guardian newspaper that in his 11 years at a busy fire
station in Essex, he only once had to help lift an obese person, while
now it is a routine, daily activity.
The Conservatives say the callouts cost the taxpayer over GB pound 4m, based on an average fire and rescue service callout of GB pound 2,289.