Success at NFCC awards for falls partnership

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (BFRS) is celebrating after winning a prestigious Celebrating NFCC Prevention Award for its community partnership initiative that helps those who have fallen in their homes.

At the awards ceremony, which was held in Nottingham on 14 November, the Service scooped the Provider Partnership Working Prevention Award for its Community Wellbeing Officer (CWO) scheme, along with its partners in East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), Essex and Cambridgeshire fire services.  

The awards take place annually to recognise and celebrate the achievements of prevention activity in fire and rescue services across the UK.

Area Commander Rob Hulatt, Head of Prevention and Protection at BFRS, said: “We’re thrilled to have won this award with our partners.  This partnership is having a positive impact on our communities by working with EEAST to reach vulnerable residents more quickly and provide them with the support they need to stay safe in their home.  

“The Community Wellbeing Officer project not only reduces response times for EEAST but also allows us to identify risks and improve safety in ways that simply weren’t possible before.”

The CWO initiative was launched in November 2023 in Bedfordshire and is designed to bring health response and fire prevention together. Five CWOs work across Bedfordshire responding to non-emergency calls passed from the ambulance service, from people who have fallen.    

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 in November last year, CWOs in Bedfordshire have responded to 528 calls, and in more than 90 per cent of those incidents they were first on scene.  

The scheme has also been shortlisted for an Excellence in Fire and Emergency Award, and a HSJ Award.