Mayor Burnham proposes firefighters as medical first responders

Mayor Burnham proposes firefighters as medical first responders
Credit: GMFRS

London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Mayor Andy Burnham said that the Firefighters could become medical first responders.

The mayor has expressed Greater Manchester’s firefighters could be asked to be the first responders in some medical troubles in a bid to “save more lives.” Andy Burnham has requested chief fire officer Dave Russel to look at how fire units could be used to help take pressure off the ambulance service.

What prompted the proposal from Mayor Andy Burnham?

He expressed firefighters can respond more quickly to crises than paramedics who can be “trapped” waiting to unload patients at A&E. Mr Burnham stated firefighters’ training and pay would need to be examined if they took on this “extra responsibility” ” but he said the union had suggested it would support the plan.

He informed BBC Radio Manchester he did not know the expense of the proposal yet, but promised to confer with residents as it could lead to shifts in council tax. There are 41 fire stations across Greater Manchester scattered across the region’s ten districts. The average response time of units was seven minutes 30 seconds, Mr Burnham stated, meaning they were “faster” than ambulances.

“That’s no criticism, but by obtaining defibrillators more quickly for people who require them in Greater Manchester, we will save lives. It’s the right thing to do”, he stated. The move would help free up the North West Ambulance Service in terms of “increased pressure and demand”, the mayor contended.

Mr Russel, who supervises the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS), has been requested to look at the proposal and report back by the end of the year. A similar procedure was trialled by the service in 2015-16 and was seen to have the potential to save 63 lives a year and support 77 people avoid life-changing neurological damage.

Daniele Naddei

Daniele Naddei is a journalist at Parliament News covering European affairs, was born in Naples on April 8, 1991. He also serves as the Director of the CentroSud24 newspaper. During the period from 2010 to 2013, Naddei completed an internship at the esteemed local radio station Radio Club 91. Subsequently, he became the author of a weekly magazine published by the Italian Volleyball Federation of Campania (FIPAV Campania), which led to his registration in the professional order of Journalists of Campania in early 2014, listed under publicists. From 2013 to 2018, he worked as a freelance photojournalist and cameraman for external services for Rai and various local entities, including TeleCapri, CapriEvent, and TLA. Additionally, between 2014 and 2017, Naddei collaborated full-time with various newspapers in Campania, both in print and online. During this period, he also resumed his role as Editor-in-Chief at Radio Club 91.
Naddei is actively involved as a press officer for several companies and is responsible for editing cultural and social events in the city through his association with the Medea Fattoria Sociale. This experience continued until 2021. Throughout these years, he hosted or collaborated on football sports programs for various local broadcasters, including TLA, TvLuna, TeleCapri, Radio Stonata, Radio Amore, and Radio Antenna Uno.
From 2016 to 2018, Naddei was employed as an editor at newspapers of national interest within the Il24.it circuit, including Internazionale24, Salute24, and OggiScuola. Since 2019, Naddei has been one of the creators of the Rabona television program "Calcio è Passione," which has been broadcast on TeleCapri Sport since 2023.