Agenda item

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) advised that the report updated on progress of the ongoing workstreams that were being progressed under the Blue Light Collaboration Board (BLCB). The workstreams were being managed effectively through both the Strategic and Tactical Boards and contributed to improving outcomes, providing better value for money, reducing demand, and addressing inequalities within communities.

Leadership Development

Collaboration between Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS), Lancashire Police (LanCon) and North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) had continued to explore efficiencies and build professional working relationships across the Blue Light Services.

It was agreed for each Service to host a Leadership Event, and through intelligence from each organisation, three common themes were identified. The first session was organised and hosted by LFRS in October 2024 and 60 people attended across all three Services. LFRS staff consisted of Area Managers, Group Managers, and Heads of Service, similar audiences attended from NWAS and LanCon and included aspiring leaders. This session was on “Nourish to Flourish” and focussed on looking after yourself to be an effective leader.

Session 2 was held in March, focussing on handling media as leaders in a Blue Light Service. The two completed events were successful according to the evaluations. The final leadership event recently took place at Lancon and was around generational differences.

The group were also exploring an ‘Outside-In’ Leadership programme and looking to implement a cross-coaching network to develop shared learning, which may include a coaching exchange programme?.

Health and Wellbeing

This was a new collaboration group involving the Health and Wellbeing leads from all three Services. The aim was to understand the health and wellbeing offer across the different blue light services and to explore opportunities to work together to look after our people in a collaborative way.

The starting point for the group was to share policies and procedures for good practice and learning. NWAS had delivered several sessions about menopause and LFRS had developed a workshop to raise awareness of suicide from a responder’s point of view, elements of which could be shared across all services.

Estates and Co-location

The co-location initiative between LFRS, NWAS, and LanCon focused on identifying opportunities for shared site use to enhance collaboration and deliver better value for money. Successful co-location arrangements at Lancaster, St Annes, Darwen, Preston, and other fire stations had led to operational efficiencies and shared facilities. These joint working environments had also fostered stronger relationships and a deeper understanding of each service’s role within the Blue Light community ultimately contributing to improved outcomes for the people of Lancashire.

The updated Blue Light Collaboration Project Initiation Document had given the Estates and Co-location sub-group leads renewed direction in exploring further collaboration opportunities. Quarterly meetings between the Heads of Estates from LFRS, NWAS, and LanCon had revealed that the benefits extended beyond co-location alone. The project’s objectives, guiding principles, and expected benefits had been redefined, and the scope of work had been updated accordingly. In addition to site sharing, the group was exploring collaborative efforts such as system knowledge exchange, shared procurement specifications, and joint supplier framework opportunities.

Community First Responder (CFR)

A cost-benefit analysis by the New Economy confirmed that Emergency Medical Response (EMR) delivered a strong return on investment, £4.41 for every £1 spent. In areas where EMR co-responding had been practiced, when a person suffered a suspected cardiac arrest, firefighters were deployed in parallel to the ambulance service under blue-light conditions. Staff from whichever service arrived first immediately begin to provide potentially life-saving treatment before the other arrived. Not only did parallel mobilisation therefore facilitate the probability of a timely response; the additional on-scene activity also supported ambulance crews to undertake advanced clinical work while fire and rescue services (FRSs) operated in a support capacity. This scheme had been running successfully for many years in several parts of the UK, however, South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust had recently announced it was phasing out fire EMR to develop and strengthen its volunteer CFR scheme. This decision had been met with sadness and disappointment from FRSs involved in EMR, due to the improved outcomes for communities.

The CFR workstream within Lancashire enabled LFRS staff volunteers to respond to life-threatening emergencies directly from their workplace. Since 2023, over 200 incidents had been attended, with LFRS staff delivering life-saving interventions before ambulance crews arrived.

The operational model was structured in 3 phases:

Phase 1: 8 Green book staff respond voluntarily while on duty.

Phase 2: Flexi Duty Officers (FDOs) provide response while on duty.

Phase 3: On Call staff provided response within their local communities. This phase was in development, with the assistance of a heat map from NWAS. This identified areas within Lancashire that were proving difficult to recruit CFRs, and would enable LFRS to target local On-Call Firefighters who were interested in volunteering for the scheme.

The DCFO explained that national work was ongoing with trade unions with a hope of implementing a national CFR agreement for firefighters. Councillor J Hugo added that nationally Labour were lobbying the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for a paid arrangement to be included in firefighter contracts.

In response to a question from County Councillor J Tetlow in relation to the number of defibrillators within the service, the DCFO explained that each fire engine carried a defibrillator, some fire stations had them outside the station and some flexi duty officers and green book staff acting as CFR’s carried defibrillators. County Councillor J Tetlow remarked that the fire service carried out a wide variety of roles.

Resolved: That the Planning Committee noted the report.