Bedford FRS - Covid-19 Inspection

Last October we were inspected by the Her Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service (HMICFRS) on our response during the COVID-19 pandemic from last March. Here is the Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s HMICFRS full report.

HMICFRS has outlined its key findings in a report which covers how the Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Staff stepped up to support our communities and partners during the pandemic. As a Service we welcome the opportunity to consider any lessons learned from the inspection. We will review the areas for consideration identified by HMICFRS as we continue to support our staff and partners, whilst trying to ensure our communities safety during these challenging times.

The report recognises the positive contribution we have made to our community during the pandemic. As a service we reacted quickly and proactively to give additional support to partners and the community during the initial phases of the pandemic. We continued to provide the level of activity expected in our response and prevention functions.

Our staff, including firefighters, took on several additional roles to support the needs of our local community. For example, we packaged and delivered around 500 food parcels to vulnerable people, and seconded over 30 staff to the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) to drive ambulances and provide additional driver training. This has kept more ambulances on the road with our staff working over 1800 hours, covering around 1500 shifts. Over 10,500 patients have been reached by our joint teams.

Chief Fire Officer, Paul Fuller said; “I am really proud of everything we have achieved, and I would like to thank our staff for their continued support as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to change and challenge the way that we are working. During the pandemic we were able to adapt quickly to new ways of working. This meant we could respond to emergencies and take on a greater role in the community by supporting other blue light services and partner agencies.

‘We continue to deliver an important service to our communities and we will continue to step up and support our partners by driving ambulances, co-responding to medical emergencies and community first responding.”