TWO 999 services have teamed up to share their facilities in Glasgow allowing ambulance crews to operate out of a city fire station.
The Scottish Ambulance Service and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will both work out of Castlemilk Fire Station in the city's South Side as part of a partnership that already exists elsewhere in Scotland.
Two Scottish Ambulance Service vehicles and a crew of 11 trainee advanced practitioners, will occupy the station on a rota basis.
These are specialist paramedics have enhanced assessment skills and are able to refer patients to more appropriate care pathways.
Once qualified, they will be able to prescribe a vast array of medications to promote patients being able to stay at home.
This can help prevent unnecessary hospital admissions, therefore negating the stress of an individual being admitted to hospital and subsequently helps reduce the pressures at receiving A&E departments.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said this partnership working brings increased resources to local communities as well as benefiting the staff of both emergency services.
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Chris Gartshore, Area Service Manager, Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “We needed a base to enable us to maximise the availability of our services across the Glasgow area.
"This partnership with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service allows us to provide a stable base for our advanced practitioners to carry out their role, both as attending clinicians and their role within our telephone triage service.
“In addition to this, it allows us to work together with SFRS, building key interprofessional relationships in an environment that is not the scene of an emergency.
"The visibility of our teams working together in close partnership will give a level of reassurance to local communities that their safety is a priority.”
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Area Commander Roddie Keith is the Local Senior Officer for Glasgow City.
He said: “This is an excellent opportunity for us to further consolidate an already strong working relationship between Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
“Co-location of services brings a number of benefits for our organisations, but particularly in terms of the opportunities for regular joint working and interaction, which will benefit the local community.
“We would like to welcome our Scottish Ambulance Service colleagues into Castlemilk Fire Station.”
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