Release date: 3 October 2024
West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has delivered its highest number of Safe and Well Visits in a single quarter.
The service’s Prevention Team and operational fire crews delivered a record-breaking 1,552 Safe and Well Visits to vulnerable residents between 1 April and 30 June 2024.
This data was presented to West Sussex County Council’s Fire and Rescue Scrutiny Committee who reviewed the fire and rescue service’s quarter one performance at their meeting last week (26 September).
Data also revealed that 28 of the service’s 30 core measures were on target – an improvement from the previous quarter which saw 26 core measures on target.
A performance report showed sustained good performance in many areas. One particular success was the improvements made around safeguarding referrals; 100% of referrals were within 24 hours of discovery – a target which was red in the previous quarter.
Since the committee last met, a project to review the Retained (on-call) Duty System was launched as part of the commitments set out in the service’s Community Risk Management Plan.
The project intends to improve the current processes in place for the running of the retained function, aiming to create a system that works for a modern fire and rescue service. It is hoped that this will address the issue of retained firefighter availability – a core measure which is consistently below target, and an issue that affects services across the nation.
Councillor Kevin Boram, Chairman of the Fire & Rescue Service Scrutiny Committee, said: “The Fire and Rescue Scrutiny Committee meetings closely examines tangible evidence of the service’s performance, and I am delighted to see continued progress being made at each of our meetings.
“West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has come a long way since their improvement journey began in 2018. I recognise the hard work and commitment of all within the service in delivering these improvements. These improvements help deliver a great service in keeping the communities within West Sussex safe.”
Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Matt Cook, added: “This was my first performance report that I have presented since joining West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service in July, and I feel extremely privileged to share this report with the committee and communities of West Sussex.
“This report is a culmination of the hard work my colleagues deliver every day, and it is great to see their work reflected by the improvements in our targets.”
You can watch the meeting back here: https://westsussex.public-i.tv/core/portal/
