The number of severely obese people being rescued by firefighters across the UK is on the rise.
Many have become trapped in their own homes and need specialist equipment to remove them.
Figures from the Home Office reveal that firefighters in England attended a record 1,641 “bariatric assists” in 2020-21. This involves coming to the aid of plus-size people, often because they are trapped in their own homes, Wales Online reports.
Rescues can sometimes involve lifting equipment, special slings, and even the removal of windows, walls, and bannisters. Although bariatric assists are still relatively rare, the number has been steadily rising over the last decade.
Call-outs in 2020-21 increased by 24% from 1,326 before the pandemic in 2019-20. In 2012, the first year these figures were recorded, there were 429 of these rescues and the number has been rising year on year.
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Of bariatric rescues in 2020-21, at least seven fire appliances were called out to attend on 11 occasions, and at least four on 187 call-outs. One of the rescues required the assistance of between 30 and 39 firefighters.
In 59% of incidents, firefighters spent an hour or less providing assistance, but on 41 occasions, officers were occupied for more than four hours.
Meanwhile, the number of available firefighters has dwindled since bariatric rescues were first recorded in 2012. Home Office figures show there were 35,279 firefighters in England in 2021. That is 11 fewer than the previous year, and 6,779 fewer than in 2012.
Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, National Obesity Forum said: “Sadly, these figures will continue to rise for many years to come.
"Even when the government's latest plans to tackle obesity have been finally implemented, there will still be hundreds requiring rescue teams to get them out of their homes and into hospital for treatment."
“Thirty years of political indifference are responsible for this desperate situation."
New rules requiring calorie information to be displayed on menus and food labels - for businesses with more than 250 employees - came into force in April. Regulations to restrict the promotion of less healthy foods online will start from October.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Bariatric incidents accounted for 0.3% of the 518,261 fire and rescue incidents that occurred in 2020/21. Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work - overall they will receive around £2.5 billion in 2022/23.”
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