Report of Assistant Director Planning & Improvement

The Panel considered the report of the Assistant Director Planning & Improvement (ADPI) which presented the results and direction of travel of quarter 2 2022/23 from quarter 2 2021/22, and the projected end of year results for 2022/23.

Members queried why, with regards to Road Traffic Collisions (RTCs) attended by ESFRS over a five year period, the age of 33 of the fatalities was not recorded.  They were informed that it is not always possible to gather this information at the scene of the incident and that whilst information is shared by Sussex Police, this can be imperfect information and age ranges were not always included.  The Panel were informed that suitable information sharing was however taking place as part of the work of the Sussex Safer Road Partnership in their prevention activities.  The Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) assured Members that they were able to gather information that was of particular interest, such as use of seatbelts or involvement of motorcycles, which enabled targeted campaigns to take place.

The Panel noted the large increase in the number of attendees at business safety engagement events and were informed that the increase in resource available, which was granted previously by the Fire Authority, had enabled the Service to engage directly with businesses.

The Panel discussed the potential introduction of alternative healthcare provision for staff that had experienced delays for treatment from the National Health Service (NHS).  Members stated that staff were an important asset to the Service and agreed that there was a need to utilise private healthcare in order to support individuals return to work whilst the NHS was experiencing pressures to the service it provided.  The Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) acknowledged that staff were facing increasing challenges following periods of sickness, informing the Panel that the main causes of absence were musculoskeletal and mental health.  The Panel noted that NHS waiting times had increased and that mental health support in particular was taking longer to access.  The DCFO informed the Panel of measures that the Service had put in place to support staff.  These included regular meetings with Occupational Health (OH) to ensure patterns and emerging trends were acted upon, moving to a new provider for physiotherapy, continued development of the wellbeing hub and investment in training mental health first aiders and wellbeing champions.  It was also noted that there had been renewed provision of manual handling training which had had a positive impact on the number of injuries, quarterly complex case meetings to address blockers to progress, and an audit of the Ill Health Retirement process.

RESOLVED – That the Panel:

       i.          considered the performance results and progress towards achieving the Service’s purpose and commitments as contained in Appendix 1;

      ii.          considered the performance results and remedial actions that had been taken to address areas of under performance in the Fire Authority’s priority areas; and

     iii.          noted that work was ongoing to develop the new performance report that would be in place for the start of the year 2023/24.