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With the consultation period for the future of the fire service officially concluded, Gosia Zielinska from Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service sets out what happens now:

‘Warwickshire County Council Cabinet has authorised the Chief Fire Officer, Ben Brook, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Fire and Rescue Service, to consider the feedback from this public consultation together with the views of staff, partners and representative bodies, and to subsequently report back to the Cabinet. We expect that the Cabinet will consider the final analysis and recommendations in June 2024. This date may be subject to change.’

Shipston First Responders have had a very busy year so far, and the team is continuing to grow. In February alone, they responded to 27 incidents, adding to the 49 in January.

Seven defibrillators were activated. The five additional team members will be most welcome. The new recruits are currently awaiting their training from the West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Meanwhile, the First Responders have run three training sessions for the public on how to do CPR and use defibrillators. A session on paediatric resuscitation was oversubscribed, so a further session will be scheduled in due course. The team has checked that the town’s 31 defibrillators are functioning properly and are reviewing further sites where they could be usefully placed.

Fundraising for the new cars is proceeding thanks to the huge and much-appreciated support of the Stour Valley Lions Club, Shipston Rotary and the League of Friends of Ellen Badger Hospital. They are all working closely together as a community team to support the fundraising. A recent collection in the town square raised £2,000 and a pitchside collection at the Rugby club raised a magnificent £900.

Some local businesses have expressed determination to help, including the Thirst Edition who are collecting monies from their popular quiz and pie nights. There is still a long way to go before they reach their target. It is hoped they can acquire their new car in the next couple of months and the replacement for the existing vehicle later in the year. All donations are gratefully received and can be made via The Rotary or The Lions or online using JustGiving if you search for Shipston First Community Responders

Rowena Webb from Stour Health and Wellbeing Partnership writes: We are very lucky that Warwickshire Rural County Council has put on a digital workshop course for people within Shipston. It’s an opportunity to learn some valuable digital skills. The course is running for six weeks and is open to all.

We are also extremely fortunate to have Citizens Advice bringing their expertise to the Warm Hub throughout April cost-of-living sessions. This will be a great opportunity for Shipston residents to speak to someone about any concerns they may have.

Both activities are happening at the Warm Hub, Thursdays 10-12pm at the Scout Hut.  Please see the Stour Health and Wellbeing Partnership website (www.shwp.org.uk) or our Facebook page for more information.

Does Shipston need to have an on-call fire station? What is a surge station and how will that work for the town?

Come along to the Townsend Hall on 5th March to hear plans for the future of Shipston’s Fire Station.  This session, organised for Shipston, is hosted by Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service. It is part of a public consultation into proposed changes to the Service’s delivery model.

The event starts at 6.30pm and will finish at 8pm. It is free, but places are limited, so anyone wanting to attend must book a ticket. These are allocated on a first come, first served basis. If the event is fully booked, there will be an opportunity to join a waiting list. Book on https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/warwickshire-fire-andrescue-76075908553/ or by telephone by calling 01926 410410.

If you can’t come along, please note that the public consultation period finishes very soon, on 10th March 2024. Until then, you can find out more and say what you think about Warwickshire Fire and Rescue’s Resourcing to Risk model on the consultation website: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ask. It has details on the proposed changes, on-call availability data and response times.

Shipston’s First Responders were the busiest Community First Responders team in the whole of the Coventry & Warwickshire sector of the West Midlands Ambulance Service during February, responding to 49 serious callouts.

First Responders are trained by the Ambulance Service to attend lifethreatening 999 emergency calls. They aim to be on the scene of an incident in 10 minutes and keep patients stable, bridging the gap between the 999 call and the ambulance arriving.

The team predicts that callouts will continue to be high while the pressures on the NHS and ambulance service persist and says that waiting times for ambulances have increased in the past year.

Shipston’s First Responders are seeking a replacement vehicle, and fundraising is also underway for a second car to help them cover not just Shipston but a wide rural area, with donations gratefully accepted at www.justgiving.com/campaign/shipstonfirstresponders.

Could you be part of the team? They are recruiting both in Shipston and the villages in the area.

Contact stuart@shipstonfirstresponders.org

They are shortly to become a registered charity and continue to be grateful for all the support that they are given by the town.