NI obese fire rescues cost £500,000 in four years

The Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service has rescued 166 obese people from emergency situations in the last four years, the BBC has learnt.

The operations have cost the NIFRS £493,013, putting it top of the four UK fire services for so-called bariatric rescues.

These are when a fire service comes to the aid of severely obese people, often after they become stuck in their homes.

NIFRS carried out 40 such rescues last year - a 26% reduction on 2014.

The number of obese people being rescued by fire services across the UK, meanwhile, has gone up by more than a third over the past three years.

In February 2016, NIFRS released details of the types of bariatric incidents they attended.

These included:

• A woman stuck on a toilet seat

• A man who had to be moved from a trolley to a hospital bed

• A woman who fell off a mobility scooter

• A man refusing hospital treatment who had to be moved back into bed

'Dignity of the patient'

NIFRS said it had a duty to help people in emergency situations, and worked with the Ambulance Service to provide the specialist equipment required to help with the rescue of bariatric patients.

"Decisions are made on the appropriate rescue techniques required, including specialist equipment and manual handling techniques, to ensure the safety of all involved and the dignity of the patient," said the NIFRS.

900 UK incidents

Figures obtained by BBC Radio 5 live show there were more than 900 bariatric incidents across the UK in the past year.

Rescuers said they often used lifting equipment, special slings and sometimes removed windows, walls and banisters.

The National Obesity Forum said severe obesity was a worsening problem.

In 2012, a new category was created for the fire and rescue services to report incidents involving obese patients.

The fire and rescue service in South Wales is well equipped to deal with bariatric rescues