Leading county councillor Morris Bright has asked whether firefighters in Hertfordshire should be able to access treatment from private healthcare providers – to get them back into work more quickly.

Speedy treatment, he says, for those firefighters who are waiting, would be better for their physical and mental health.

He suggests access to private treatment could cut the costs incurred by the county’s Fire and Rescue Service – in occupational health and over-time costs.

Cllr Bright – who is executive member for public health and community safety – raised the issue at a meeting of the council’s cabinet on Tuesday (July 9).

He said: “I really do think there has to be a way – particularly in a service which is so physical, where there are injuries sustained – to get our people back to work.

“Because it has an effect on their mental health, if they can’t do the work. And that has a whole knock on effect on their families as well.”

Cllr Bright – who had also floated the idea at a recent meeting of the council’s public health and community safety cabinet panel – suggested that there was a keenness to look at the possibilities. 

Additional occupational health costs were highlighted in the report as contributing to an overspend.

Following the meeting Cllr Bright stressed that he was not suggesting the provision of private health care for all firefighters – but access to private treatment for those firefighters who were facing long waits.