The number of seriously overweight people who require assistance in the UK when they fall over or need to be moved has greatly increased recently and it is often the Fire Service that has to be called to get them moved and lifted.

However the Fire Service saying that they have had enough of being called out for this purpose and that it does not really fall into the remit of their job description to do this sort of work. They argue that very often it is to hospitals that they are called and that hospitals should (and very often do) have the correct equipment for lifting very obese patients who have fallen over or who just need to be moved.

The Fire Service must also consider that the situation is getting worse with the rising number of super obese people in the UK and that hospitals should not impinge on their valuable resources. In Scotland a number of Fire Service there have issued guidelines saying that they ill only help with the lifting and moving of obese people as a very last resort when no other people are able to do it or when there is a life could be in danger, but they will not act as the first point of call for these situation.

They maintain that they must be there to put out fires and help people who are in serious danger rather than providing a community service, which could undermine their overall operational ability.

In Scotland some of the worst obesity cases are found especially in Glasgow that is one of the most obese places in Europe. Hospitals there are facing mounting bills to cope with obesity related illnesses and problems and the UK government needs to act quickly before the problem gets worse.