The former Pershore Cottage Hospital in Pershore has been turned into a training ground by local firefighters practising vital lifesaving techniques.
Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service and West Midlands Ambulance Service HART have carried out a number of training exercises on tower cranes at the site belonging to Churchill Living. The specialist retirement developer plans to build 23 apartments on the site on Defford Road and has lent the land to the rescue service to practise crane rescues across three weekends.
The site is currently home to the former Pershore Cottage Hospital, which has been empty for many years and has fallen into a state of disrepair. Firefighters have been using the site to climb up a static tower crane to perform the dummy rescue of a colleague.
Greg Parton, construction manager at Churchill Living, said: “Churchill Living likes to write to the emergency services when we are starting work at a new site to offer the use of the site to help with their training.
“It’s vital that firefighters get the opportunity to train for scenarios in as realistic circumstances as possible, so we are always happy to help the emergency services and assist in whatever way we can to enable them to carry on with the fantastic work that they do.”
Carl Cooper, team leader at West Midlands Ambulance Service HART, said: “We’re extremely grateful to Churchill Living for allowing us to use this site to carry out various training exercises using the cranes. It’s not often that we get to practice on sites like this as we often meet great challenges when sourcing realistic venues for scenario training, so this has been an invaluable hands on experience for us.
“Our team work hard to constantly develop their skills and we greatly appreciate the chance to conduct realistic training and improve inter-operability with the fire service prior to an operational incident.”
Churchill Living’s new retirement development in Pershore is situated close to Abbey Park and will comprise 23 private, self-contained apartments that are specially designed for retired Owners, with features such as a video-entry system, lift to all floors, a 24 hour care and support system, and a Lodge Manager.
Communal facilities will include an Owners’ Lounge, Guest Suite and landscaped gardens. Like all Churchill Living Developments, the location has been chosen for convenience and is within easy walking distance of the wide selection of shops and amenities of Pershore town centre and has good public transport links.
For more information or to register your interest, please call 0800 458 1856.