I would like to add some perspective from the point of view of a CFR. Firstly, I was aware of the situation in Staffordshire quite some time ago and most CFR's that I know are dismayed at what the CFR's in Staffs are allowed to do in the capacity as a CFR. This is what I do know as fact: CFR's in Staffs undergo a 13 week course, which is in effect a Technician Course. They are required to complete the same assesments to the same required pass rate. Staff's CFR's are the only CFR's in the UK allowed to drive on blue lights, however, they have no exemptions which means they have to drive within the speed limit and can not go through red lights and so on. After the recent report I doubt they will be allowed to continue to drive with blue lights and quite rightly so. Staff's CFR's are dispatched to jobs that CFR's from other areas would not normally be sent to such as RTC's. We all know that a RTC can be a very dangourous scene and there is no way I woud volunteer myself to attend one as a CFR. Many of the locations in Staffs where there are active CFR units are remote rural areas. However, due to the low populations of the areas concerned, the CFR's do not get called out very often. It is the opinion of many very qualified people I have spoken to that the reason why the problems have occurred is not due to the lack of training (in fact the staffs CFR's undergo far more training than counterpart CFR's in other trusts including mine) but is due to skill fade and lack of experience as the CFR's in question simply do not get out in the field often enough. The CFR unit I belong to is not in a rural area but in a densely populated area with several ambulance stations close by, yet, we have been called out more times this year alone than some of the Staffs units got called out for the whole of last year. So I do not subscribe to the idea that CFR’s should be limited to remote rural locations only. I am sure that in terms of Staffs there are many things that need fixing but the one thing I would introduce as a matter of urgency would be to ensure that all CFR's in the rural areas of Staff's go third manning often to ensure they use their skills regularly. With regards to blue lights. I do not agree that CFR's should use blue lights. Perhaps there is some merit in extending the use of green lights so that not only doctors can use them but other medical personal such as community nurse practitioners, Midwifes & CFR's but of course only if it is deemed necessary and only with the correct and proper training. As I have said before, I believe that there is a place for CFR's, not just in rural areas but built up ones too. There is the argument that instead of relying on volunteers, trusts should invest adequately in order to employ more front line personnel and have more resources on the road, but the bottom line is that no matter how many there are, if they are all tied up then what else can be done? The idea of a CFR is that they are already in the community and therefore (in many cases) can be at the side of a patient administering life saving treatment before more qualified help arrives. There can be no arguing with the fact that this has been proven to improve survival rates, which surely can only be a good thing?