A defibrillator installed this week at the newly-opened Ripon Inn will provide a fitting reminder of the work of former paramedic Martin Faulkner.

Mr Faulkner, who worked for Yorkshire Ambulance Service and was one of its first personnel to serve as a paramedic, died in October 2022 after a long illness.

On Monday, the defibrillator purchased in his memory, was unveiled by his widow Patricia and son Chris at a ceremony also attended by Ripon Inn general manager Dan Chrisp, Eleanor Hartas and Alec Lutton of Defibs Ripon, Joanne Watson of Yorkshire Ambulance Service, Roger Fay of Zion Baptist Church and Cllr Pauline McHardy.

Martin Faulkner was one of Yorkshire’s first paramedics.

The life-saving device, was paid for with money raised by the Faulkner family and a donation from the Zion Baptist Church in Blossomgate, where Ms Faulkner is a member.

She said:

“Martin was a quiet man who didn’t seek recognition, but he would be proud of what has been achieved today.

“Our hope, as his family, is that this defibrillator placed outside the Ripon Inn, will help save the life of someone’s loved one, perhaps over the years, many lives.”

Mr Lutton, pointed out:

“This is the 23rd defibrillator to be installed in the Ripon area and I thank the Faulkner family and Zion Baptist Church for this wonderful gesture.”

Three-times Mayor Of Ripon, Cllr Pauline McHardy, added:

“I was delighted to be invited to today’s unveiling and it’s reassuring to know that the number of defibrillators we have in the city makes it one of the safest places to be if you have a heart attack.

“Having worked for more than 40 years as a nurse in the NHS, I know that swift action is essential and does save lives. With this in mind, it is also important for people to  go on the training courses provided by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service to learn how they can use a defibrillator.”

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A paramedic who lived in Pateley Bridge took his own life the day after he lost his job with the NHS, an inquest has heard.

Andrew Pickering was 57 when he was told he had committed gross misconduct at work, leading to his immediate dismissal from Yorkshire Ambulance Service on February 2 last year.

The inquest held today heard Mr Pickering had attempted to take his own life at home the same day, but was unsuccessful. He had gone to Harrogate District Hospital by ambulance, where he was assessed by the mental health crisis team in the early hours of February 3.

Senior crisis clinician Glen Wilson, from the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services in the Harrogate district, told the inquest:

“He openly engaged with us. He was happy to talk to us. He answered questions about himself.

“Although he had [tried to take his own life], he then alerted someone to his actions. He agreed to come to the [emergency] department to be checked over. He agreed to be seen. He agreed to talk about the events leading up to it.”

Mr Wilson said Mr Pickering, a former RAF serviceman, agreed to follow-up appointments over the next few days and went home at around 6am.

Today’s inquest heard the loss of his job followed a six-month investigation, during which he could have been placed on other duties that would not have involved dealing with the public.

However, the inquest heard Mr Pickering was “embarrassed” by this and was instead signed off work sick. He had not told his family about the problems he faced.

‘Desperate person’

It had also been a stressful period in his personal life, including the breakdown of his 27-year marriage, which saw him move out of the family home he shared with his wife and two teenage children.

His former wife questioned why someone who had attempted suicide was sent home alone. She added:

“A desperate person was left to go home on his own in a taxi in the early hours of the morning to an empty home.”

Mr Wilson said follow-up phone calls were due to be made that day, and Mr Pickering would have been visited daily for at least three days by someone from the crisis team. He said:

“He was saying to me he worked in this field, he can see the devastation on families when people end their lives. He said he would never do that to his family and he was happy to engage with us.”

Staff at the crisis service called Mr Pickering four times between 9.30am and 1.15pm on February 3. They received no answer but, knowing he had been in hospital through the night, thought he must be catching up on sleep.

A friend and colleague, Jonathan Mellor, who knew Mr Pickering had gone to hospital the previous night, called by his house at 10.30am. Seeing Mr Pickering was not yet dressed, he suggested the pair go for a walk later and said he would return in a couple of hours.

When Mr Mellor returned at 12.50pm, he found Mr Pickering had taken his own life. Coroner Jonathan Heath today concluded he had died by suicide.

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The inquest, held at the Coroner’s Court in Northallerton, heard Mr Pickering had been an “extremely popular and hard-working” paramedic but had struggled to deal with difficult family circumstances, leading to the situation that saw him put through the disciplinary process – which had lasted six months instead of the recommended four.

At one point, the inquest heard, comparisons were drawn between Mr Pickering and Wayne Couzens, the police officer who murdered Sarah Everard.

Prior to joining YAS in 2009, he had been in the RAF and served in Afghanistan soon after the birth of his son in 2007. His former wife said:

“He came back a very different person. Things were never quite the same.

“Over the years, I asked him to talk to someone, but he didn’t. He wasn’t abusive or violent, but he was more withdrawn.”

The inquest heard Yorkshire Ambulance Service had undertaken a ‘lessons learnt’ review following Mr Pickering’s death.

His brother Richard questioned the way the investigation following the death had been carried out. He said the family felt they had not been listened to and were not trusted to be part of the process.

YAS head of employee relations Alison Cockerill said:

“It was decided it should be internal. We were aware Andrew had deliberately kept some of what was happening from his family and we were still trying to navigate what that meant for us in terms of respecting Andrew’s wishes.”

Mr Heath said in future, the trust should consider adopting a policy of explaining the process to the family at the outset and showing them the findings at the end.

Mrs Cockerill said, following the review, YAS had put in place new measures to support people who were going through disciplinary processes, including assessing the impact on the individual alongside the risk to the public.

All managers and supervisors would now receive skills training to help them support people subject to disciplinary investigations, she added.

Harrogate District Hospital has said it does not expect to cut back on vital health services because of soaring energy bills after revealing its costs have more than doubled from last year.

The hospital’s gas and electricity costs shot up by 132% between April and June when compared to the same period last year, but bosses have insisted the price rises “are being managed”.

This comes amid warnings that some NHS trusts will have to find as much as £2 million extra a month this winter due to the fuel price surge.

The NHS Confederation – which represents trust bosses across the UK – told the BMJ that the energy crisis coupled with higher than expected inflation was already “wiping out large parts of the NHS budget”.

A spokesperson for Harrogate District Hospital said that as part of its own budget planning it would do its “utmost” to take into account further rises, adding:

“Inflation costs above those included in the budget are being actively managed through the trust’s efficiency programme so that we can provide the best possible value for the taxpayer.

“It is important that our community has the best possible healthcare system to turn to when they need it and we are not anticipating that the current fuel rises will impact on the vital services we provide.”

Energy bills for non-domestic customers such as hospitals are not subject to the energy price cap and have therefore been even more vulnerable to surging prices.

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Under Liz Truss’s energy plan, household bills will be frozen at an average of £2,500 for two years and the new prime minister said businesses, charities and public sector organisations would also be offered an “equivalent guarantee” – but only for six months.

Harrogate District Hospital was last year awarded £14 million to reduce its carbon footprint and energy bills as part of its drive to become a “greener, more environmentally friendly organisation”.

The funding is being used for works to install new insulation and glazing across the hospital site.

A hospital spokesperson added:

“Another exciting project currently underway is the drilling of a borehole, from which the heat energy will be extracted from the water, put through a heat exchanger and into our heating system to help reduce our reliance on gas and other fossil fuels.

“We also have a number of other projects that are currently being progressed or will start shortly, including replacing air handling units to increase efficiency and extract heat energy, and installing photovoltaic arrays to generate electricity on the site.

“Through this work we are already seeing big efficiency gains and further projects will continue in the years ahead.”