Yorkshire Ambulance Service Archives - Page 2 of 4

Hazardous response team rescue person from Ripon Canal

Specialist paramedics and other emergency workers came to the rescue of a person on a boat on Ripon Canal last night.

Firefighters from Ripon were summoned to Boroughbridge Road, which runs alongside the canal basin, at 12.23am.

They were responding to a request from paramedics to help move a patient from a boat, according to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Its incident report said:

“Crews assisted to move the casualty into a seated position to allow paramedics to carry out an assessment.”

The report added firefighters then liaised with paramedics and staff from Yorkshire Ambulance Service’s hazardous area response team, which provides emergency treatment in precarious rescue operations.

The report said:

“Crews then assisted the casualty from the boat to the pontoon and left them in the care of ambulance crews.”

No further details have been released.

The canal held an open day yesterday to celebrate its 250th anniversary.

Local Lib Dems call for investigation into ‘mass exodus’ of ambulance staff

Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats have called for an investigation after figures revealed a rise in staff vacancies at Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

Figures obtained by the party show the number of employees leaving the service annually had increased by 28.3% since 2019/20.

According to the data, in 2022/23 alone, 892 staff left the ambulance trust and its vacancy rate was 17% – the highest in the country.

By comparison, South Central Ambulance Service had the next highest with 16%.

Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, called on the government to investigate the ‘mass exodus” of staff.

He added that a recruitment drive should be launched to retain, recruit and train paramedics and other ambulance service staff.

Mr Gordon said:

“This is deeply disturbing and there needs to be an investigation immediately.

“We are fortunate to have a great district hospital, and fantastic ambulance staff, but paramedics and our hospital are feeling the strain of years of Conservative neglect.”

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service said the vacancy figure included vacancies for all service lines including emergency operations, non-emergency patient transport service and the NHS 111 urgent care service.

They added:

“While these figures look stark in isolation, it’s important to remember there is natural attrition in every organisation and many reasons why people choose to change jobs. Yorkshire Ambulance Service is committed to increasing its workforce, including the number of frontline clinical roles.

“The nature of our work is diverse and very much focused on providing high quality patient care, and we are committed to supporting colleagues in a positive workplace environment.”

Martin Flaherty, managing director of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, added:

“There is no doubt that recruitment and retention of all grades of frontline staff ranks foremost in the priorities of the boards of each of our member services so of course it is worrying to see an increase in those leaving the ambulance service.

“However, it is important to note that the data that was requested includes all ambulance staff groups, not just paramedics, including wider clinical roles and also non-clinical such as 111 call handlers and administrative staff.

“There is also natural attrition in every organisation and many reasons why people may choose to move on in their careers. This is not unique to the ambulance service, and indeed there are recruitment and retention issues across the wider health and social care arena.”

Business Breakfast: Harrogate rental company chief executive to retire

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is an after work drinks event on Thursday, August 31 at The West Park Hotel in Harrogate between 5-7pm.

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate rental company has confirmed its chief executive will retire next month.

Neil Stothard, who is CEO at Beckwith Knowle-based VP, has informed the firm’s board of his decision to step down on September 30.

Mr Stothard joined the company as group finance director in 1997. He later became managing director in 2004 before taking up the post as chief executive.

In a board statement, VP confirmed that Anna Bielby, who is currently chief financial officer, will take over as chief executive on September 1 and work with Mr Stothard to ensure an “orderly handover”.

Jeremy Pilkington, chairman of the company, said:

“I want to record my personal thanks to Neil for his service to the company and me since joining Vp in 1997 as group finance director and in 2004 assuming the role of managing director and subsequently chief executive.

“Working with Neil to exit the general plant hire sector to focus on a specialist rental offering created the platform for our continued success and growth.

“Neil’s dedication and strong leadership has been central to Vp’s prosperity and enables us to look to the future with confidence and optimism.”

Yorkshire Ambulance Service apprenticeship scheme rated as ‘good’

An apprenticeship scheme at Yorkshire Ambulance Service has been rated as good by inspectors.

Ofsted inspected the scheme in June and found that it had good quality of education, as well as outstanding personal development.

Inspectors rated it as good overall.

The trust currently has 587 apprentices, including ambulance support workers, associate ambulance practitioners and paramedic degree apprentices.

It also employs apprentices in corporate services such as finance, operational support, learning and development.

Dawn Adams, associate director of education and organisational development (Interim) for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said:

“I am exceptionally proud of our apprenticeship provision in YAS. Our achievement rates are strong and distinction rates are excellent.”

Trains stopped amid ‘concerns for safety’ of teenager on Crimple Valley viaduct

Trains on the Harrogate line were stopped this morning after emergency services were called to deal with concerns for the safety of a teenager on Crimple Valley viaduct.

The concerns were first reported to police just after 5.30am, and both North Yorkshire Police and British Transport Police attended the scene.

They were joined by staff from Yorkshire Ambulance Service, while North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service was on stand-by to help if needed.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“Police negotiators brought [it] to a safe conclusion just before 8.30am.

“A man aged in his late teens was checked over my paramedics and he is receiving medical support.”

Train services on the line had to be replaced by buses for a number of hours while police dealt with the incident.

The line is now clear, though Northern said delays to services could last “for some time due to displaced trains and crew”.

Business Breakfast: Knaresborough financial advisors appoint new board members

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, 27 July at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am.

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Knaresborough financial firm has announced a number of changes to its board.

Prosperis Ltd, which is based at St James’ Business Park, said it wanted to appoint experienced professionals to the company as part of its growth strategy.

Among the changes include Dave McLaughlin, who has been appointed as managing director of Prosperis Wealth and David Carrington joins as managing director of Prosperis Corporate Services.

David Carrington and Dawn Cockson.

Dawn Cockson also joins the board as operations director.

Niall Gunn, chief executive of Prosperis Ltd, said:

“These are exciting times for Prosperis. We are concluding our seventh acquisition with the next one due to complete in the autumn and our management team is stepping up to drive our service proposition to our clients.

“Both Davids and Dawn will be a great addition to our board, bringing a wide range and skills and talents.”

Yorkshire Ambulance Service among top 100 apprentice employers

Yorkshire Ambulance Service has been named in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers for 2023.

The service, which operates ambulances in the Harrogate district and wider Yorkshire region, was ranked 36 in the list and was the highest ranked NHS organisation.

More than 500 of the service’s 7,200 staff are apprentices, including ambulance support workers, associate ambulance practitioners and paramedic degree apprentices.

It also employs apprentices in corporate services like finance, operational support, learning and development.

Kim Walsh, apprenticeships manager for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said:

“We are delighted to have ranked so highly; this establishes Yorkshire Ambulance Service as one of the leading apprenticeship employers in the country.”

Learn how to save a life with free training in Ripon

Defibrillators can be found at an increasing number of locations across Ripon and surrounding areas, but would you know how to use one to save somebody’s life?

The Defibs-Ripon group has organised a free CPR and defibrillator familiarisation lesson to ensure the vital skills are shared with as many people as possible.

The 90-minute lesson is being provided by Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) and attendees will have the opportunity to practice cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the service’s training dummy, as well as being taught how to use a defibrillator.

Alec Lutton of Defibs-Ripon said:

“Handling the defibrillator and trying out CPR helps take away the fear of having to do this for the first time in an emergency and may help save the life of a loved one, or a complete stranger, some day.”

The training session will be held at Ripon Bowling Club on Tuesday, August 22. Places are free but must be booked in advance by emailing ripondefibs@gmail.com.

Mr Lutton added:

“Over the last seven years we have tried to encourage as many people as possible to attend these lessons. However, some think it will never happen to them or their friends.

“The important thing to remember is that it can happen to anyone at any time, and anywhere.”

Pateley Bridge paramedic took his own life after being dismissed from job

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.

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.

Nurses and ambulance workers in Harrogate district to strike today

Nurses and ambulance workers in the Harrogate district will walk out today as part of an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions.

Picket lines could be organised within yards of each other on Lancaster Park Road in Harrogate, where the hospital and the ambulance station are both located.

The Royal College of Nursing also plans to stage another walkout tomorrow (February 7).

The move comes as the union has called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to increase nurses’ pay and NHS funding.

Patricia Marquis, director for England at the RCN, said:

“People are having to wait longer to access services when demand has never been greater.

“Patients are not dying because nurses are striking. Nurses are striking because patients are dying.

“Our members have a mandate to take strike action for another 100 days – and the Prime Minister would do well to see these strikes for what they are: a warning of the need for swift action.

“The Prime Minister is letting down the nation’s health, millions of patients, and ultimately the economy. An ill and untreated population cannot work and contribute to the economic recovery that everybody wants to see.”

Meanwhile, GMB union members from Yorkshire Ambulance Service will stage another walkout in a dispute over pay and conditions.

Ambulance staff are also set to stage further walkouts on February 10.

In response to the strike action, a spokesman for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said:

“Comprehensive plans are in place to maintain the safety of patients requiring our services during the Royal College of Nursing’s industrial action.

“We are committed to providing the best possible levels of healthcare in any eventuality, and as ever, during the industrial action our focus has been on maintaining the safety of our patients.

“Whilst it is regrettable that some of our services have been affected by industrial action, we have ensured that essential services have remained available. Whilst we have been operating at reduced staffing levels in a number of areas such as inpatient wards, we worked with the RCN to ensure that we had sufficient nursing staff working to maintain patient safety.

“During the industrial action we have rescheduled appointments where it has been necessary. We have worked with the RCN to ensure that our services have remained safe.

“While pay is a matter for government and the trade unions, we greatly value our staff and respect those who have chosen to take part in industrial action. We want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering high quality patient care to all those who need it.”

Boy rescued in freezing conditions from River Nidd in Knaresborough

A boy was rescued from the River Nidd in Knaresborough in bitterly cold conditions yesterday.

The full circumstances surrounding the incident, which happened just before 4.30pm, remain unclear, as is the condition of the boy, who was taken to hospital by ambulance.

However he is not thought to have suffered serious injuries despite being in such cold water for a period of time.

Police and firefighters joined paramedics at the scene.

A Yorkshire Ambulance Service spokeswoman said:

“We received an emergency call at 4.18pm on Tuesday afternoon to reports of a teenager who had experienced a medical episode and fallen into the River Nidd at Knaresborough.

“Two ambulances and a rapid response vehicle were dispatched to the scene and one patient was conveyed to Harrogate District Hospital.”

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said:

“Police were contacted by the ambulance service at just before 4.30pm yesterday in relation to reports of a person in the River Nidd at Knaresborough.

“Officers attended the scene to assist the fire service and ambulance crew.

“The patient was conveyed to hospital in the care of the ambulance service.”

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log said it was summoned at 4.24pm to the river near Harrogate Road. The log added:

“Crews from Knaresborough and Harrogate responded to a young male in a river. The young male was rescue from the river and transported to hospital via road ambulance.”

The Stray Ferret was contacted by a member of the public who said local dog walker James Warburton had noticed the danger and rushed to help.

We contacted Mr Warburton, who confirmed he was involved but declined to comment further.

Ambulance workers in Harrogate district begin strike

A picket line is in place outside Harrogate Ambulance Station today in the latest round of strikes.

Staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service have walked out as part of a national dispute over pay and conditions. A second day of strikes is due to take place on December 28.

Vehicles tooted their horns in support of members of the GMB union picketing on Lancaster Park Road, which is on the same street at Harrogate Disrict Hospital.

Nurses and firefighters have also showed their support and a local cafe dropped off hot chocolate to strikers shivering besides a fire.

Union organiser Katherine Mitchell told the Stray Ferret GMB staff were striking today from one minute past midnight until 10pm. Ms Mitchell said members of Unison were due to join the action at noon today.

She said about 60 staff were employed at Harrogate Ambulance Station and they would continue to respond to the most serious category one incidents during the strike. Some strikers had already been called in to deal with such incidents, she added.

Several staff said the dispute was not only about pay but also about conditions and the state of the NHS. One person said they had waited four hours outside Harrogate District Hospital recently with a patient because the hospital did not have enough staff to escort the person away.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said this morning NHS contingency plans would not cover all 999 calls and that “ambulance unions have taken a conscious choice to inflict harm on patients” — which drew an angry response from union leaders.

Rail and postal workers in the Harrogate district have been on strike this winter, but Harrogate District Hospital was not included in the first two days of nurses strikes. Firefighters are expected to be balloted in the new year over strike action.

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‘Desperate person’

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