Harrogate hospital bosses have said plans are in place to “minimise” the impact of forthcoming ambulance strikes.

Staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service will walk out tomorrow (December 21) and next Wednesday (December 28) for 24 hours in a dispute over pay.

The move is part of a wave of industrial action taking place across England throughout the winter, with rail staff and nurses also staging walkouts.

In response to the strikes by ambulance workers, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has urged patients to continue to come forward for care.

A spokesperson for the hospital trust said:

“We are working hard to keep patients safe during strikes, while delivering the best care possible, and patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule. 

“Nobody should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes, with key services continuing to operate.”

The trust added that it has contingency plans in place in accident and emergency, as well as measures to discharge patients, during the days of strike action.

It added:

“The safety of our patients is our utmost priority and we have contingency plans in place to minimise any impact industrial action will have.

“For instance, additional staff will be on duty in our emergency department on these days to manage any increase in walk-in attendances for those people unable to travel to hospital by ambulance.

“We also have alternative arrangements in place to help manage the discharge of patients who are unable to make their own travel arrangements so that they can leave our hospital in a timely manner.”

Harrogate District Hospital, Lancaster Park Road.

Meanwhile, managers at Yorkshire Ambulance Service have urged the public to only call 999 for an ambulance for life-threatening conditions or injuries amid stretched resources during strike action.

An agreement is in place between the unions and the service to cover life-threatening calls.

Nick Smith, executive director of operations at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said:

“With continued operational pressures and the added challenge of industrial action, we will have less resources available to respond.  

“Services will be severely disrupted, with the likelihood of significant delays.”

Ambulance staff ‘had enough’

Union membership in

Yorkshire Ambulance Service employs 7,200 staff, of which about 4,000 belong to either Unison or the GMB unions.

It is one of nine ambulance trusts across the country whose workers have voted to strike.

Paramedics, emergency care assistants and call handlers will be among those planning to walk out tomorrow.

Staff at the ambulance trust voted to stage the strike in protest at a 4% government pay award.

Rachael Harrison, GMB Union general secretary, said workers have “had enough”.

She said:

“The last thing they want to do is take strike action, but the government has left them with no choice.

“(Health Secretary) Steve Barclay needs to listen and engage with us about pay. If he can’t talk to us about this most basic workforce issue, what on earth is he Health Secretary for?

“The government could stop this strike in a heartbeat – but they need to wake up and start negotiating on pay.”

A person required medical assistance at lunchtime today after an incident at the crossing outside Bettys in Harrogate.

Paramedics covered the injured person in blankets and administered first aid until an ambulance arrived at about 2pm.

The person was lying on the ground near the traffic lights on the opposite side to Bettys.

Traffic on Parliament Street was diverted into a single lane while help was administered.

The Stray Ferret has asked Yorkshire Ambulance Service for further details.

The crossing outside Bettys has been the scene of numerous incidents involving pedestrians and traffic over the years.

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A passing motorist saved the life of Boroughbridge postmaster Nigel Hamilton-Evans when he collapsed by the roadside.

Mr Hamilton-Evans, 57, was walking along Aldborough Gate in Boroughbridge when he suddenly collapsed in cardiac arrest.

The passer-by pulled over, called 999 and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Mr Hamilton-Evans said:

“He did CPR and kept me alive until the ambulance arrived.

“If he hadn’t been passing at that exact moment, I wouldn’t be here today. I am so lucky that he knew what to do.

“A few people stopped to offer their help and, while doing CPR is hard work, he said the adrenaline had kicked in by that stage and he wanted to carry on; he said he was determined not to let me die.”

The ambulance crew arrived and continued with the life-saving efforts.

Mr Hamilton-Evans was eventually taken to Harrogate District Hospital before being transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, where he had surgery to fit an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, a small device that sends electrical pulses to regulate abnormal heart rhythms.

Nigel Hamilton-Evans and wife Karen.

Mr Hamilton-Evans, who is married to Karen with one son, Rhys, later travelled to meet the man who saved him to say thank-you in person. He said:

“It was a very emotional meeting; this guy had saved my life, what can you say? I asked what I could do for him and his family to say thank-you. He said, ‘nothing, just to see you smile is enough’. He was so humble.”

“Then he said, ‘the one thing you could do is raise awareness of the importance of people learning CPR and defibrillators’, so that’s what I’m doing.”

Since his near-death experience last year, Mr Hamilton-Evans has raised £1,600 towards funding a community public access defibrillator, which will be located in Boroughbridge. He also plans to organise CPR training in the town.

He will be sharing his experiences with students who are learning CPR to mark Restart a Heart Day at Boroughbridge High School on Friday this week.

Restart a Heart Day

Mr Hamilton-Evans is one of many cardiac arrest survivors and their life-savers supporting Yorkshire Ambulance Service’s attempts to provide CPR training to more than 40,000 people to mark Restart a Heart Day.

Ambulance staff and volunteers will visit 136 secondary schools to teach the life-saving skill to tens of thousands of students.

Professional football clubs in Yorkshire are also urging members of the public to get hands-on as ambulance staff and volunteers visit stadiums throughout October to teach CPR to football fans. They will be at Harrogate Town’s home match against Hartlepool on Saturday.

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This year’s activity means that Yorkshire Ambulance Service staff and volunteers will smash the milestone of more than 200,000 people being taught CPR since the Restart a Heart campaign was launched in 2014. During this time bystander CPR rates in Yorkshire have increased from 40% to 75%.

Jason Carlyon, community engagement officer with Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said:

“Our message is simple – please be confident to intervene when someone has a cardiac arrest.

“Everyone in every community has a role to play in the chain of survival, whether it’s by calling 999, doing chest compressions, locating a defibrillator, retrieving it or by telling others what to do.

“We come across many patients who are alive today because someone started CPR when they collapsed – everyone deserves that chance.”

To mark this year’s Restart a Heart Day, Yorkshire Ambulance Service has launched two CPR training methods:

• A mobile CPR training kiosk – believed to be the first of its kind in the UK – which teaches CPR in just 90 seconds. Users watch a tutorial video and practise on a manikin which provides feedback about the effectiveness of the chest compressions.
• An immersive 360 CPR training video which can be viewed on a range of devices, including phones and virtual reality headsets, and sets out the scenario of a student coming across a stranger in cardiac arrest.

Staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service are set to vote on strike action over a government pay offer.

The service employs 7,200 staff and covers all of North Yorkshire, including the Harrogate district.

The GMB Union, which represents 1,500 ambulance workers, said it held a consultative ballot over strike action which saw 90% vote in favour of a walk-out.

Turnout for the vote was 80%.

It comes after the government offered staff a 4% pay increase.

Following the outcome on the consultative ballot, Unions are now set to move towards holding a formal vote on industrial action.

Deanne Ferguson, GMB organiser, said:

“Ambulance staff should not be worrying about how they’ll heat their homes this winter or feed their families, whilst carrying out a crucial service across our communities.

“The service is crumbling, and it is having an impact on everyone – it is only surviving because of the amazing workers holding it together, through goodwill.

“GMB members have had enough, they are angry – and that’s why they want to move to a formal ballot for strike action.

“They’ve made history with their turnout and vote.

“GMB Union will stand shoulder to shoulder with our members as we fight for an above inflation pay rise for our NHS heroes.”

Dates for the formal ballot will be announced in the “coming days”, the union said.

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Harrogate district businesses and other organisations are being encouraged to provide details of defibrillator units on their premises.

The Defibs-Ripon Group, working closely with Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) has been at the forefront of installing and raising awareness about the location of defibrillators in the city, but is keen to make the Harrogate district aware of a wider initiative.

Group member Alec Lutton told the Stray Ferret:

“The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has created an online log in site called The Circuit, which provides locations throughout Britain of defibrillators that can be accessed 24/7 by emergency services.

Now, the BHF is looking to expand this, by registering the whereabouts of every defibrillator by including location details for all of the life-saving devices.

Mr Lutton added:

“This will be achieved by including the business names and postcodes for those ‘restricted access’ units on the premises of shops, leisure and hospitality, other businesses and organisations, where the devices are only available for use during working or opening hours.”

“Our contacts at YAS have asked us to encourage all those with such units to support this important initiative.

“There are currently 23 defibrillators in Ripon and the surrounding area that can be accessed 24 hours a day and, as a group, we would also like to add onto our locations list,  the  names and postcodes of Ripon-based businesses and organisations, where there is restricted access.”

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Helping a heart attack victim

A heart attack or cardiac arrest could happen to anyone of any age at any time, day or night and the following advice is offered by defibrillator providers, if an incident arises:

• Start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) straight away, phone 999 and once you give the operator your location, they will tell you where the nearest defibrillator unit is.
• Do not leave the person on their own – send someone else for the defibrillator.
• The person sent for the unit, will be asked by the operator for the code on the front of the cabinet, and then given the code to open it and obtain the defibrillator.
• Each has a built-in voice instruction guide, to help you use it.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service has urged people to only call 999 for serious or life threatening injuries because it is under “extreme pressure”.

YAS, which covers the Harrogate district, said in a statement it was operating on Resource Escalation Plan 4.

This is the equivalent to Black Alert for hospitals and is only declared when an ambulance service can no longer effectively deliver a service due, typically due to a major incident

All 10 ambulance trusts in the country have now declared a similar status.

Staff shortages and hot weather are among the reasons.

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YAS has asked people to consider contacting their GP, pharmacy or practise self-care as alternative options to the ambulance service.

A spokesperson for YAS said:

“An extremely high volume of calls is currently having a significant impact on both our 999 and NHS 111 operations.

“We have taken the decision to move to REAP Level 4, our highest level of escalation, and while the situation is being managed in line with the plans that we have in place to protect our core services, unfortunately there are patients who are facing delays and we are very sorry that we are unable to respond to them as quickly as we would like.

“All emergency calls are categorised according to the nature of a patient’s illness or injury and those in a life-threatening condition are always prioritised. It’s important that members of the public only call 999 for an ambulance when it is a serious or life-threatening emergency. This will help us to focus our efforts on our most poorly patients.

“You can also help us by not calling back to check where the ambulance is as we need those phone lines to be free for those in a life-threatening condition. However, if the condition of the patient changes or if you feel you no longer need an ambulance, it’s important that you let us know.

“For anyone with less serious illnesses and injuries, they should consider self-care, their local pharmacy, GP surgery, urgent care centre or making their own way to the emergency department. Our NHS 111 service is also available online at 111.nhs.uk or by calling 111.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and thank all our hard-working staff and volunteers for their efforts at this challenging time.”

Mountain rescuers were called to help a 55-year-old woman after she fell and broke her ankle walking in Nidderdale.

Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue was summoned by Yorkshire Ambulance Service to assist with the callout near Middlesmoor on Saturday.

The popular walking spot, between Pateley Bridge and Masham, is known for its hilly terrain.

Luckily for the woman, a farmer came to her aid whilst the rescuers were on route. The farmer transported the woman using a quad bike to their farm where an ambulance was waiting.

In the incident log, the fell rescue association reported:

“One team member was local to the scene and assisted, the rest of the team were stood down on route.

“Many thanks to Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team who were asked to assist due to a low number of team members available.”

The incident log says the callout took around 2 hours and 20 minutes.

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Yorkshire Ambulance Service has recruited 40 military personnel to offer additional support as it experiences “operational pressures” during the pandemic.

The service said as a result of the Omicron variant it is facing rising numbers of staff going into isolation and calls for help from the public.

This has forced the service to redeploy remaining staff to frontline services and bring in military support for less urgent jobs.

The 40 military personal will be working alongside paramedics to attend minor cases and assist with hospital transfers and discharges.

Nick Smith, executive director of operations, said:

“As part of our resilience planning, we have always had the option of making a request to the military for help and we have now asked for that assistance.

“We will be able to use military personnel to work alongside our staff, enabling us to support patients and get people the treatment they need sooner. This, in turn, will free up our staff to attend to serious and life-threatening cases.”

The new recruits will begin training with the ambulance service next week and are expected to start working with patients within a fortnight.

They will receive training in driving ambulances, manual handling, kit familiarisation and basic life support.

The service has insisted it is still “fully operational” and said it expects the military will assist paramedics for a “number of weeks”.

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The ambulance service is also temporarily suspending some non-emergency transport to general outpatient appointments.

It will, however, continue to offer transport to patients receiving life-saving treatment, such as renal dialysis or chemotherapy, treatment for covid, those being discharged or admitted to hospital or transferred between hospital sites.

The New Year Honours list has been published tonight and a number of residents in the Harrogate district have been recognised for their services to charity and the community.

OBE

Donald Parker, from Knaresborough, has been made an OBE for services to education in North Yorkshire.

Mr Parker is chief executive of the Yorkshire Collaborative Academy Trust. The trust runs five primary schools in Yorkshire including Bilton Grange Primary School.

Mr Parker has years of experience working as a headteacher in Yorkshire’s schools.

BEM

Ian Macpherson, from Harrogate, has been made a BEM for services to education.

Mr Macpherson is a percussion tutor who runs Percussive Edge in Harrogate. He said he began playing the drums at 13 and has pursued his hobby ever since.

He has played in numerous bands, as well as several military bands. He joined the army aged 16 and after completing basic training went to Edinburgh and London to train in music.

His military career led him to perform in the 1st Battalion Band of the Royal Scots and he became one of the youngest service personnel to be awarded the coveted Bandmaster qualification at the age of 27.

He now works in Harrogate as a percussion tutor and says over the years he has really enjoyed teaching hundreds of local students. He said some continue to play, including George Farrah who was a finalist in the Young Drummer of the Year 2015. Another student, James Cassells, also from Harrogate, has gone onto perform as part of Asking Alexandra, a rock band now based in Texas made up of men from North Yorkshire.

Speaking about the award Mr Macpherson said:

“I keep pinching myself. When I first received the letter I thought it was some kind of scam but then I saw the royal seal. I keep saying to my wife there are so many more deserving than me, there’s so many frontline workers doing so much amazing work. I am very grateful.”

Mr Macpherson said he owes much of his success to well-known drummer Ronny Bottomley. The former Leeds College of Music teacher has worked with the likes of Cilla Black, Kenny Baker and Dick Morrissey and was the first person to tutor Mr MacPherson at 13 years old.

Mr Macpherson said he hopes to never stop playing but chronic illness and osteoporosis in his upper spine has forced him to reduce teaching to just two days a week.

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Queen’s Ambulance Service Medal 

Dr Julian Mark, from Ripon, has been honoured by the Queen for distinguished service.

Dr Mark is the executive medical director for Yorkshire Ambulance Service. He has previously worked at Harrogate District Hospital as senior staff anaesthetist, until 2014.

He chairs the National Ambulance Services’ Medical Directors group and sits on the Clinical Advisory Board for the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care (RCSEd) and on the Clinical Advisory Forum for NHS Improvement.