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Talks held over potential police and fire service merger in Norfolk

Police and fire chiefs have begun talks over the potential merger of Norfolk’s blue light services in a bid to reduce 999 costs, it has emerged.

Norfolk’s police and crime commissioner said it was a “sensible” idea to amalgamate emergency services after holding initial talks with officials at Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service.

The county’s chief fire officer added that another meeting would be held with Norfolk Police officials next month where the two services would discuss ways of sharing resources at a time when public service budgets are being squeezed.

They pledged that any major changes would involve a full staff and public consultation. However, officials from the Norfolk Fire Brigades Union (FBU) have already raised their opposition and expressed fears about potential job losses.

Stephen Bett, Norfolk police and crime commissioner, said he could not rule out a future merger of the county’s emergency services after the proposals were mooted by government ministers earlier this summer.
Mr Bett, who was elected as the county’s first police and crime commissioner in May, said a merger could help avoid duplication, but depended on which party was in government following the next general election in 2015.

However, the proposals would need new legislation and the situation with ambulance services was more “complex” with the East of England Ambulance Service currently covering six counties.

The crime tsar added that the “halcyon days” were over for the emergency services and whatever party was in power in two years time would need to continue to make public spending cuts.

“There have been talks about it and it seems something the government is determined to bring in, but it will probably be in the next manifesto for the next government. There does not seem to be any aversion from any other parties. We have talked to the fire people and seeing what their feelings are. It is all talk and nothing has been put in motion,” he said.

Plans to merge emergency services and place them under the control of elected police and crime commissioners have been mooted by Home Secretary Theresa May as a way of helping to save money.
Mr Bett said: “If it came my way I would do the best I could to make it as efficient as possible. I expect it is a lot of hot air, but something might come of it.

“If you have a road traffic collision, the ambulance, fire and police attend and if there is a fire, the fire, police and an ambulance possibly attends. It is sensible to bring them under one auspices and I can see why the PCCs would be seen as the people to do it.

“The government has said all blue light services, but the issue with the East of England Ambulance Service is that it is regional and we are a county service. There would have to be quite a lot of change and would need legislation to make those changes. There are all sorts of ramifications and it needs to be looked at very closely.”

One of the options might be to merge control room operations in Norfolk. The county has a police control room in Wymondham, a fire control in nearby Hethersett and ambulance control in Hellesdon, Norwich.

Nigel Williams, chief fire officer of the Norfolk County Council-run Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, said no changes would be made if it meant a reduction in services for local people. He added that the emergency services could help save money by clubbing together to get a better deal when it comes to buying new vehicles and equipment and bringing control room staff under one roof was also an option.

“With tighter budgets we need to collaborate a lot more and look at where there might be opportunities to merge parts of the service and what that would mean.”

“The police and fire service has a challenge to save money with the government wanting to reduce costs in the public service and we have a responsibility to provide the best service at the best price. We are seeing what we can do to think creatively and innovative about delivering services,” he said.

However, Kevin Game, secretary for the Norfolk FBU, said the union would oppose any merger plans.
“All three emergency services are all trained in specific services and you cannot have a police and crime commissioner running a police service and fire service because the differences are so much. It is no secret that merging emergency services together is a way of forcing through more cuts to front-line services.

“Merging services is going to mean more job losses in a very overstretched service. There are ways of working more closely together without amalgamation,” he said.

Brandon Lewis, Great Yarmouth MP and fire minister for the coalition government, said there were a few police and fire services across the country that were looking to link up. He added that any mergers were a “long way” off because they would require new legislation to happen.

“Technically, a police and crime commissioner cannot legally run a fire service and our fire service in Norfolk is one that gets a lot of cost benefits by being part of a bigger administration structure.

“From a fire minister point of view, I am in favour of services working together and driving efficiencies and delivering a better service for people,” he said.

Garden inspiration at Kelly House Autumn Plant Fair

A collection of local plant nurseries will be pitched in the grounds of the great Kelly House (between Tavistock and Launceston) on the 7th and 8th of September between 10am-4pm. The event is kindly donating £1 of every entry cost to Devon Air Ambulance Trust (DAAT).

The nurseries will be giving attendee’s inspiration for adding a mixture of vibrant winter colours in their gardens and, presenting an array of new plants for next season. Kelly House is also promoting wildlife and bees in the gardens of Devon and Cornwall. To help with this Brigit Strawbridge from Bumblebee Farm and "It's Not Easy Being Green" television and book fame, will be providing a talk on Sunday about bees and what we can do to help.

“It's really great we can support our local Devon Air Ambulance at Kelly House. They are a lifeline for many rural areas, and anything we raise is going to a great cause,” explained Sophia Kelly of Kelly House Events.

“The Plant Fair is the first we have held at Kelly House, and we hope people will take advantage of the chance to buy good quality products from the local nurseries, and enjoy the Pop Up Gallery we are hosting during the event!  The gallery was organised through #DevonHour on Twitter, and we hope this will bring in much needed donations for Devon Air Ambulance Trust. We are also delighted BBC Radio Devon will be joining us and broadcasting live from the house during part of the event” concluded Sophia.

Whilst at Kelly House and after stocking up on plant goodies, why not sit and relax in the main building with a nice cup of tea or spot of lunch and visit The Devon House Pop Up Gallery which is full of work from local Devon artists.

Stall Holders at the event include Pounsley Plants, Pinsla Garden Nursery, Barracot Plants, Ellis Nurseries, Wendy Hicks Plants, Plant Heritage, Laurel Farm Herb and Edibles, N.lock Rare Plants, Millwood Plants and Hardy and Unusual Plants.

The event is supported by Plant Heritage NCCPG and Devon Air Ambulance Trust.

Caroline Creer, Fundraising Director of Devon Air Ambulance Trust said “We are grateful to everyone at Kelly House for supporting the Charity this way.  Please go along and support this fantastic event, as there’s sure to be some great plants to buy, as well as gardening tips to help.”  She added “community events like this really do make a difference not only in helping to raise the money needed, but also in enabling us to raise the profile of our charity funded service.”

For more information check out the links below

Twitter: @KellyHouseDevon
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KellyHouseDevon
Event website:  www.kelly-house.co.uk/plant-fair
How to find Kelly House:  http://www.kelly-house.co.uk/plant-fair/find-us.php

HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT AIR AMBULANCE TO FEATURE IN NEW ITV SERIES

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance will feature in Trauma: Level 1, a new observational documentary series set on the frontline of trauma medicine, to be broadcast on ITV on August 27th and September 3rd at 9pm. 

With access to the specialist Trauma Centre at University Hospital Southampton, the series is based around the powerful, emotional stories which reveal the fragility of life and the intensity of the fight to preserve it. 

The series is produced by October Films, a leading British Independent Film and Television production company, based in London. Trauma: Level 1 takes a behind the scenes look at the workings of the specialist Trauma Centre at University Hospital Southampton, and shows how the crew of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance interact with the centre on a daily basis. 

Through interviews with paramedics, and scenes from life saving missions, we are offered a rare insight into the day to day operations of the Air Ambulance crew. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance paramedics are filmed working at the scene of an incident and subsequently handing over the patient to the trauma team.

London Ambulance staff conquer London’s biggest cycling event

On 4 August, two members of London Ambulance staff completed the 100 mile cycling challenge in the Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100.

Joining nearly 16,000 budding cyclists, HR Manager Greg Masters and Tower Hamlets based paramedic Gary Cohen completed the gruelling 100 miles raising over £1,000 for our chief executive’s charity, The Maypole Project.

Starting at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and following a similar route to that of the London 2012 Olympic road cycling races, both Gary and Greg peddled their way through London and Surrey, finishing at the Mall.

Greg said: “I’m really proud of myself for completing the ride, and the amount I’ve raised for charity. The most I had managed during training was 62 miles so I knew it was going to be a real challenge.

“I was really nervous before the event, but the crowds were great and really kept me driven until the end.

“I had a problem with my gears, which meant I had to stop for repairs. I stopped for 28 minutes, and completed in 8 hours 28 minutes, so if I hadn’t stopped, I would have beaten Mayor Boris Johnson by four minutes.”

Gary, who completed the 100 mile route in 6 hours 16 minutes said, “I thoroughly enjoyed the event, but it was really hard.

“The crowds were amazing, I started at 6.30am so didn’t expect to see many people, but even at that time, plenty of people were out cheering.”

To make a donation to our cyclists visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GregMasters http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GaryDCohen

 

Air ambulance patient hosts ball in thanks to charity

A horse enthusiast is hosting a glitzy evening in thanks to a charity that rescued her following an accident.

Cassie Jameson is hosting a ball at Buxton’s Devonshire Dome on September 27 to raise money for the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance.

In 2009 she was practising show jumping when an accident occurred. “Both myself and Tom the 18hh horse I was on were tired,” The promotions executive said.“We cleared the first fence then, quick as flash, he ran out at the next fence. He went one way and I went the other. I remember coming round and not being able to breathe properly and I couldn’t move.”

She was flown to Royal Derby Hospital, where it was treated for fractured and compressed a vertebra in her middle back as well as damage to her top three vertebrae.

Tickets for the ball cost £45 and can be bought online at www.chocolateball.moonfruit.com or by contacting Cassie on 07970 196791. For more on The Air Ambulance Service, visit www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk or call 08454 130 999.

www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk

Skydiving Paramedics

Bath paramedics take high-flying plunge for Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust

Paramedics from Bath went to new heights to raise money for charity.
Some 25 people jumped out of a plane at 10,000 feet to raise money for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust.

They joined a tandem instructor to travel at speeds of around 120mph, and experienced 30 seconds of freefall before the parachute opened.The event was organised by tandem skydive instructor and South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust paramedic Ed Bowyer, and took place at GoSkydive near Salisbury.

Mr Bowyer said: "I think the Wiltshire Air Ambulance does an amazing job and I wanted to come up with a way that would ensure people could raise money for the charity and take part in an once-in-a-lifetime experience at the same time.

Paramedic skydivers Ed Bowyer, Tom Shrubsole and Craig Wilkins

"That's when I came up with the idea of combining my job as a paramedic with my hobby of skydiving."

The Wiltshire Air Ambulance is based in Devizes, and can be at an incident in 11 minutes.
To find out more visit www. wiltshireairambulance.co.uk or email claire@wiltshireairambu lance.co.uk.

http://www.thisisbath.co.uk