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Every morning, Emergency Services Times combs a significant list of sources to bring you the sector’s freshest news stories. Compiled into a single article, this daily news digest is an easy, single point of reference for emergency services news, saving you the time and effort of searching yourself. Don’t forget to bookmark this page and check back daily to stay abreast of the latest goings on in the emergency services sector.
NHS winter planning pays off as ambulances experience busiest week
NHS Staff faced the busiest week for ambulances so far this winter between Christmas and the New Year, with more than 93,500 arriving at hospitals to hand over patients.
The latest data shows that the NHS’s extensive winter planning continues to pay off, highlighted by the fact that, despite increased demand, hours lost to ambulance handover delays were less than half compared to last year. More via Emergency Services Times
Gama Aviation confirms talks to acquire Specialist Aviation Services
Gama Aviation has confirmed talks to acquire UK-based Specialist Aviation Services in a statement to the London Stock Exchange yesterday.
Specialist Aviation Services provides helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) and aircraft repairs and maintenance (MRO) services. It also has contracts with UK air ambulance charities. More via Helicopter Investor
Welsh Ambulance service stalwart retires
THE Welsh Ambulance Service’s Executive Director of Medical and Clinical Services is retiring after a career which has spanned five decades.
Dr Brendan Lloyd joined the Trust in August 2014 having led a career as a GP, which started at a teaching practice in Swansea in the 1980s. More via Monmouthshire Beacon
Grenfell should have been a wake-up call – but the UK still doesn’t take fire safety seriously because of who is most at risk
Shane Ewen, Professor of History at Leeds Beckett University, provides an in-depth look at why the Grenfell Tower fire – which lead to the death of 72 people – was 40 years in the making as a result of a confluence of factors, including deregulation and austerity. More via Emergency Services Times
Volunteers donate 45,340 minutes of time to the Great North Air Ambulance Service
Volunteers for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) have been praised for their efforts after the latest stats showed they spent more than 755 hours helping the charity last year. More via Northumberland Gazette
Thousands have asked Humberside Police if their partner has a history of abuse
Police in Hull have been asked 1,500 times in the past five years whether partners have a history of being violent or abusive.
The domestic violence disclosure scheme, known as Clare’s Law, allows a current or ex-partner worried a person may have a history of abuse and be a risk to them, to find out if they have a violent or abusive past. A person worried a friend or relative is at risk may also request information. More via Hull Live
Devon and Cornwall hospital ambulance queues the worst in England
Hospitals in Devon and Cornwall are among those experiencing the worst handover delays in England, according to NHS data.
The statistics showed patients arriving by ambulance at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital faced the longest handover delays in England for the third week in a row.
Those arriving at Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro experienced the third-longest waiting times in the country. More via BBC News