New helipad launched at Salisbury Hospital | UK police charge two men with spying for China

Salisbury District Hospital has opened its newly upgraded helipad for air ambulances and in other news, British police have charged two men with spying for China – one of who reportedly worked as a researcher in parliament.

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New helipad launched at Salisbury District Hospital

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust officially opened its new upgraded hospital landing site for air ambulances.

The helipad was funded by a £321,000 donation from the HELP Appeal, the only charity in the country dedicated to funding hospital helipads. More via Emergency Services Times

IOPC welcomes new Director General

The Independent Office for Police Conduct has welcomed Rachel Watson as its new Director General.

This position, which is a government appointment, had been filled on an interim basis by Deputy Director General Tom Whiting since December 2022, following the resignation of the substantive post-holder. More via Emergency Services Times

Stephen Lawrence Day 2024: Where we are today

Kemi George, Corporate Communication Manager at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), reflects on the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

It’s been 31 years since Stephen was mindlessly killed in a south London street, but Kemi says many issues from that time remain as relevant today as they did back then. More via IOPC

New ambulance tracking system speeds up hospital treatment

A new ambulance tracking system is speeding up treatment times at a hospital.

The Princess Royal in Haywards Heath has made a series of “innovative changes” to emergency care to make sure patients are seen more quickly.

This includes a new urgent treatment centre, a rapid assessment and treatment service and a new Ambulatory Clinical Decision Unit (ACDU). More via The Argus

UK police charge two men with spying for China

British police on Monday charged two men with spying for China, including one reported to have worked as a researcher in parliament for a prominent lawmaker in the Conservative Party.

The two men, aged 32 and 29, were charged with providing prejudicial information to China in breach of the Official Secrets Act, and will appear in court on Friday. More via Reuters

CNC and Joint Response Unit celebrate three-year milestone

Last month marked three years of collaborative working between the Joint Response Unit and Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) officers at Dungeness.

The Joint Response Unit is an initiative set up by South-East Coast Ambulance Service and Kent Police, where a patrol consisting of one Kent police officer and one paramedic attend incidents involving major trauma or life-threatening injuries. The CNC joined the initiative in 2021, with an officer from Dungeness joining to make it a three-person patrol, and since then our officers have completed 100 shifts with the team. More Civil Nuclear Constabulary