Trailed at London Tech Week earlier in the summer, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that the first AI Safety Summit will take place on 1 and 2 November at the iconic Bletchley Park, once the home of the top secret World War Two codebreakers. The event will look at the risks of artificial intelligence… Read more »
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has put together a new podcast series featuring 200 episodes that show how the charity has evolved over the last two centuries. The 200 Voices podcast features stories from extraordinary people who rescue, have been rescued and have real-life experiences of the RNLI. It seeks to commemorate its past,… Read more »
In an era where smartphones are ubiquitous, being able to use all their functions – video, photos, text – is mostly not possible when making emergency calls to 999 in the UK or 112 throughout Europe. A majority of emergency call centres are still analogue, relying on the same phone technology that’s been employed for… Read more »
Emergency services are being encouraged to complete a new survey about interoperable working and the use of Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP). Aimed at commanders, control room staff and frontline responders in the police, fire service and ambulance service across England and Wales, the survey aims to understand how JESIP is currently working in… Read more »
The Government has released its latest prospectus setting out match funding for Local Resilience Forums to ‘create and deliver distinctive, innovative projects that drive real results.’ The theme for this tranche of funding is ‘Local businesses as active partners in resilience.’ The pot of £450,000 allows for exploration of the broader theme contained within the… Read more »
Words: Catherine Levin, Editor, Emergency Services Times You may have heard of Martyn’s Law, named after Martyn Hett who was one of 22 people tragically killed in the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017. His mother, Figen Murray OBE, spoke to me about her journey from therapist to campaigner and her drive to make sure… Read more »
The Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board was appointed to provide external scrutiny of the Race Action Plan published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing in 2022. The Board, chaired by Abimbola Johnson, published its first year report and it contains seven thematic recommendations for ‘how policing can create a truly… Read more »
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service has introduced a new youth intervention initiative to encourage young people to adopt a healthier lifestyle of positive thinking and building self-resilience. Street Firefighter is a vehicle to help build and restore relationships within the communities by offering the local children and young people a safe space to engage,… Read more »
The Scottish Ambulance Service has introduced mental health clinical advisers to its ambulance control centres (ACCs), in an initiative that is the first of its kind in Scotland. As part of the project, the advisers support the ACC by speaking with patients who have dialled 999 for mental health issues, with the aim of ensuring… Read more »
London Ambulance Service (LAS) has been awarded the contract to provide NHS 111 services, in partnership with London Central and West (LCW), to the 1.5 million people who live within North Central London. LAS and LCW will take on responsibility for 111 and GP out-of-hours service from November 2023 covering five London boroughs – Barnet,… Read more »
