Latest news with #ambulanceService
BBC News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Ballymoney: Emergency services attend fire in town centre
The main road through Ballymoney in County Antrim has been closed due to a fire, the police have services, including the fire service and ambulance service, are at the scene on Main Street on Tuesday morning, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said. Motorists are asked to avoid the area. The PSNI said it would issue further updates in due course.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Israeli strikes kill at least 60 in Gaza, say medical staff
At least 60 people have been killed in Gaza in some of the heaviest Israeli strikes in weeks, as the besieged strip endures relentless bombardment in the 20-month war. The Israeli military issued evacuation orders on Monday to residents in large districts in the northern Gaza Strip, forcing a new wave of displacement. At least 30 people were killed and dozens were wounded after the airstrike on Al-Baqa Cafe in Gaza City, the emergency and ambulance service in Northern Gaza said. Women, children and a local journalist were among those killed in the strike, medics said. Fares Awad, the head of the ambulance service, said many of the wounded were in critical condition. The cafe, one of the few businesses to continue operating during the war, was a gathering spot for residents seeking internet access and a place to charge their phones. Videos on social media showed bloodied and disfigured bodies on the ground and the wounded being carried away in blankets. Israeli tanks also pushed into the eastern areas of Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said. At least 58 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, health authorities said, including 10 people killed in Zeitoun and at least 13 killed southwest of Gaza City. The Israeli military said it struck militant targets in northern Gaza, including command and control centers. The military claims to have taken steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians. The bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. The military ordered people there to head south, saying that it planned to fight Hamas militants operating in northern Gaza, including in the heart of Gaza City. Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu 's security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza. Israel 's military chief said on Friday the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. A Hamas official said that progress on any ceasefire depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said Israel has agreed to a US-proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage deal, and put the onus on Hamas. The proposed US ceasefire stipulates Hamas must release half the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians. Hamas would then release the remaining hostages as part of a deal that guarantees ending the war. The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on 7 October 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the whole 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
South Central Ambulance Service apprenticeships rated as good
The ambulance service for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire has improved the performance of its apprenticeship programme since it was told to make it better two-and-a-half years Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) NHS Trust's apprenticeship programme was rated good following an Ofsted inspection in May and was told the attitudes demonstrated were programme, based in Newbury, Berkshire, was rated as requiring improvement when Ofsted last reviewed it in November and December found this year that SCAS's 57 apprentices were "highly resilient" and able to "adapt quickly to unpredictable circumstances". They also said SCAS's leaders had planned its curriculum "coherently so that apprentices build their expertise securely".But Ofsted found assessment outcomes could be used to provide apprentices with "meaningful targets at progress reviews".They could also improve by making sure that they are aware of the "wider opportunities" open to them in the NHS trust and provide educators with further training to develop their teaching skills. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Ambulance service launches veteran support network
An ambulance service has launched a support network for veterans, reservists and their families within its workforce. The East of England Ambulance service (EEAST) has about 5,000 employees, with 200 of those either veterans or who have links to the armed network is being launched in Armed Forces Week, and it will be initially online, with a variety of virtual and in-person events expected to follow. Neill Moloney, the EEAST chief executive, said: "We hope our Armed Forces Network will provide a space where veterans, reservists and their families can come together to improve the support we offer to staff." 'Lived experience' Across the service there are about 40 staff with reservist or cadet force commitments, including roles with the RAF, Army, Royal Marines and the Royal Navy. Mr Moloney added: "Within EEAST we have a wide range of people from within the military communities, whether by being veterans, reservists, military co-responders who volunteer with us in their spare time, or by being the spouses of those currently serving."We also recognise that EEAST's patients that are veterans can also have complex and specific needs and we hope that the lived experience of members of the Armed Forces Network will also help us improve the support we provide to those patients." Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk or BBC Suffolk.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Blue plaque unveiled for ambulance founder
A blue plaque has been unveiled in memory of the founder of Guernsey's ambulance service. The island's ambulance station will also be renamed Blanchford House, after Reg Blanchford, who set up Guernsey's first full-time, dedicated ambulance service in 1936. Mr Blanchford set it up after he was injured in a serious motorcycle crash and had to be taken to hospital by a passing car. Mr Blanchford's son, Gary Blanchford, said: "I am really proud and pleased that this is happening for my father; he did a lot for the island." Gary said his father had built up the service from a "second hand ambulance", which a local person sponsored. Mr Blanchford Sr became dedicated to the idea of an ambulance service once he had his accident and the car stopped, as "in any other circumstances he probably would have died". More news stories for Guernsey Listen to the latest news for Guernsey The local service, which later became St John Ambulance and Rescue Service, was set up on builder's yard on the Rohais in St Peter Port owned by Mr Blanchford Sr's father - a site St John still occupies. At the time, the only other ambulance on the island was run by the States of Guernsey on a part-time basis. Mr Blanchford led his service throughout the German occupation. After the war, he developed the road ambulance, the cliff rescue service and in 1952 launched the world's first marine ambulance, the Flying Christine. Mr Blanchford also introduced the first ambulance radio telecommunications system in the UK, as well as the Inshore Rescue Boat service, the Decompression Chamber and a pioneering radar system, a spokesperson for St John said. Mr Blanchford was made an MBE and OBE, as well as receiving a Gold Lifesaving Medal and the George Medal. He was the subject of an episode the BBC TV show This is Your Life in 1959, a show that celebrated the lives of extraordinary people. Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Three people recognised for services to St John Plaque honouring Occupation news agents unveiled Marine ambulance returns after refurbishment work Teaching pioneer honoured with blue plaque St John Ambulance Guernsey
