emergency services – Page 5 – The NEN

Further severe weather warning as rain continues

Update 7pm Sun 8th October – Flooding focus remains on north as SEPA warn communities to stay alert

Alerts and Warnings as at 19:00 – check floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodupdates for latest situation

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) have warned communities to stay vigilant as the weekend of severe weather continues across Sunday evening and into Monday morning.

Multiple Flood Warnings and Alerts are in place across Scotland, with the focus remaining on the Spey and Tay catchments.

While local Flood Warnings in some areas of Scotland may start coming off over the evening as rivers fall, others will stay in force as some waters continue to rise and the agency continues to warn of likely impacts as communities count the cost of the weekend’s flood damage.

Ruth Ellis, SEPA’s Flood Duty Manager, said: “Today the focus turned to communities across the North, with a particular concern for severe flood impacts to communities along the Spey and Tay rivers. I want to be clear that communities in these areas should stay alert over the evening as some rivers will continue to rise over the course of the evening. The risk to life remains.

“It’s been a difficult weekend across Scotland, with severe weather causing widespread travel disruption to road and rail networks and impacts in communities all over Scotland. Across many areas of the country there is still some deep standing water and it’s really important people understand the danger.

“Hazards can be hidden, so please don’t walk or drive into flood water. Remember that not only is flood water likely to be dirty, 30 cm of fast flowing water can move an average family sized car, and just 15 cm of fast flowing water could be enough to knock you off your feet.

“Our teams have been working around the clock with partner agencies, including Scottish Government, the Met Office, emergency services and local authorities across this major weather event. We will continue to provide information and support in the coming days and weeks to ensure Scotland recovers from this event and becomes more resilient to future flooding.

“We’ll be continuing to issue further updates across the evening to communities across northern Scotland and our advice remains for people to keep up to date with information from sepa.org.uk and follow guidance from emergency services.”

Update 9am, Sun 8th Oct – Flooding focus turns north as SEPA warn communities to stay alert

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) have warned communities to stay vigilant as the weekend of severe weather continues across Sunday.

Multiple Flood Warnings and Alerts are in place across Scotland as the agency continues to warn of likely impacts on Sunday and communities count the cost of Saturday’s flood damage.

Vincent Fitzsimons, SEPA’s Flood Duty Manager, said: “It’s been a rough weekend across Scotland, with severe weather causing widespread travel disruption to road and rail networks and impacts in communities from Greenock to Aviemore.

“Our teams have been working around the clock with Scottish Government and the Met Office in the lead into and across this major weather event. We have been issuing Alerts and Warnings to communities at risk and supporting first responders.

“Today the focus continues to turn to communities across the North, with a particular concern for severe flood impacts to communities along the Spey and Tay rivers. It’s a day to stay alert, not stand down. The risk to life remains.

“We’ll be issuing further updates across the day to communities across northern Scotland and our advice remains for people to keep up to date with information from sepa.org.uk and follow guidance from emergency services.”

People are being urged to avoid travel by road in Argyll and Bute and to consider carefully travel in other areas most impacted by the weekend’s severe rainfall.

SEPA has indicated up to a month’s worth of rain could fall in some areas over the course of the weekend. Rainfall is causing significant disruption in parts of Scotland, including road closures and rail service cancellations.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1710746869255520617

On Saturday afternoon the Met Office issued an Amber Warning for rain extending across Angus, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Highland until 2pm on Sunday.

In Argyll and Bute, the Local Resilience Partnership has established a Care for People Sub-Group, led by the local Health and Social Care Partnership, which is working to identify and reach vulnerable people that may be difficult to reach, with assistance from the voluntary sector. Argyll and Bute Council is assisting by contacting community groups in affected areas with a view to initiating local support, such as opening up community halls.

On Friday the Met Office issued an amber warning for rain, covering Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, East and West Dunbartonshire, Argyll and Lochaber, parts of Stirling, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands. It is in place until 6 am on Sunday. Yellow warnings for rain remain in place for other large parts the country and are updated on the Met Office website.

The greatest impacts earlier on Saturday were experienced in Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, East and West Dunbartonshire, Argyll and Lochaber, parts of Stirling, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands. In Argyll and Bute, several roads have been closed due to flooding and landslides, including:

the A83 between Tarbet and Inverary
the A815 between Dunoon and the A83
the A816 between Lochgiphead and Oban
the A85 at Loch Awe

Road operating companies are assisting Police Scotland with the closures and clear up operations, however due to the continuing rainfall it will not be possible to make an assessment of the landslides or undertake clear up operations until conditions improve.

Network Rail has reported many incidents of severe flooding across the network, resulting in widespread cancellations to services. This includes suspension of services between Inverness and Perth. Services running across the whole ScotRail network have been cancelled, delayed or revised.

On Saturday afternoon Justice Secretary and Minister for Resilience Angela Constance chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Committee (SGoRR), which was attended by First Minister Humza Yousaf, Transport Secretary Màiri McAllan, Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop and key responder agencies.

They discussed the immediate response to the local impacts, as well as further actions being taken to support those communities most affected.

Ms Constance said: “As the weather warnings outline, heavy rainfall is expected to continue in many parts of the country into Sunday and some areas will have a month’s worth of rain over the course of the weekend.

“I would urge everyone across the country to heed the travel warnings being issued by Police Scotland and others – in particular, drivers in Argyll and Bute should avoid travel due to the significant disruption across the road network.

“We are aware that the initial, most severe impacts have been felt by people and businesses in Argyll and Bute, as well as other areas in the west and north of the country.

“Ministers are receiving regular updates on the situation from partners, including SEPA, the Met Office, and Police Scotland as it unfolds. This afternoon I convened SGoRR in recognition of the severity of the situation which will continue to develop over the next 24 hours.

“I am grateful for the efforts of partners and volunteers to help the public stay safe and where possible to restore services.

“Anyone seeking live updates should follow these partners organisations on social media, and can also consult the Ready Scotland website for general advice.”

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs said: “Officers have been dealing with significant disruption on the roads caused by the heavy rainfall and we would expect this to continue into Sunday.

“It is important that we do everything we can to keep people safe and officers are out in communities helping those who need us.

“Our advice is to plan ahead and consider if your journey is really necessary or if it can be delayed until conditions improve. If you need to travel, please drive to the conditions and take extra time for your journey.”

Vincent Fitzsimons, Flood Duty Manager for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), said yesterday: “SEPA has issued Regional Flood Alerts and more locally specific Flood Warnings across Scotland due to the major rainfall event that is bringing prolonged, heavy rain throughout the day and into Sunday.

“I want to be very clear that this is not a normal Autumn day for Scotland. We’re expecting extensive river and surface water flooding in affected areas. There is a danger to life. There will be widespread impacts to road and rail. There is a risk of more significant community scale property flooding.

“Rain will move across central and western parts this morning, moving northwards through the day. Many areas will see heavy rain for well over 24hrs before it clears on Sunday. Of particular concern are communities in the amber area that extends from west central Scotland northwards.

“Further Local Flood Warnings are likely to be issued, people can always check our Flood Updates for all the latest information. We advise people living, working and travelling in the affected areas to consider any steps they need to take now to be prepared for flooding impacts and consider whether their journey is necessary.”

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) issues flood alerts and warnings for Scotland. View the latest updates on their website.

Updates on ScotRail services and road conditions are available online.

Advice on preparing for severe weather can be found on the Ready Scotland website.

SEPA UPDATE – SATURDAY 6pm

Vincent Fitzsimons, Flood Duty Manager for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), said: “Scotland is experiencing a major rainfall event that is bringing prolonged, heavy rain throughout the day and well into Sunday.

“I want to be very clear that this is not a normal Autumn weekend for Scotland. We’re expecting extensive river and surface water flooding in affected areas. There is a danger to life. There are widespread impacts to road and rail. There is a risk of more significant community scale property flooding.

“Heavy rain has been falling since Friday night in many areas and will continue in northern Scotland throughout Saturday evening and well into Sunday. Some areas will have seen more than a month’s rain by the end of the weekend.

“Of particular concern are communities in the Met Office amber weather warning area that extends across much of northern Scotland. Examples include Aviemore and communities down the Spey Valley, but many more communities are also at risk. SEPA has been working closely with partners to help them target support for these areas.

”People should check our live Flood Updates for all the latest information. We advise people living, working and travelling in the affected areas to consider any steps they need to take now to be prepared for flooding impacts and consider whether their journey is necessary.

“We will continue to keep a very close eye on the situation, monitoring 24/7 as well as working closely with the Met Office and other partner agencies.

“We would strongly advise people to sign up to Floodline to receive free updates and heed emergency service and local authority advice.

“As well as checking our live Flood Updates for all the latest information, people can view the three-day Scottish Flood Forecast to see what conditions are expected further ahead.”

NFU Mutual is issuing flood advice as the Met Office issues an amber warning for heavy rain across many Scottish communities.

Up to 180mm of rain could fall throughout Saturday and into Sunday, with Grampian, Central, Tayside, Fife, Strathclyde and the Highlands all in danger of disruptive and dangerous downpours and flooding.

Heavy rain could lead to flash flooding with fast moving water, cutting off transport routes, and leading rural insurer NFU Mutual is urging home and business owners in Scotland to fortify their properties if possible but make safety their priority.

If they are affected by flooding, people should look at how they can work with their insurer to repair their property to be more resilient to flooding in the future.

Andrew Chalk, home insurance specialist at NFU Mutual, said: “Time and again we’ve seen how destructive and disruptive flash flooding can be for communities, and NFU Mutual Agents in Scotland stand ready to rapidly assist people impacted by these predicted downpours – including facilitating rapid payments for smaller claims and mobilising our network of loss adjusters and repairers.

“But the best way to avoid disruption, if possible, is to take some sensible steps provided by NFU Mutual to protect your property. If you have flood defences, activate them now, move valuable possessions and electrical items to higher ground and prepare a flood or extreme weather pack.

“Have your insurer’s details to hand and if you are impacted by flooding, be sure to ask your insurer and loss adjuster about flood resilient repairs. Since 2017, NFU Mutual has offered its Flood Resilient Repair scheme to all home insurance customers. As part of the scheme, customers who suffer flood damage above £10,000 receive a contribution from NFU Mutual to implement repairs which will protect the property from future flooding.

“According to NFU Mutual claims data, the average damage to a home caused by floods in 2022 was £20,706. A flood resilient home, using things like non-return valves, tiling, and resilient materials on lower floors can massively reduce this bill, and many resilient repairs will cost no more than like-for-like repairs.

“With more insurers also now offering flood resilient repairs under the Government-backed Build Back Better scheme, it is worth checking if you can access extra help if you suffer a flood.”

NFU Mutual flood advice

NFU Mutual’s flood preparedness checklist:

Check if your property is at risk of flooding on the Government website.
Sign up for flood alerts on the Government website – these can be sent by text, email or delivered by phone call.
Put a flood plan in place, including:
- Moving valuables – including electric items – to a safe space
- Thinking about vulnerable members of your household and neighbours
- Noting down useful numbers like gas and electricity suppliers, the National Grid, local council and insurer
- Ensuring you know how to switch off your mains electricity and gas supply
Consider procuring sandbags or other flood defence systems
Prepare a flood or storm back, including:
- Bottled water and snacks
- Food for vulnerable household members like babies, children, and elderly relatives
- Pet food
- Torches with charged batteries
- Mobile phone power banks and chargers

What to do if your home is flooded:

Make safety your priority. Keep your family and pets away from the flood water and move to another part of the property.
Call your insurer immediately, asking about alternative accommodation if your property is unsafe.
Contact family and friends.
If you can, switch off mains gas and electricity supplies in the affected area.
Have a pack with essential items like prescriptions, other medicines and food, paying particular attention to items like baby food.
Have a torch and charged mobile phone on hand in case of power cuts.
When it’s safe to enter the flooded area again, catalogue all damaged items for insurance claims and begin clearing and drying out the area, seeking advice from your insurance company.
Business owners should remain in contact with employees and customers.

NFU Mutual’s flood resilient repairs checklist

Flood resilient repairs are repairs carried out following flood damage which help prevent extensive damage in any subsequent flood. Some may come with additional cost, but many will cost no more than restoration. Resilient repairs to ask your loss adjuster or insurer about include:

Raising electrical sockets and white goods away from floor level.
Replacing flooring with waterproof tiling and grout.
Waterproof paint.
Installing flood-resistant, self-sealing air bricks.
Fitting non-return valves to drains to prevent backflow flooding.
Replacing doors with waterproof doors to prevent floodwater spreading.
Fitting flood barriers to doors or air brick covers.
Permeable paving or driveways.
Inflatable toilet pan seals or bungs to prevent backflow.
uPVC skirting boards and kitchen units.
Removable doors.
Basement tanking or pump systems (integrated or portable).

Public urged to help save lives by joining the GoodSAM App Movement

Over 3,000 people in Scotland have an out of hospital cardiac arrest every year and every second counts. The public can help by dialling 999, starting CPR – or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – and using a defibrillator it can help save lives.

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has urged people up to GoodSAM, an app which has shown a substantial increase in survival by supporting early intervention, ensuring a quicker response by community responders and Scottish Ambulance teams.

The benefit of using GoodSam was highlighted at the annual Scottish Cardiac Arrest Symposium held in Edinburgh (6 September 2023).

Michael Dickson, SAS Chief Executive said: “When a cardiac arrest occurs we know every second counts, the earlier CPR happens the greater the chances of survival. The public can help by joining GoodSam and find out how to carry out CPR.

“I would encourage everyone to find out more by visiting www.savealife.scot/GoodSAM – you can really make a difference.”

Dundee-based Chris Allison read about the app in a newspaper article, which inspired him to register a few years ago. Chris volunteers for the HM Coastguard and wanted to further help out his local community by becoming a GoodSAM responder.

He was lying in bed early one morning when he received a GoodSAM notification for a cardiac arrest happening around the corner. He quickly raced to the scene.

He found the patient’s wife administering CPR whilst quite distressed, so he took over until the paramedics arrived shortly after. He stayed with the paramedics to assist and after a lot of hard work from all involved, they managed to get a pulse then transport the patient to hospital.

Chris said: “As I had previous experience of emergency medicine through my work, I felt it my duty to register as a GoodSAM responder.

“There is no right or wrong when it comes to CPR, but family members can often find it hard when they are highly distressed.

“The GoodSAM app is extremely valuable as it gives local people in their communities the ability and system to provide life-saving support.”

GoodSAM-Further-Information Download

Honouring Scotland’s Heroes

Fallen police officers among Brave@Heart Award winners

Two police officers killed in the line of duty have been honoured with posthumous Brave@Heart Awards by the First Minister.

Constable George Taylor was murdered in 1976 after two restricted patients absconded from the State Hospital in Carstairs. Detective Sergeant Ross Hunt was killed in 1983 in South Lanarkshire as he investigated a knife attack.

The officers are among 24 members of the emergency services and the public to receive Brave@Heart Awards this year.

The awards recognise acts of bravery and heroism across Scotland, with nominations made by the emergency services, and winners selected by an independent validation panel. Four of this year’s winners also received the St Andrew’s Award for acts of exceptional bravery.

Brave@Heart award winners include two supermarket workers who tackled a knife-wielding attacker, two schoolboys whose quick thinking saved the day when members of their families suffered medical emergencies, and an off-duty firefighter who entered a burning block of flats and led residents to safety.

First Minister Humza Yousaf, who presented the awards at a ceremony in Edinburgh Castle, said: “The courage and heroism shown by the award-winners is truly humbling. In every case, they didn’t hesitate to act when it came to helping others.

“I was particularly honoured to present posthumous Brave@Heart Awards to the families of Constable Taylor and Detective Sergeant Hunt.

“These officers put themselves in harm’s way to protect other people and, tragically, they paid with their lives.

“They are true heroes whose bravery and sacrifice has been overlooked for far too long. I also commend the courage and determination of the families and colleagues who have campaigned over the years for the officers’ heroism to be properly recognised.”

Brave@Heart Validation Panel Chair David Garbutt said: “It has been a privilege and an honour to chair the panel considering the nominations for these awards, recognising the fantastic achievements of people throughout Scotland who have shown courage and selflessness in helping others and keeping our communities safe.”

brave-heart-award-winners Download

‘Hard choices’ for Police Scotland

Policing our communities update

Police Scotland has provided an update on urgent action to maintain effective policing within the funding available to the organisation.

Hard choices are being taken to deliver effective policing within the funding available and action is being taken to achieve savings, with areas which encounter the greatest demand, and which carry the greatest risk in keeping people safe, being prioritised for resources.

Deputy Chief Constable Designate Fiona Taylor QPM provided an overview of work to prioritise resources, to keep people safe and protect the vulnerable during a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority Board in Glasgow yesterday (Thursday, 28 September).

DCC Taylor said: “As we have consistently highlighted over a period of months, hard choices are being taken to deliver effective policing within the funding available and action is being taken to achieve savings, co-ordinated through the Policing Our Communities programme.

“As I outlined during last month’s Board meeting, we have paused all police support staff recruitment, except for some business-critical areas such as our contact centres and custody suites. We are also reviewing our senior officer command structures and support services.

“We have outlined a proportionate response to crime pilot in our North East (A) Division.

“The police estate is also an area where efficiencies and improvements to buildings in the wrong place or in poor condition can deliver savings and further, necessary cost reduction is planned in relation to police buildings.

“We shared our outline proposals to accelerate disposal of a further 30 police buildings with the Scottish Police Resources Committee last week and we are now developing detailed plans for that work.

“We understand and we are sensitive to community concerns around closing police buildings, but it is important to underline that, as we consolidate our estate, we now have over 60 co-locations with partners, providing more sustainable, more modern, and safer workspaces for our people.

DCC Taylor added: “Of necessity, as part of our commitment to delivering a balanced budget we are closely assessing the officer recruitment profile for the remainder of 2023-24.”

DCC Taylor underlined that Police Scotland would continue to communicate the decisions being taken to maintain effective policing within the funding available.

Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority, provided a joint submission to the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee as part of the pre-budget scrutiny process. This submission contains some estimates of police officer and staff numbers should future budgets be flat cash.

Police Scotland returns more than £200m to the public purse every year compared to legacy arrangements.

The Scottish Government’s budget for 2023-24 confirmed an £80m core funding uplift for policing, with £37m required to fund the ongoing cost of the 2022-23 pay award, leaving £43m to fund unavoidable pay and other inflationary costs for the current financial year.

Watch and listen to DCC Taylor’s update here from 31 mins and 20 seconds.

“Hoax calls are no joke”

SCOTTISH AMBULANCE SERVICE: ‘LIVES ARE BEING PUT AT RISK‘

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has received more than 200 malicious hoax calls so far this year. 37 of these were in the NHS Lothian area.

Between January and August, a total of 219 malicious calls were received compared to 191 over the entire 2022.

In 2021, there were 220 for the entire year and since 2017, there have been 2620 hoax calls.

This year’s malicious calls resulted in 236 vehicles being allocated, with crews spending 130 hours at these calls – an average of 33 minutes for each call.

In one of the calls, a person claimed they had been stabbed, only for the crew to arrive and find no sign of any patient.

Earlier this year, a woman was also fined £210 for making hoax calls to SAS, after calling ambulances when she did not require them.

Michael Dickson, SAS Chief Executive, said: “Anyone who calls 999 without a genuine need is putting lives at risk by diverting crews that could be needed to respond to a life-threatening incident.

“We work with the police to report malicious, or nuisance callers and encourage the public to help us. Hoax calls are no joke.”

The Greater Glasgow and Clyde area experienced the highest number of hoax calls (87), responsible for almost 40% of calls and 40 hours lost that are needed to respond to the public in need.

The Lothian region had the second highest number of calls at 37 and 24 hours wasted, while Lanarkshire had 22, wasting 13 hours.

Health Board*	Total number of calls	Total resource service time (minutes)	Avg. resource service time
Ayrshire & Arran	18	594:03	33:00
Borders	4	87:48	21:57
Dumfries and Galloway	3	137:23	45:48
Fife	6	179:33	29:56
Forth Valley	6	242:00	40:20
Grampian	14	390:12	27:52
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	87	2431:53	27:57
Highland	15	449:16	29:57
Lanarkshire	22	817:53	37:11
Lothian	37	1457:10	39:23
Tayside	20	864:52	43:15
Western Isles	1	11:52	11:52

*Health boards with no data have not been included.

Firefighters participate in “ground-breaking” health trials

Hundreds of firefighters to be tested this week for cancer and other health issues in Scotland as part of a UK-wide firefighter health monitoring research project, commissioned by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and carried out by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)
Firefighters are currently not provided with regular monitoring in UK despite risk of occupational cancer
FBU calls for urgent action to protect firefighters

A firefighter cancer monitoring project has been launched in Scotland as part of a new UK wide research project commissioned by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). The testing is being carried out by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), led by a world expert in fire toxicity, Professor Anna Stec.

Trials took place in Edinburgh from Monday 11^th until Wednesday 13^th September.

Nearly 200 Scottish firefighters are participating by providing blood and urine samples. The results will be used to detect cancers and other diseases at the early stages, and to identify evidence linking occupational cancers with exposure to toxic fire chemicals.

The Scottish Government has provided funding of £56,000 towards this project, while the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is working with the FBU and UCLan to facilitate the testing.

This follows research finding that incidence of cancer among UK firefighters aged 35-39 is up to 323% higher than in the general population in the same age category.

This testing project is the first of its kind to take place for firefighters in the UK and follows the World Health Organisation announcement that occupational exposure as a firefighter is carcinogenic.

Riccardo La Torre, FBU national officer, said: “This research is a vital part of our campaign to protect firefighters from cancer and other occupational disease. The Fire Brigades Union is proud to have led the way in fighting for the protections we need to stop preventable deaths, while employers and governments have failed to act.

“The UK is decades behind many other countries on this issue. While it is positive that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has supported this week’s initiative, we urgently need regular UK-wide monitoring to catch occupational diseases early and save firefighters’ lives.”

John McKenzie, FBU Scotland regional secretary said: “Every firefighter who has volunteered to participate in these health trials should be proud of their contribution to workplace safety. The evidence shows that exposure to toxic contaminants in fire is putting firefighters’ health at risk. We must see serious action to save lives from occupational cancer and diseases.

“We are pleased that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is supporting this ground-breaking research and are committed to furthering this vital work. It is imperative that firefighters continue to see improvements to preventative measures within their workplaces over the months ahead.”

SFRS Assistant Chief Officer Andy Watt said: “The SFRS has already undertaken work to minimise the risk of contaminants for our staff and we will continue to work in partnership with the FBU and Professor Anna Stec to develop and deliver further improvements that will help mitigate the effects of contaminants.

“There are a wide number of areas of work that we are progressing through our Contaminants Group that will take time to deliver, and staff will see the phased implementation of these changes and improvements over the coming months.”

Anna Stec, professor in fire chemistry and toxicity at the University of Central Lancashire, said: “This is the first study of its kind in UK and the research brings to light the wide range of occupational hazards that firefighters face.

“It is vital that firefighters can continue to do their jobs as safely as possible, and the research shows that measures such as health monitoring and reducing exposure from contaminants at the workplace will play an important part in protecting firefighters.

“We hope that working with organisations like SFRS will not only help us to create a safer working environment in Scotland, but will also introduce a change to the wider sector.”

Police Scotland: ‘Hard Choices’ following real-terms funding cut

Police Scotland has outlined urgent action to maintain effective policing within the funding available to the organisation.

Policing’s funding allocation for 2023-24 represents a real terms reduction, meaning more than £50m of savings are required to ensure a balanced budget.

Police Scotland has been clear hard choices are necessary and we have been required to reduce our budgeted officer establishment from 17,234 to 16,600.

Deputy Chief Constable Designate Fiona Taylor QPM provided an overview of work to prioritise resources to keep people safe and protect the vulnerable and was clear our service to the public will be impacted.

DCCD Taylor said: “Our financial planning in March made it clear that our funding allocation for 2023-24 represents a real terms reduction, meaning we have been required to reduce the number of police officers we have from 17,234 to around 16,600.

“Of necessity, we will reduce police staff costs in proportion to the reduction in officer numbers and reduce overtime spending.

“Hard choices are being taken now to maintain effective policing within the funding available to us. Action is being taken to achieve savings and deliver a balanced budget for 2023-24. Areas which encounter the greatest demand and which carry the greatest risk are being prioritised to ensure we continue to effectively reduce harm and protect the vulnerable.

“As part of this urgent action we have paused police staff recruitment other than for reform or externally funded posts; for roles based in our Contact, Command and Control (C3) Division or Resource Deployment Unit; for Police Custody and Security Officers; and for Public Enquiry and Support Assistants.

“Recruitment of Probationary Constables will continue and our commitment to no compulsory redundancies for police staff remains.”

DCCD Taylor also said funding challenges underlined the need to accelerate changes which made savings or supported operational policing, including the successful transformation of the police estate.

DCC Taylor said: “This work will shape our Service and define core policing. It seeks to reduce demand and increase capacity, and accelerate those changes which save money and provide benefits to operational policing. This includes the ongoing transformation of our estate. We will also review support services and our command structures.

“Consequently, some of the things that we do may need to be done differently or take us longer. The level of service we provide in some areas will reduce.”

Police Scotland returns more than £200m to the public purse every year compared to legacy arrangements.

The Scottish Government’s budget for 2023/24 confirmed an £80m core funding uplift for policing, with £37m required to fund the ongoing cost of the 2022-23 pay award, leaving £43m to fund unavoidable pay and other inflationary costs for the current financial year.

Choudhury supports Fire Brigade Union’s #CutsLeaveScars campaign

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) have announced a programme of £11 million worth of cuts for 2023-24, which could lead to catastrophic removals of equipment and firefighter positions at fire stations.

Crewe Toll Fire Station in Edinburgh is due to be affected, with the potential loss of the station’s Turntable Ladder, the piece of equipment which allows rescues from height.

If the equipment is removed from the station, and if no other height appliance was available to attend, there would be no external rescue possible from above the fourth floor in a building.

Foysol Choudhury MSP this week visited Crewe Toll Fire Station to discuss the impact that these cuts would have on the firefighters and their ability to do their job safely.

Following the visit, Mr Choudhury said: “Firefighters risk their lives doing their jobs to save us, and our buildings, from fire.

“They depend on vital equipment to help them do this safely and so I am incredibly concerned that this equipment could be removed, meaning that rescues from height will not be possible.

“With over 50 buildings above four floors in the surrounding area, this proposal makes no sense.

“If there is a fire in a block of flats in the area surrounding Crewe Toll, what will happen?

“These cuts should not be made, knowing the dangers that fires can cause and the tragedies they lead to.

“You can sign the petition to help Crewe Toll Fire Station retain their height appliance here: https://chng.it/CJncjdvty7”

The Labour list MSP is supporting FBU Scotland’s #CutsLeaveScars campaign, which is calling for a reverse to the decision to cut £11million from services.

Mr Choudhury is also calling on the Scottish Government to urgently review their funding arrangements with the SFRS, so that these cuts are not forced and so that both firefighters and the public can be kept safe by a fully resourced fire and rescue service.

Scottish Ambulance Service receives 10 million calls

More than 10 million people have called the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) Ambulance Control Centre (ACC) in the past nine years.

The amazing milestone of 10 million was received on July 17 at 05:56 and was taken by East ACC call handler Melissa Hurst.

SAS uses a system to log calls called C3, which is a service operating system to record all incidents called into 999; this allows our clinical staff to review and offer support where appropriate and for our dispatchers to allocate resources when required.

It was introduced in 2006 and originally implemented into the three regional ACCs – Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh – which operated separately. In 2014, it was implemented nationally as the ACCs integrated into a national service; this is when the national incident count started.

Earlier this year, the Service launched its Integrated Clinical Hub. Using a multi-disciplinary network of skilled clinical staff, the Hub gives SAS the ability to provide a detailed consultation for patients whose initial 999 triage has ruled out time-critical illness. The hub operates 24 hours a day, to ensure patients receive the best possible response to their need when they dial 999.

Michael Dickson, SAS Chief Executive, said: “Our ACCs are an invaluable part of the Scottish Ambulance Service and this is truly a remarkable achievement. Thanks to all of our ACC staff who continue to provide such a crucial service.

“Whether these calls were for call handlers to deliver incredible care, for dispatchers to send the right resource to the scene as quickly as possible, or clinicians to assess and keep our patients safe, we are grateful and proud of all of our ACC staff for the outstanding service they provide to Scotland.

“Our Clinical Hub transformation is aimed at supporting more patients in communities to ensure patients get the right care, at the right time. The number of patients being cared for out with hospital Emergency Departments remains substantial and as we head into a challenging winter period, it’s vital we find ways of delivering the right care for individuals and easing pressure on Emergency Departments.”

Call handler Melissa said: “Taking the 10th million call puts it in perspective of just how many people have depended and relied on SAS to help and care for patients. It shows just how essential our service is for both the public and healthcare professionals and I’m thankful to be a part of it.”

The milestone comes as the SAS ACC team recently won Call Handling Team of the Year at the Control Room Awards, and our control room received Accredited Centre of Excellence (ACE) accreditation for the excellent standard of its 999-call handling and supporting processes.

Scottish Ambulance Service celebrates International Paramedics Day

The Scottish Ambulance Service is celebrating International Paramedics Day on Saturday 8th July by saying thank you to all their hardworking and dedicated staff, and sharing some of their stories.

Launched in 2022 by the College of Paramedics, International Paramedics Day takes place on the birthday of Dominique-Jean Larrey, who is considered the “father of modern-day ambulance services”. It aims to celebrate the tremendous work carried out by paramedics and first responders, and to inspire the next generation of clinicians.

As skilled clinicians, paramedics and first responders make an extraordinary contribution to health and social care systems across the globe, helping patients when they need it most and providing safe and effective treatment.

Paul Bassett, Deputy Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service says: “International Paramedics Day is a fantastic way for ambulance services across the UK to come together and sing the praises of all of our dedicated and hardworking staff.

“We want to celebrate our paramedics, technicians and volunteers, as well as the call handlers and dispatchers, who are absolutely integral to bringing care to patients across Scotland. It’s a difficult, emotionally and physically demanding job, but it’s also incredibly rewarding, and we are so appreciative of all that you do.”

Kimberley Davies, a paramedic in Dalkeith (pictured top) says: “I enjoy helping and seeing different people every day from babies to the elderly and being able to make a difference in someone’s life.

“The most challenging thing is being away from home for long hours, but we make up for it on days off. It’s surprising how much your day can vary, from general transfers to emergency calls.”

Stevie Hannah, Special Operations Response Team (SORT) Paramedic Team Leader for the West, says: “I’m 30 years with the service this year so I must be enjoying it. What I like most is that no two days are the same, ever!

“I love meeting members of the public and trying to help them in their time of need, which can also be the worst day of their lives. It’s challenging to be in extreme situations where we are dealing with the public, and also having media focus on us, because of the nature of the incidents we attend.

“But I would advise anyone going into the profession, you are making a difference in people’s lives every day. Treat every patient as if they were a member of your family and you’ll never go wrong and don’t forget to talk and seek advice from your colleagues.”

Leesa Taylor is a paramedic in Banff, and she describes it as being “the best job in the world. You never know what a day will bring or who you’re going to meet! Knowing you can make a small difference to them or their loved ones is really rewarding. The job definitely keeps you on your toes too.

“I think people will find the progression of the role surprising – gone are the days where we just take everyone to hospital. Paramedics also help with triaging calls, within management roles and within our education departments, to name a few. The role is evolving more and more, with scope for progression as practitioners or as specialists in critical care.”