Retired hotel manager John Barker, of Acomb, rang 999 in severe pain, but Yorkshire Ambulance Service nurse Alan Thomas Haugh overrode a computer system which would have triggered an immediate response by paramedics.

Instead, Mr Haugh, a father of three, told the 65-year-old that his condition did not appear life-threatening, and classed him as a Category C patient rather than Category A.

via York Press.

No inquest was held into her death, but now the Doncaster Coroner, Nicola Mundy, has decided there should be one.

A preliminary hearing will be held in February when a date will be fixed for the full inquest later in 2012.

At the time of her daughter’s death, Mrs Easen blamed herself for not being able to perform emergency first aid during the severe asthma attack she suffered at home in April 2008.

But what she did not know at the time was that paramedic James McKenna declared her dead instead of continuing resuscitation and getting her to hospital for specialist treatment that may have saved her life.

via Mum to hear why her daughter died – News – The Star.

According to a paramedic working in Hull for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, staff are stretched to the limit, often working 12 hour shifts and sometimes up to 13 or 14 hours, without a meal break.

He claimed over Christmas 26 shifts hadn’t been covered because of sickness and crews were being delayed for up to an hour at the hospital because of a lack of beds.

Unison regional organiser Ray Gray said there were close to 100 vacancies going unfilled in Yorkshire: “Some of it is cost efficiencies and when they get a vacancy it takes nearly a year to get a qualified paramedic up and trained.

“For health and safety reasons unions have never agreed with a 12-hour shift, if they get a call at the end of the shift to the far end of the patch that could be another half an hour.

via Yorkshire Post.

The Doncaster Coroner will hold the inquiry later this year into the death of Izabelle Easen, who was poorly treated by a paramedic employed by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service in 2008.

James McKenna declared her dead at the scene after she suffered an asthma attack at her home, instead of continuing resuscitation and getting her to hospital for treatment that might have saved her life.

Izabelle’s mother: ‘morally wrong’ that details were hidden

It follows the opening of an inquest in Northumberland last year into the death of Grahame Giles, 61, who died in 2008 after a paramedic from the North East Ambulance Service refused to give him a potentially life-saving drug.

Sky’s investigation uncovered a culture of secrecy in which the regulator of paramedics, the Health Professions Council (HPC), and some ambulance services have kept details of misconduct from the families of dead patients.

via Sky News.

The anonymous staff member also claimed that local crews were being sent elsewhere in the region to help those areas meet response targets.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service said the service was not over stretched and lives were not at risk.

Watch the video at BBC News

Chief executive David Whiting said his staff had reason to be proud after an eventful 2011 in which the service successfully fought off criticism for the amount of written complaints it received, while also seeing an improvement in response times.

Mr Whiting said: “Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) has much to be proud of.

“We are now responding to patients more quickly than ever before and have seen some really positive results in relation to the quality of clinical care we provide.

“Over the last three months we have been consulting on our plans to achieve NHS foundation trust status, which will give us greater freedom to shape the way we provide and develop our services for patients.

via York Press.

It received the Leadership Award at the Energy Saving Trust Fleet Hero 2011 Awards in London which highlight organisations that are reducing their carbon footprints and lowering their fuel bills.

The judges chose Yorkshire Ambulance Service, which provides 24-hour emergency and healthcare services to a population over five million, for its wide range of ‘green’ initiatives and said that the Trust provides an example of impressive leadership within the emergency services.

It highlighted that the Trust, which has a fleet of almost 1,500 vehicles which cover over 25 million miles per year, has become the first ambulance service in the country to begin a Carbon Management Programme, started eco-driving skills training for its staff and identified the potential to reduce the carbon emissions of its fleet by at least 30%, far exceeding the legal requirements.

via A greener ambulance service – Local – Pocklington Post.

As emergency services and hospitals brace themselves for a significant increase in 999 calls over Christmas and New Year, ambulance bosses have urged people with minor illnesses and injuries to consider more appropriate healthcare services, such as a visit to a GP, walk-in-centre, minor injuries unit, pharmacist, or call NHS Direct.

via From York Press.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust has taken the Lifecyle quick response service off the road in Hull, Leeds and Sheffield.

The service is still in operation in Harrogate and York.

The trust’s Paul Mudd said: “We’ve re-seconded the staff back on to traditional ambulances and rapid response vehicles.”

The move follows a review by the trust of its staff and resources.

Mr Mudd, the trust’s Assistant Director of Operations, said: “We’ve suspended service for the time being. We are looking at all resources to get the most efficient use.”

via BBC News

John Barker, 65, was told his pancreatitis was not life-threatening and that he should contact his GP to get painkillers, an inquest heard.

Recording a narrative verdict, York coroner Donald Coverdale said there were three lost opportunities by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service control room to get Mr Barket to hospital.

Read full article: Mail Online.