Air ambulance get keys to new base near Southampton Airport
"We want to be there for you, wherever you live, on the worst day of your life and get to you as quickly as possible. And we're confident this new airbase will enable us to do that a lot better," Dr Hughes said. Once finished, the building will include facilities for an Airbus H135 helicopter, multiple emergency vehicles and a new aftercare support centre to help bereaved families. But Dr Hughes said the biggest difference would be reduced response times. He said more than 70% of callouts were currently south of Winchester, so the location of the new base would allow them to "reach the majority of people really, really quickly".
In April 2024 Julian Pearce suffered a cardiac arrest and his heart stopped beating for two minutes. Speaking at the transfer of keys at the new base, he said: "My life was saved... because somebody out there had actually made a donation to allow this [service] to function." The ambulance service said it was £2.4m away from its £3.6m target to transform the building so it was fit for purpose - with funding coming solely from public donations.
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The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Texas pediatrician ‘no longer employed' after post about pro-Trump flood victims
A pediatrician for a chain of clinics affiliated with a prominent Houston hospital system is 'no longer employed' there, according to officials, after a social media account associated with her published a post wishing voters in a Donald Trump-supporting county of Texas 'get what they voted for' amid flash flooding that killed more than 100 people, including many children. 'We were made aware of a social media comment from one of our physicians,' read a statement from Blue Fish Pediatrics circulated late Sunday. 'The individual is no longer employed by Blue Fish Pediatrics.' The statement also said: 'We strongly condemn the comments that were made in that post. That post does not reflect the values, standards or mission of Blue Fish Pediatrics. We do not support or condone any statement that politicizes tragedy, diminishes human dignity, or fails to clearly uphold compassion for every child and family, regardless of background or beliefs.' Blue Fish Pediatrics' statement neither named the physician in question nor specified whether she had resigned or was dismissed. But multiple publicly accessible social media posts identified her as Dr Christina Propst. A Guardian source familiar with the situation confirmed the accuracy of the posts naming Propst. And, at the time it issued the statement, Blue Fish Pediatrics had recently unpublished Propst's biographical page from its website. Attempts to contact Propst weren't immediately successful. The post attributed to Propst prompted many – including on social media – to pressure Blue Fish Pediatrics to take action against her. For one, while they are entitled to the same constitutional free speech rights everyone else in the country is, many US healthcare providers are required by their employers to avoid publicizing opinions which could undermine trust in their profession among members of the public. But the timing of the post also caused offense, coming after communities along Texas's Guadalupe River were overwhelmed early Friday from flash flooding triggered by torrential rain. The river rose 26ft (8 meters) in 45 minutes after 1.8tn gallons of rain fell over a region including Kerr county, Texas, about 286 miles (460km ) west of Texas. As of Monday, officials were reporting more than 90 people had died – with others missing – during the flood. Many of those reported dead were in Kerr county. And many were children, including some who were attending Camp Mystic, a 99-year-old, all-girls, nondenominational Christian institution. In the post that preceded the end of her time at Blue Fish Pediatrics, Propst alluded to how Kerr county had – like Texas as a whole – voted in favor of Trump as he defeated former vice-president Kamala Harris in November's White House election. Trump's administration has since eliminated mentions of the ongoing climate crisis and its consequences, one of which is downpours like the one that devastated Kerr becoming more common. He has also mused about 'phasing out' the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), in part so that the president's office could be in charge of distributing disaster relief funds and ultimately 'give out less money'. 'May all visitors, children, non-Maga voters and pets be safe and dry,' said the post, which invoked an acronym for Trump's 'Make America great again' slogan. 'Kerr county Maga voted to gut Fema. They deny climate change. May they get what they voted for.' The post concluded with the phrase: 'Bless their hearts,' which in the US south is often used as a condescending insult. Kerr county residents who survived the flood have since spoken about losing all of their possessions, including their homes. They have also recounted seeking what have proven to be elusive answers about the level of preparedness from authorities in charge of protecting their communities. In short order, the post made its way to Blue Fish Pediatrics, which is described as an independent partner of Houston's well-known Memorial Hermann hospital network. The clinic chain – which was tagged by users demanding that it act against Propst – said in a statement that the group was immediately placing the message's author on leave. A subsequent statement indicated that the post's author was no longer an employee of the chain while expressing 'full support to the families and the surrounding communities who are grieving, recovering and searching for hope'. Meanwhile, a statement from Memorial Hermann said that the post's author was not directly employed by the network. The statement, though, made it a point to say, 'We … strongly condemn these statements … [and] we have zero tolerance for such rhetoric which does not reflect the mission, vision or values of our system.' Propst's unpublished biography described her as a native of New York who graduated from Princeton University in 1991. She later graduated from New Orleans's Tulane medical school, received certifications from the American board and academy of pediatrics and spent 17 years in group practice in Houston before joining Blue Fish in 2018. According to the unpublished biography, Propst was voted 'best pediatrician' in numerous reader polls conducted by Houston's Bellaire Examiner newspaper.
Medical News Today
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Foods to avoid while receiving Stelara
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Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Wes Streeting's plans for NHS recovery 'hanging by a thread' after junior doctors announce five day walkout over pay
Wes Streeting has admitted his NHS recovery plan is 'hanging by a thread' as resident doctors gear up for fresh strikes in a fortnight. The Health Secretary accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of being 'completely unreasonable' after it announced the five-day walkout, which could see 200,000 appointments and operations cancelled. Resident doctors, formerly called junior doctors, will start the latest wave of industrial action from 7am on July 25 amid demands for a 29 per cent pay rise. Repeating he will not negotiate on pay, Mr Streeting urged doctors to 'abandon their rush to strike' and reopen talks to 'improve resident doctors' working lives instead'. He said: 'No trade union in British history has seen its members receive a 28.9 per cent pay rise [over three years] only to immediately respond with strikes, and the majority of BMA resident doctors didn't vote to strike. 'This is completely unreasonable. The NHS recovery is hanging by a thread, and the BMA are threatening to pull it. 'The BMA should abandon their rush to strike and work with us to improve resident doctors working lives instead.' The news of mass disruption to patients comes less than a week after Labour promised its 10 Year Health Plan 'will make using the NHS as easy and convenient as doing your banking or shopping online.' There are now fears further strikes by doctors could lead nurses and consultants to follow suit. But polling shows public support has waned with just one in five Britons now backing resident doctors going on strike. A survey of 2,054 Britons by the Good Growth Foundation found that 56 per cent of the public oppose resident doctor strikes, with only 21 per cent supporting them. In a letter to the BMA's Resident Doctor Committee, Mr Streeting added: 'The public won't see why, after a 28.9 per cent pay rise, you would still walk out on strike, and neither do I.' Since Labour took office the backlog in routine hospital treatments in England has fallen slightly from 7.6 million to 7.4 million, meaning this month's strike could completely wipe out any progress. On Tuesday the BMA secured a mandate for up to six months of disruption by resident doctors less than a year after the Health Secretary handed them a 22.3 per cent pay rise. Nurses and consultant doctors are also being asked by their unions whether they want to walk out over pay, meaning the NHS could be facing a series of strikes this summer. Hospital bosses have been forced to cancel 1.5 million appointments in 11 separate strikes by the medics since 2022. Yesterday resident doctors announced they are 'giving the Government two weeks to come to the table to negotiate' or they will walk out from 7am on July 25 to 7am on July 30. BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said: 'We met Wes Streeting yesterday and made every attempt to avoid strike action by opening negotiations for pay restoration. 'Unfortunately, the Government has stated that it will not negotiate on pay, wanting to focus on non-pay elements without suggesting what these might be. Without a credible offer to keep us on the path to restore our pay, we have no choice but to call strikes.' Health bosses warned the strikes will cause tens of thousands of cancellations and lead to mass patient suffering. Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: 'Announcing five days of strike action with just two weeks' notice can only be harmful. 'It's totally unfair to patients whose care will be cancelled at such short notice just as the NHS was beginning to turn the tide on reducing waiting lists.' Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said the walkout will 'lead to thousands of cancelled appointments and operations' and that 'ultimately it is patients who will bear the brunt of this decision'. 'It is disappointing that talks to avert industrial action seem to have broken down so quickly. But it is hard to see how the Government could commit to increasing resident doctor pay further, particularly after they have received some of the biggest public sector pay rises over the last two years.'
