Around 150 military personnel have been drafted in to support the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) cope with rising staff shortages due to COVID.
The NWAS says the the military will be available to respond to patients whose need is not urgent, and who often have longer waits when the service is busy, to allow it to “make more efficient use” of its emergency resources, while helping out the wider NHS system.
The cohort of personnel will begin training on the 11 January, and will continue to work with the NWAS for a number of weeks.
The military personnel will receive NWAS training in driving ambulances, manual handling, kit familiarisation, and basic life support – which the Service says is similar to the standards of the trust’s patient transport staff, who have also been supporting the emergency service throughout the pandemic.
This new draft follows what the NWAS says was a “very successful partnership” last winter, when the military was deployed to more than 4,600 non-life-threatening 999 incidents, including assisting with transportation of patients between healthcare sites on a predicted 1,700 occasions.
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Feedback from those who worked with the military personnel was overwhelmingly positive, the NWAS revealed.
Around 150 military personnel have been drafted in to support the North West Ambulance Service / Credit: Facebook (NWAS Trust)
“It’s no secret that the ambulance service, along with the NHS as a whole, has been under extreme pressure for several months,” said Ged Blezard – Director of Operations at the NWAS.
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“Now we are also experiencing high numbers of staff absences due to confirmed COVID-19 cases and isolation, with around 25% of the workforce currently affected [and so] as part of our resilience planning, we can make a request to the military for support and feel now is the right time to put the arrangements in place.
The ambulance service and the military are joining forces to support people in the North West.🤝https://t.co/g4ePipPvQl
— North West Ambulance Service (@NWAmbulance) January 7, 2022
“We worked alongside the military last February and March, and it allows us to have more of our vehicles on the road, getting people the treatment they need sooner.
“This frees up emergency ambulances to attend to urgent, life-threatening cases.”
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Ged added that taking this “timely intervention” to increase its resources now means the NWAS can carry on doing saving lives, while still providing extra support for its staff and patients during another “challenging period”.
Victim named and murder investigation launched after young woman is killed in Newton Heath stabbing
Emily Sergeant
The victim of a street stabbing in Newton Heath this week has been named for the first time as a murder investigation continues.
It comes after officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) responded to reports of a disturbance at around 2am yesterday (Thursday 15 October) on Dorking Avenue, in the Newton Heath area of Manchester, and when they arrived on the scene, they found a woman in her 20s with serious injuries that were ‘consistent with a stabbing’.
Despite best efforts of all emergency services involved, the young woman was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
As the murder investigation progresses, the woman has now been publicly named and a photo of her has been released for the first time.
She has been named as 26-year-old Alisha Samuels.
At this time, one man, aged 25, has been arrested on suspicion of murder, and a man and woman, aged 61 and 38, have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, and they all remain in custody – with officers continuing their enquiries to establish the full circumstances of this incident.
Alisha’s family have asked for privacy whilst they deal with the devastating loss of their loved one, GMP has stated.
“We are continuing to urge people who may have information in relation to this incident to please come forward to support our investigation and bring justice for Alisha,” the police force said in a public appeal.
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or has mobile phone, CCTV, or doorbell footage, is urged to call GMP on 0161 856 5464, or contact them via the Major Incident Public Portal here.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
Featured Image – GMP (Family Handout)
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Former supply teacher jailed for multiple upskirting and AI sex offences across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A former supply teacher has been jailed for multiple upskirting and AI sex offences in schools across Greater Manchester.
Abusali Rahman – a British national of Bangladeshi ethnicity from Salford – appeared in Bolton Crown Court this week for his sentencing after first being charged with, and then pleading guilty to, several offences.
The offences are including, but not limited to, 12 counts of taking an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child (images obtained by upskirting), three counts of making indecent photograph / pseudo-photograph of a child (making AI-generated images), and one count of attempting to meet girl under 16 following sexual grooming.
The offences are alleged to have taken place between December 2023 and June 2025, according to Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
Twelve girls have been identified in relation to the upskirting offences – aged between 13 and 16 at the time of the alleged offending – at seven high schools in three Greater Manchester boroughs (Bury, Bolton, and Salford).
GMP says it has remained in close contact with the schools, local authorities, and other partners throughout the investigation to ensure all appropriate support is in place for those who need it.
Additionally, the court also heard how Rahman amassed a collection of images of young girls, using AI and other methods to sexualise them.
The images numbered more than 300 in total, ranging from Category A to Category C classifications, and Rahman would post these on social media, often alongside humiliating and disgusting captions.
Rahman was sentenced to six years in prison, and will also be subject to a 20-year Sexual Harm Protection Order.
A former supply teacher has been jailed for child sex offences in schools across Greater Manchester / Credit: GMP
Detective Constable Lisa McGaffin, from GMP’s Bolton Child Protection Team, described Rahman’s crimes as ‘absolutely abhorrent’.
“My thoughts throughout this process have always been with the young girls who have been subject to such indignity,” DC McGaffin said following the sentencing this week. “Their welfare and support will always be a priority for us.
“While working as a teacher – someone who young children should trust and be safe with – Rahman repeatedly took secret photos for his own sick gratification, before posting images online which showed his total disregard for the girls’ respect and dignity.
Emily Sergeant -
7th January 2022 
