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The NHS in Devon says it is preparing to take extra measures to keep patients safe because hospital emergency departments are under pressure due to doctors’ strikes.

In a statement, NHS Devon said it had entered OPEL 4 – the highest level of escalation – following the “continued pressures”.

It said this week’s walkout by junior doctors from 7am on Wednesday until 7am on Saturday has “left many hospitals facing difficulties in filling rotas, especially over the next two evenings – Thursday and Friday”.

And despite consultants ending their separate 48-hour strike on Thursday morning, “there remain far fewer clinical staff in hospital emergency departments than usual”.

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Public blame govt for doctors’ strikes

Measures to help A&Es cope could include people in the county who aren’t critically ill being re-directed from hospital emergency departments to other services.

This would allow the reduced number of staff on shift to care for the patients most in need of emergency treatment, said NHS Devon.

Ambulances who attend call-outs across Devon and parts of South East Cornwall may need to take patients to an emergency department that isn’t their local hospital where they may be seen sooner, depending on the needs of the patient and the pressures in the emergency departments at the time.

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Although health workers have been “working hard” to deal with the impact of the strikes, the NHS is now preparing to “deploy further measures if they are needed in coming days”, the statement also said.

Read more:
Inside the NHS as winter preparations hit by strikes
Almost half of public blame govt for doctors’ strikes – poll
Health secretary criticises ‘increasing militancy’ of strikes

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NHS: Double strike by doctors

‘We are counting on the understanding of local people’

In advice issued for local people, the NHS stressed when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk – they should still call 999 immediately.

Patients who require urgent treatment, but do not have symptoms of a life-threatening condition, should call 111 or use the 111 service online, the advice added.

Devon’s chief medical officer Nigel Acheson said: “We have been doing everything we can to keep patients and colleagues safe through this period of extreme pressure due to the industrial action.

“We are ready to put in place all measures needed to make sure we can look after the people who most desperately need our help.

“We are counting on the understanding of local people at this difficult time and we encourage everyone to follow the advice we are giving today.”

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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Boy dies after ‘getting into difficulty’ in lake in southeast London

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Boy dies after 'getting into difficulty' in lake in southeast London

A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.

Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.

The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.

“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.

The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.

The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.

In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.

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google street view inside Beckenham Place park, Lewisham where a 16 y/o boy is missing after getting into difficulty in a lake
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Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon

Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.

The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.

It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”

Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.

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