Residents of Lancashire and South Cumbria will be able to book their spring COVID-19 booster this week. The NHS has kicked off the next phase of its vaccination programme with a spring campaign to protect the most vulnerable, starting in care homes. Those living in care homes are being prioritised and have begun to receive… Continue reading NHS launches spring COVID-19 jab campaign for most vulnerable people
Full fibre broadband company Fibrus, who is currently rolling out their network in Cumbria, is delighted to announce its partnership with the Cumbria Community Foundation. This new fund, which launches today and is named the “Fibrus Community Fund Cumbria” aims to award funding to local communities in need of support. The fund’s main goal is… Continue reading New fund to address digital poverty
British Medical Association (BMA) and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) members will take part in a four-day strike from 6.59am Tuesday 11 April to 6.59am Saturday 15 April. The 96 hours of industrial action by junior doctors will come on the back of the Easter bank holiday, during which some services will be closed, and high levels of staff are on annual leave due to school holidays. The days leading into and immediately after bank holiday weekends are usually challenging for the NHS, so significant disruption to services is expected. It is vital the public is aware of the pressure the health service will be under and know the best way to access care during that time. People should continue to attend hospital, GP and dental appointments unless they are contacted and told otherwise. Dr David Levy, medical director of NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, which organises health services for the region, has urged people to make NHS 111 Online their first port of call for non-emergency health needs. NHS 111 Online is available by visiting https://111.nhs.uk/ Dr Levy said: “We ask people to continue to use services wisely during industrial action and take simple steps to help ensure care is available to those who need it most. If you need health advice on a day of strike action, but it is not an emergency, try NHS 111 Online and a clinician will call you back if needed. Please continue to only use 999 or A&E in emergency and life-threatening cases – when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk. “During strike action we will prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, maternity and trauma, and ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery. We will only cancel appointments and procedures where it is necessary and will reschedule immediately, where possible. The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled. If you have not been contacted, please attend your appointment as planned. “The public’s support during previous periods of industrial action has been invaluable and we are immensely grateful to them for continuing to use NHS services appropriately during these times of pressure.” Almost half of all hospital doctors in the country are junior doctors – more than 50,000. Junior doctors are qualified doctors who have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in general practice. Junior doctors work in almost every part of a busy hospital, including in A&E, where they might diagnose patients, put them under anaesthetic, write prescriptions, support the process of admission and discharge, maintain the flow of patients through the hospital and ensure beds are available for those who need them the most. They are also an important part of the teams for planned in-patient appointments, as well as out-patient clinics The number of junior doctors based in GP practices who will be taking industrial action is smaller and GP practices will continue to be open during the junior doctors strike. However, GP practices and pharmacies are an important part of the response from the local NHS to make sure that urgent patients continue to be seen as a priority and are likely to be under increased pressure. For FAQs about upcoming industrial action, please visit https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/information-for-the-public-on-industrial-action/
Police are appealing for witnesses regarding an incident which occurred in the early hours of Monday 3 April in the Stanley Road area of Barrow. Police received a report of an assault on a woman, aged in her 40s, in the Stanley Road area in Barrow, which resulted in a facial injury. She is being… Continue reading Appeal issued in Barrow sexual assault investigation
CUMBRIA Local Enterprise Partnership has today announced that 32 Cumbrian businesses will be awarded a share of a £1million grant to either support innovation or cut carbon emissions. The LEP’s ‘Innovating for Success’ grant will unlock £2.8 million of businesses own investment, with the grants resulting in over 4,000 tonnes of CO2 savings over the… Continue reading Cumbria LEP approves £1million of business grants to unlock £35million of growth
This week, Westmorland MP Tim Farron attended a roundtable with Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN) and other MPs. Achieving hyper fast broadband within rural communities in Cumbria has been something Tim has been supportive of for some time now. He has been supportive of B4RN’s work and has long recognised the significance of their… Continue reading Westmorland MP backs B4RN bid to connect Eden communities
Sam Partington has been sentenced to 29 months imprisonment following an investigation by Cumbria Constabulary’s Cyber and Digital Crime Unit. Partington, 30, of Cecil Street, Lytham, was sentenced on Friday (31 March) at Preston Crown Court for a number of offences, including Hacking offences under the Computer Misuse Act, s170 Data Protection Act and… Continue reading Man jailed after hacking social media accounts
A team of specialist nuclear divers is carrying out vital clean-up and decommissioning work in the oldest legacy storage pond on the Sellafield site. The last time a human entered Sellafield’s Pile Fuel Storage Pond was in 1958, when records show a maintenance operator and health physics monitor carried out a dive into the newly… Continue reading Sellafield clean-up team dives into history
Charities in Copeland have received a financial boost to help people through the cost of living crisis thanks to the generosity of one local company. The LLWR Grassroots Fund provides grants to charitable organisations that are addressing issues relating to the current economic crisis, supporting the younger generation with developing skills and vulnerable, older people.… Continue reading £130,000 awarded to good causes in Copeland