Consultation to look at closing children's A&E unit in Ormskirk
'Long-term solutions'
Southport children's A&E department was closed 20 years ago and children currently had to travel to Ormskirk for emergency care, where the opening hours were limited to between 08:00 and midnight during the pandemic and were never reinstated.A report to a meeting of the Shaping Care Together joint committee, led by Cheshire and Merseyside and Lancashire and South Cumbria Trusts, said it was looking to "explore long-term solutions for high-quality, sustainable care".It said it currently "faces pressures from aging infrastructure, workforce shortages, financial challenges, and rising patient demand"."With increasing population aging and complexity in care needs, maintaining duplicate services across two sites is unsustainable," it said.
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
'Grief isn't textbook - there is no way to grieve correctly'
"I think of grief as sitting in an orchestra pit, and every single instrument is playing a different tune at top volume. How are you ever going to hear music through that?"Those are the words of Kat Lyons, who lost their mum to breast cancer in 2017, and says they think of grief as something you deal with "bit by bit".Death and bereavement are something we all inevitably experience in our lifetimes. More than three million people are bereaved in the UK each year, yet according to research by Marie Curie in 2024, about 51% of respondents felt we don't talk about death and dying have said the way we approach the subject is to blame, and to combat the stigma, a new centre for grief research and engagement has opened at the University of Bristol. Kat, who works as a poet and a creative writing facilitator and lives in Langford, North Somerset, has been involved in Weston-super-Mare's Good Griefs Festivals, which encouraged conversations about death to help people deal with said: "I don't think you can ever prepare for it [death]." "You feel like the rug is out from under your feet."I was like, 'I'm an adult. I can do this stuff' and, of course, you absolutely can't even make a cup of tea, brush your teeth, all the things," they said. Kat said they needed to put their grief "in a box and lock it down" to manage day-to-day then, to process grief, they said people needed to "gradually open the box" and not do it all at artist Helen Acklam, who lives in Bristol, locking away the loss of her daughter Gail, who was stillborn, had a profound impact on at 16 and growing up in the "very religious" and "very tight community" of the Welsh Valleys, Helen said the stigma of being a teenager and having baby loss "made it a very difficult experience"."I think, for a lot of women who had stillbirths in the 70s and 80s, we didn't have a voice," she that in mind, Helen said she had no way of talking about or describing her loss and instead felt "silenced" and "angry". "I went in alone to have Gail and then came out on my own. All the things which had been collected, like nappies and the things you get ready for baby, were gone. My father took care of everything."All the stigma and shame of the family, the community - I absorbed all that," Helen said she only started processing the loss of Gail after seeing a news report of someone going through a similar experience decades said she did not even go to the funeral, something Kat found very said their mum's funeral was the first they had ever attended and without rituals like funerals, it can be difficult to process that someone has died. Meanwhile, Helen said she underwent her own ritual years after Gail's death which helped her heal."I went back to her grave, which I'd never visited, and I suppose quite literally, dug into the earth and dug into myself," she earth from Gail's graveside back to her art studio, Helen has since used it in her work, a way of taking back what happened to her."There were times when it was incredibly painful. I was crying. I had the mud on me, I was right in it," she said. For Kat, writing about loss has helped them cope."It lets you approach grief indirectly because you're holding the pen and you can put it down."It allows this small measure of control at a period where you feel absolutely out of control," they Kat acknowledges people grieve "in different ways"."A common misconception is there is a very linear journey - that everyone goes on in the same way," they that, Kat said they feel people are also worried about "doing grief wrong".Kat said during their grief journey, they had often questioned their reaction."I was like, 'I should be collapsing on the floor and crying. Why am I doing my tax return instead?' - or 'I shouldn't be going out partying, because you know that is wrong, because how can I party when my mother is dead?'.""There is no way to grieve correctly," they said."We aren't textbook and grief isn't textbook," they added. For Helen, processing loss is helped by talking openly about it, as "shying away" from the "natural feelings" causes said that years after her loss, she found out her parents had experienced a stillbirth she been able to speak to them about it, she said she would have known what she was "going into".Dr Lesel Dawson, the co-director of The Bristol Centre for Grief Research and Engagement, said some people find talking about death uncomfortable as they can "awaken our own fears of mortality" and "our loved ones dying".But she added she hopes the research centre "will help people feel more confident" in having open conversations around grief and of her ideas is having grief education in schools. "I think it could radically change the way society thinks and talks about death."There's lots of ways of talking about death and grief, through stories, through biology, through different cultural approaches to death and grief," she added. 'An act of love' Kat agreed and said some find the vocabulary around grief difficult to manage."They do this kind of head tip and the soft voice and they're very concerned."Then after three months, anyone who hasn't been bereaved just stops asking because they're thinking it's been quite a long time but that's just the start of it."You will survive, even though it feels like you won't," said said loss changed you as a person as you learn to live with the loss."Grief is not something you get over, the person you love has died and that is a loss you will carry with you through your whole life," Dr Dawson, who also runs the Good Grief Festival added: "It's very messy, and we might suddenly get really angry and then we might suddenly get really sad and it doesn't really matter as long as we're feeling."It is just the flip side of love. If you don't love someone, then you're not going to grieve them. Grieving is an act of love." If you or someone you know has been affected by the details raised in this story, advice on where to find help and support can be found at BBC Action Line.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
£1m heart transplant hero's dad urges schools to teach about organ donation
Mini marvel Beatrix Adamson-Archbold spent almost 15 months in hospital waiting for a donor - now her dad is calling for better education to raise awareness of the gift of life A life saving transplant can cost the NHS more than £1m, leading to calls for better education about organ donation in schools. Mini marvel Beatrix Adamson-Archbold spent almost 15 months in hospital as she waited for her heart transplant. Now thriving at four years old, she is a testament to the miracle of organ donation. But her dad Terry Archbold told of the extraordinary costs to the NHS for her care prior to the op in June 2023 at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle. Beatrix spent 30 days in paediatric intensive care, at a cost of £2800 per day, a total bill of £84,000. There were also 425 days in the high dependency unit at an average of £1800 per day, which comes to £765,000. The Berlin Heart device fitted to keep her alive prior to the op costs up to £120,000 in the UK. The estimated bill for the transplant operation itself is £36,000 for staff and theatre time. And replacement Berlin Heart ventricles throughout Beatrix's stay in hospital cost in excess of £40,000, a bill of more than £1m. Durham police officer Terry, 47, believes school lessons about organ donation for children of all ages would raise awareness, increase the number of donors and reduce the cost burden on the NHS. He said: "You add up the cost of all the equipment, time on the high dependency unit, the time of the nurses and doctors and surgeons, and it comes to more than £1m. "The bottom line is that, if we carry on on the trajectory that this country is on, then the waiting list for donations grows month by month. "We will have situations where there is no capacity for adults and children. And more lives will be lost. And that terrifies me." Terry, of Burnopfield, Co Durham, added: "I have been into schools and the kids are so receptive to the idea of donation. "The questions and the insight, it was amazing to see their grasp and their compassion. School lessons work in Canada and Greece and they are starting to teach these lessons in Northern Ireland." He gave the example of Kayleigh Llewellyn, 18, of Seaham, Co Durham, who is going to train a paramedic. The Mirror campaigned to change the organ donor law in England and told how Kayleigh's life was saved by a heart donor in 2019. Terry added: "Fast forward 30 years. Kaylee is a qualified paramedic. A single act of donation by her donor has saved not just her life, but the hundreds of lives saved by Kayleigh every day in her job. "Every single patient, every person she saves can be traced back to the moment that her donor family decided to save her life. All thanks to one selfless act of organ donation. It is absolutely mind blowing." Terry and Beatrix's mum Cheryl Adamson, 42, a council worker, have seen both sides of the transplant journey. In 2018, they lost their daughter Isabel (c) when she was stillborn and they donated her heart for medical research. Terry has written to the Prime Minister calling on the Government to make organ donation a statutory part of the National Curriculum. He is being supported in his crusade by Sergio Petrucci, who won a Pride of Britain award for his work with the Red Sky Foundation, and Orgamites, the group which teaches about organ donation in schools. The Government is considering an independent review on the national curriculum with Professor Becky Francis and her expert panel giving their recommendations.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Owning dog or cat could preserve some brain functions as we age, study says
As Britain's population ages and dementia rates climb, scientists may have found an unexpected ally in the fight against cognitive decline. Cats and dogs may be exercising more than just your patience: they could be keeping parts of your brain ticking over too. In a potential breakthrough for preventive health, researchers have found that owning a four-pawed friend is linked to slower cognitive decline by potentially preserving specific brain functions as we grow older. Interestingly, the associations differ depending on the animal: dog owners were found to retain sharper memory, both immediate and delayed, while cat owners showed slower decline in verbal fluency. When it comes to slower cognitive decline in their owners, however, it seems that not all pets are created equal: fish and birds, while charming companions, showed no significant link. 'Pet ownership has been linked to a positive influence on cognitive functioning and cognitive decline in late adulthood,' said Adriana Rostekova, a researcher and lead author of the article, which was published in Nature. 'However, there is limited understanding of how different species of pets are associated with these outcomes.' Rostekova, who works at the lifespan developmental psychology research group at the University of Geneva, used data from eight waves of the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe to examine the relationship between pet ownership and cognitive decline over an 18-year period among adults aged 50 and older. She specifically looked at the distinct role of owning dogs, cats, birds and fish. 'The key novelty of our study was that we found notable differences between the species,' she said. Rostekova hypothesised that because keeping fish or birds showed no meaningful link to changes in cognitive decline, the overall pattern of pet ownership may be driven primarily by having a cat or dog rather than pet ownership in general. 'Several explanations may help explain the absence of this association in fish and bird owners, despite the reports of their ownership' positive influence on wellbeing in ways that are usually associated with cognitive benefits,' she added. 'A fish or bird's short lifespan may potentially limit the level of emotional connection one is able to develop with the pet fish,' she said. 'Bird ownership may negatively affect the owner's sleep quality due to the increased noise levels, which has been shown to be associated with cognitive decline.' Rostekova added: '[It is] further possible that interaction with dogs and cats provides unique cognitive stimulation, which may be less pronounced in other, less demanding pets.' Other research has found evidence of an increase in prefrontal brain activation and stronger attentional processes and emotional arousal caused by interaction with a dog. There is further evidence of increased activation of the prefrontal cortex and the inferior frontal gyrus when interacting with cats, which is speculated to be linked to the characteristic, hard-to-predict temperament of the animal. 'There is also a possibility of increased social stimulation facilitated by cats and dogs, which may be linked to the slower cognitive decline experienced by their owners: an increased frequency of social interactions when accompanied by a dog – or for cats, a substitute for a social network,' said Rostekova. As the NHS grapples with an ageing population and rising dementia rates, experts say the findings could reshape how we think about healthy ageing – and the animals we choose to age alongside. Andrew Scott, the author of The Longevity Imperative and a cat owner (although also a dog lover), said: 'We tend to think of health as being about disease and hospitals but as we live longer and need to focus on preventive measures that keep us healthy for longer, we will discover that the health system extends well beyond doctors and hospitals. 'It is about how we live our life. What is nice about this study is it suggests a fun and meaningful way of keeping healthy and engaged. A lot of things we are recommended to do for our health aren't always fun or companionable (does anyone fast as a family?). Having a pet can be fun and if it keeps you healthy that's a great bonus.'
