logo
Cornwall minor injuries unit shuts for summer due to lack of staff

Cornwall minor injuries unit shuts for summer due to lack of staff

BBC News5 days ago
A minor injuries unit has temporarily closed in Cornwall due to staff shortages, health bosses have said.Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has said Launceston Minor Injuries Unit would remain shut for the remainder of the summer.The trust said it did not have enough staff to safely provide a seven-day-a-week service.Debbie Gilbert, from Healthwatch Cornwall, said: "Any loss of service is detrimental for residents and to tourists."
Ms Gilbert said she hoped "other plans or provisions" were put in place.The trust said it had recruited vacant posts, but new staff would need to complete their mandatory induction and training.It said it had "explored a range of options to offer alternative services in the area" but it had not been successful.The existing staff would be temporarily transferred to facilities in Stratton, Liskeard or Bodmin.The unit was also temporarily closed in 2021 due to illness in the pandemic and in 2022, again due to staff shortages.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

RFK Jr. looks to boot panel that decided which HIV and cancer screenings would be free: report
RFK Jr. looks to boot panel that decided which HIV and cancer screenings would be free: report

The Independent

timea minute ago

  • The Independent

RFK Jr. looks to boot panel that decided which HIV and cancer screenings would be free: report

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly planning to remove all the members of an influential health task force that helps determine what preventative care services insurers must cover for free, after removing all members of a vaccine advisory board last month. Kennedy wants to clean house at U.S. Preventative Services Task Force next because he believes its 16 members have become too 'woke,' The Wall Street Journal reports. Under 2010's Affordable Care Act, the task force makes evidence-based, public recommendations on a variety of treatments, ranging HIV prevention to prenatal care to mental health, that insurers must cover at no cost to patients. Health and Human Services has said the secretary hasn't made a final decision regarding the task force. The Independent has contacted the agency for comment. Kennedy's reported dissatisfaction with the group comes after the American Conservative magazine accused the task force of being a 'festering corner of woke bureaucracy' in an article earlier this month. 'The task force is packed with Biden administration appointees devoted to the ideological capture of medicine,' the author argued, pointing to 'sinister' recent task force actions committing to removing racial inequities in health care and using more inclusive language around gender. Earlier this month, a July meeting of the task force was postponed. At the time, a letter from over 100 health organizations warned about the politicization of the task force's work. 'The loss of trustworthiness in the rigorous and nonpartisan work of the Task Force would devastate patients, hospital systems, and payers as misinformation creates barriers to accessing lifesaving and cost effective care,' the letter reads. 'When something works well and helps inform doctors about how to take care of their patients, to postpone the task force's work just doesn't make any sense,' Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, president of the American Medical Association, told The New York Times after the meeting was postponed. 'This flies in the face of what is good for the country's health.' In June, the Supreme Court upheld the task force's ability to recommend free coverage for preventative services, in the face of a challenge from individuals and businesses objecting to the body's recommendation regarding HIV prevention medication. Concern over the fate of the task force comes after Kennedy removed all the members of a vaccine advisory board, replacing them with some members who share the secretary's vaccine skepticism.

Forget fat jabs, if you want to lose some weight take this VERY unusual pill (just ask Nicole Kidman!)
Forget fat jabs, if you want to lose some weight take this VERY unusual pill (just ask Nicole Kidman!)

Daily Mail​

time29 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Forget fat jabs, if you want to lose some weight take this VERY unusual pill (just ask Nicole Kidman!)

They are the miniscule sea creatures devoured by fish, seals, Nicole Kidman. Now scientists have discovered that adding a krill to your meals could be the secret to the perfect weight-loss diet. An experiment involving overweight Glaswegians found that taking supplements containing oil from the shrimp-like creatures helped the participants keep muscle mass while losing weight. Researchers found taking a daily krill pill maintained dieters' muscle and strength despite dramatic cuts to their food intake. Their study – published in the journal Obesity – concludes: 'Supplementation may offer a beneficial strategy to enhance the quality of weight loss.' Krill are tiny crustaceans that form a vital link in the food chain, feeding on microscopic plankton and then being hoovered up themselves by fish and sea mammals. They live in vast swarms and flourish best in the colder waters of the polar regions, also helping to slow climate change by fixing carbon in the seabed. The blue whale lives exclusively on krill, consuming as much as four tons a day. But their potential value to our own health is now emerging as their oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants that can nourish the brain, heart and joints. For the latest study – led by Dr Dalia Malkova, a senior lecturer in human nutrition - 41 middle-aged Glaswegians were chosen, all of whom were either obese or very overweight. All went on a special weight-loss regime for two months, in which they fasted on alternate days when they consumed only 500 calories. They also underwent physical tests of their strength both at the start and end of the trial. Roughly half the dieters were given four krill oil capsules a day with their meals while the others were handed placebo pills containing plant-based substitutes. After two months, participants in both groups had lost an average of ten pounds on the scales. But 96 per cent of the weight shed by the krill group was fat, compared with only 73 per cent in the group given a placebo. That additional muscle retention meant those taking the supplements lost next to no hand-grip strength, even as the others weakened markedly. And they also gained power in their legs while the placebo group showed no change. In an added bonus, the krill-takers saw their blood pressure and markers of inflammation drop faster too. The authors explain that weight-loss diets cause 'reduced muscle mass, potentially leading to diminished muscle strength [and] this could have adverse effects on metabolic health.' But the Glasgow results show that taking krill oil 'is a valuable strategy to mitigate some of the adverse effects of diet-induced weight loss'. Hollywood actress Kidman, 58 - who won a Best Actress Oscar for the 2002 movie The Hours - is the face of Swisse, an Australian health supplement company that sells oil capsules from krill harvested in the Antarctic. She starred in a television advert for the pills, dancing on a beach and running into the sea, alongside the slogan: 'Live healthy. Be happy.'

Investigation launched into SNP ministers over huge eye operation delays as thousands of Scots are forced to go private
Investigation launched into SNP ministers over huge eye operation delays as thousands of Scots are forced to go private

Daily Mail​

time29 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Investigation launched into SNP ministers over huge eye operation delays as thousands of Scots are forced to go private

An investigation has been launched into long waiting times for cataract surgery in light of MailOnline's revelations that thousands of hard-pressed Scots are having to go private. The Scottish Liberal Democrats are heaping pressure on SNP ministers after it was revealed 8,500 Scots were forced to raid their savings to pay for basic care last year – more than double those who went private in 2019. Nearly 19,000 people are stuck on NHS waiting lists for the eye op across Scotland – with one patient in NHS Grampian waiting for more than three years. Party leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has now filed more than 20 written questions to the Scottish Government to uncover the reasons behind such long delays. He said: 'I'm pleased to see MailOnline drawing attention to this important issue and piling the pressure on the Scottish Government. Patients having to go private or facing waits of up to three years to be able to see again is simply not on. 'Ministers need to ensure that cataract surgery waits come down and people can get the care they need swiftly. I want these patients to know that I am on their side. These questions are part of an effort to get to the bottom of what is holding back patients from getting the care they need.' Mr Cole-Hamilton has asked about staffing levels, the reasons for waiting times, and what contact Health Secretary Neil Gray has had with NHS boards over the delays. Earlier this month, the party revealed figures showing the true scale of cataract surgery waiting times with NHS Grampian admitted that one person had been on their treatment list for 1,253 days. Delays recorded at other health boards include 869 days in NHS Shetland, 824 days in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 680 days in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, 644 days in NHS Borders, 548 days in NHS Fife, 532 days in NHS Lanarkshire and 508 days in NHS Highland. In total 18,956 Scots are on a cataract surgery waiting list, with the longest list in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, where 3,207 people have been referred. NHS Fife is second, with 2,440 patients waiting for the surgery. MailOnline's own investigation found 8,500 Scots paid for cataract ops out of their own pocket in 2024, more than double the 4,075 people forced to go private for the surgery in 2019. Grandfather David Samson from Tayport in Fife has been waiting more than 19 months for a cataract operation on his right eye. The 87-year-old was first diagnosed in January 2024 and was originally told he would be treated within 18 weeks. That then became 18 months – and later almost two years. Mr Samson, a former kitchen designer and builder, hopes to finally be seen at Dundee's Ninewells Hospital in October. He said: 'It's not affecting my driving yet but I am anxious about it. My condition is slowly getting worse.' Mr Samson has a relative in England with the same condition who expects to be treated in 16 weeks. He added: 'I am 87. When I'm in my box I want to see where I'm going.' A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said it hopes to cut surgery waiting lists to 52 weeks by the end of the financial year. Mr Cole-Hamilton added: 'Our NHS is being held back by neglect and mismanagement from SNP ministers. 'The SNP has repeatedly demonstrated that the NHS will never be its priority.' A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'This year, we are investing a record £21.7 billion in health and social care including £106 million to help health boards tackle the longest waits and deliver over 300,000 additional appointments. 'The Scottish Government is clear that no one should face a lengthy wait for important surgery and procedures.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store