Centre opens
A new centre - one of the first specialist education programmes of its kind in the country has opened in Buckinghamshire.
A new centre - one of the first specialist education programmes of its kind in the country has opened in Buckinghamshire.
What on earth are these people eating? Find out more here.
Friends of a seven year old girl with a rare form of cancer have held a Bushtucker trial to raise money for treatment abroad.
Strokes tend to be associated with older people - but they can affect people of all ages. As many as 170,000 people in the Meridian region are recovering from a stroke, and a quarter of those are under 65.
One young woman from Brighton who was just twenty-one when she was paralysed down her left side - has enlisted the help of Fixers - the campaign that gives young people a voice to spread a message they feel strongly about. In Becki Cobbs case it's recognising the symptoms of stroke.
For information, help and advice about strokes visit The Stroke Association website.
Thousands of people have joined the organ donor register following a major campaign by ITV News Meridian.
In February of this year we launched our From the Heart campaign. Since then more than 9,000 people have joined the register in our region, compared with just 818 during the same period last year.
For more details, click here.
An inspection will be carried out today at Medway Hospital as part of a review into mortality rates. It's one of 14 across the country which has shown to have high death rates. An inspection at Basildon Hospital was held on Tuesday.
Kay Dejan was a fit and healthy 45-year-old when she tripped over in a supermarket. She damaged her knee and went into hospital for a minor operation. Just weeks later she was dead - killed by blood poisoning.
The Princess Royal has opened a £3.5 million hospital for people with brain injuries in Swindon. Chalkdown House has twenty beds for patients - as well as offering treatment and rehabilitation. Our reporter Laura Makin-Isherwood was at the opening ceremony.
The princess Royal spoke to some of the staff who will be working at the new hospital, discussing the role they will be undertaking, the resources that will be available and their previous experience.
Chalkdown House in Swindon is a 20 bed independent hospital that cost £3.5m to build and willprovide expert services for people in the south west rehabilitating from brain injury.
The latest statement from the Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation reads:
The Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is absolutely committed to continuing to improve its mortality outcomes.
There is a dedicated group of clinicians, including those external to the Trust, who meet every fortnight to discuss, understand and act on specific diagnostic groups where Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio/Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator indicators are higher than anticipated...
...and to deliver a Trust-wide mortality reduction programme. Mortality is the first quality indicator discussed on the agenda at each Trust Board meeting.
In addition, all hospital deaths are reviewed to identify any lessons that can be learned about the care given.
Clare Panniker, Chief Executive, said:
“We will fully support the review by Sir Bruce Keogh and believe it can only further support our work in this area.
A great deal of work has already taken place, and more is underway to achieve consistently high standards of care, including the introduction of a Trust-wide Quality and Safety turnaround programme.
This is looking at all areas of patient quality and safety, to ensure everyone who comes here receives high quality care and does not come to any harm.
Clearly some of these changes, alongside improvements we are making to how we communicate and listen to staff, will take time. However, we are working hard and are committed to making Basildon Hospital worthy of the local community it serves.
We are working closely with external stakeholders, including regulators, to achieve our aspirations.”
Before leaving, The Princess Royal thanked those making the build possible.