Groups representing bus, coach, and rail companies have said that face coverings will not be compulsory for passengers when the covid restrictions are relaxed. A man has died in a road traffic accident in Langport. More than a fifth of patients in Somerset avoided making a GP appointment in the past year. The Scouts say they need an extra five thousand volunteers for groups across the country, including here in Somerset...and more.
Groups representing bus, coach, and rail companies have said that face coverings will not be compulsory for passengers in England, when the covid restrictions are relaxed in six days' time. However, in line with government guidance, people will be expected to wear masks if services are busy. Latest data shows Covid cases are up by 726 in the Somerset County Council area.
A man has died in a road traffic accident in Langport. It’s understood the man was struck by a vehicle in the Portway at around 8.30 am yesterday morning.
More than a fifth of patients in Somerset avoided making a GP appointment in the past year. Between January and March, 6,280 patients in the NHS Somerset area who had needed GP appointments were asked if they had avoided booking them, and the reasons why. Of these, 1,330 (21%) said they were put off seeing a GP because they did not want to place a burden on the NHS. 16% said they did not make an appointment as they were worried about the risk of catching Covid-19. The figures come from the 2021 GP Patient Survey, which provides an overview of patients’ experiences with primary care services.
The Scouts say they need an extra five thousand volunteers for groups across the country, including here in Somerset. There are currently fifty-thousand young people on a waiting list to join the Scouts who can't join because there aren't enough adults to act as Leaders.
Two beekeepers in Somerset are celebrating after achieving a top award. Lynne Ingram and Richard Bache are part of a select group of just ninety-four beekeepers nationally to be presented with a National Diploma in Beekeeping.
A father has been found guilty of murdering his two-week-old son at Yeovil Hospital. From Monday, no trains will be stopping at Crewkerne until further notice. Experts say the dry weather has created ideal conditions for wasps to multiply in significant numbers across Somerset. A rare railway carriage from the 1880s, believed to have been built in Somerset, is being given a new lease of life...and more.
Tourism leaders in Somerset are hoping to reverse last year’s downturn in visitor numbers now that the six-week-long school summer holiday is underway. A Chard woman who was driving a van without insurance that crashed has been given a 16-month driving ban. A Somerset hedgehog rescue centre says a lack of rain and hard ground conditions are making it difficult for hedgehogs to survive this summer...and more.
Somerset Council is planning to open twelve new Special Educational Needs units in mainstream schools. Yeovil Hospital is participating in a trial that could revolutionise the treatment of sepsis within the NHS. A 55-acre site in Chard, with plans approved to build 295 homes and a new football ground, has been put up for sale...and more
Somerset Community Foundation has launched a "Together for West Somerset Appeal" to help families affected by last Thursday's school coach crash on Exmoor. People in Somerset are being encouraged to improve their recycling of food waste. Free family cooking sessions are being held in Chard. A new children’s soft play area is soon to open in Yeovil...and more
A GoFundMe page set up to support families of last week’s Exmoor bus crash, in which a 10-year-old boy died, has raised over forty thousand pounds. A local councillor is calling for the introduction of speed cameras on the A30, from Yeovil to Sherborne. A group from a school in Ilchester have hiked 26 miles across the Jurassic Coast to fundraise in memory of a school colleague...and more
EDF has completed another milestone in constructing the new 'Hinkley C' nuclear power plant near Bridgwater. The Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire opens today with helicopters built in Yeovil on display. A road leading to Chard reservoir, shut two months ago for strengthening work to a dam wall, has re-opened...and more
Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he has serious concerns about plans that could see the closure of inpatient beds at Crewkerne Community Hospital. Ilminster residents are being asked to vote in a referendum on adopting a new neighbourhood plan for the town. An event in which people take part in a race against horses is returning to Somerset later this year...and more
A children’s play area in Ilminster has been closed on safety grounds after badger setts were found on the land. Somerset Council sold off £90m of property assets last year to help fight off bankruptcy. Crewkerne Community Hospital could be turned into a neighbourhood health centre...and more.