Maternity services at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust have been rated highly by mums in the 2017 National Maternity Survey. The Trust performed well across the survey, and has been rated as one of the top performing nationally.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) survey asked women about their experience of antenatal care, care during labour and birth, and postnatal care. It was sent to more than 18,000 women who gave birth in February 2017 in services run by 130 NHS trusts across the country.

Responses were received from 155 mothers who were cared for by RD...

More than two in five (41%) business owners in the South West fear that their management team will cause them to hit a growth ceiling. Their concerns are legitimate - over half (57%) of local management teams have never helped grow a business prior to the one they now work in.

Business owners and the teams that support them have to work hard to put the planning and communication in place that can overcome the challenge of experience and unleash their businesses' growth potential. According to research conducted among 500 UK SMEs by top 15 chartered accountants Haines Watts, there...

Boosting people’s health and bettering the environment are the ambitions of Plymouth Science Park based architectural firm, CURA Design.

The team is already engaged with a number of multi-million pound building design projects in London and the South West.

CURA Design is one of the first UK based architectural businesses in the UK which fully embraces and uses ‘biophillic design principles.’

Biophilic design offices first began to appear in the USA and have since spread worldwide – with strong enthusiasm for the concept in Singapore, Dubai and China. Its’ philosophy...

Leading commercial waste management firm, Devon Contract Waste, has won the contract to design and implement a bespoke Zero to Landfill waste programme for Exeter-based Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline, to divert more than 140 tonnes of waste from landfill each year. The new waste solution follows a complete overhaul of the airline’s waste management process and will equip Flybe employees with the facilities needed to effectively separate and sort commercial waste. Under the arrangement, Devon Contract Waste estimates that 100% of Flybe’s waste will be processed for recycling, with...

Problem-solving powers may help to explain why grey squirrels have taken over from native red squirrels in the UK, new research says.

The study tested wild squirrels with an “easy” task (opening a transparent lid) and a “difficult” task (a more complex process of pushing and pulling levers) to get hazelnuts.

The two species were equally successful at the easy task, but a more of the grey squirrels cracked the difficult one.

The researchers, from the universities of Exeter and Edinburgh, said this “superior behavioural flexibility may have facilitated their invasion...

Environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) have launched their annual Big Spring Beach Clean campaign, urging the public to take action to tackle plastic pollution from source to sea.

Already the single biggest community beach clean activation in the UK, the Big Spring Beach Clean engages 20,000 participants annually who, this year, will also be called upon to document and report ‘avoidable plastics’ that they find around the coastline in a mass ‘citizen science’ action. The Big Spring Beach Clean will urge individuals and communities to target ‘avoidable plastics’, helping...

Exeter City scored two goals in stoppage time to beat Crewe Alexandra 2-1 at the Alexandra Stadium to move back into the play-off places.

In a match with little in it, Crewe thought they had won it on 88 minutes when Shaun Miller turned the ball home.

However, captain, Jordan Moore-Taylor fired in to level things a couple of minutes after the 90 before Jayden Stockley was on hand at the far post to send the travelling City fans home delighted when he headed in.

Match Report sponsored by Speedy Freight

Paul Tisdale made five changes to the side that were...

Newton Abbot based construction company, Randall Simmonds, have pledged a monthly donation to YMCA Exeter in support of their expanding service provision in the county.

YMCA Exeter provide services in Supported Accommodation, Employment and Health & Wellbeing, for young people who are experiencing homelessness. The local charity, which was founded in 1846, is one of the oldest YMCAs in the world and supports over 1000 young people every year across Exeter, East, Mid and North Devon.

Speaking on behalf of the Newton Abbot based construction company, Phil Lewis from...

FORCE is launching a new project to offer more support to people who have lost a loved one to cancer.

The area’s leading local cancer support charity already offers face-to-face support and advice for those who have lost a family member to the disease.

It is now starting a pilot scheme to provide FORCE Bereavement Support Days. The first one will be held at Cardinal Newman House in Exeter on Thursday March 22 (10-4) and there are still places available.

The support day is open to anyone bereaved by a cancer death from three to 18 months ago.

It is free to...