The experience of family carers during the COVID-19 pandemic will be explored in a series of weekly interviews conducted over the next 3 months.
The “Caring through Coronavirus” study will seek to understand how family carers are coping during the pandemic and explore whether changes in policy, legislation, and health and social care provision are impacting their wellbeing and caring responsibilities. Nearly nine million Britons provide unpaid care for family members and friends with long-term illnesses and disabilities, including those most vulnerable to the virus. Many carers...
The Centre for Social Justice has issued a new report urging all Britons to watch out for signs of domestic abuse among their neighbours in the wake of a sharp rise in attacks during lockdown. The report, Domestic Abuse and the Lockdown , warns that just as the Government has taken lockdown measures to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, traditional lifelines for vulnerable women, such as GP surgeries, churches, and hairdressers are becoming inaccessible. These are common places for victims to tell others their harrowing stories. Another key issue is the increasing diversion of police time and...
Leading housebuilder Persimmon Homes has today announced a “volunteer army” to help the NHS and local communities during the Covid-19 crisis.
The business has encouraged hundreds of staff to register for the Persimmon Voluntary Programme to help the country through the difficult weeks ahead.
In order to protect the health of its employees, Persimmon has taken the decision to undertake an orderly shut-down of work and temporarily close its sales offices across the country.
All Persimmon staff currently not working their usual pattern remain on full pay. It is...
As part of their Culture + Climate programme 2020, THG has teamed up with East Devon AONB to share NATURE SHORTS: an online series showcasing art practices which inspire, build creativity and deepen our connection with nature.
NATURE SHORTS explores how we can connect with nature during isolation, sharing different artistic approaches to land and space. The highlighted artists work across a range of materials and processes including land art, photography, printmaking and performance.
THG Curator, Ruth Gooding, explained “As we move our public programme into the digital...
NHS hospital teams across Devon are reassuring local people that emergency services are there for them if they are unwell and need help.
Doctors are concerned that some people who should be getting medical help for non-COVID-19 illnesses are staying away from hospital and not seeking help due to fears they might catch the virus.
Attendances have fallen by more than a third at emergency departments across Devon, in line with national trends. Some of this may be because people are acting responsibly and getting advice from other healthcare settings. However, at all...
A charity at the heart of a Devon community’s response to the Coronavirus crisis has launched an urgent fundraising appeal to help it continue its vital services.
The Estuary League of Friends - based in Topsham and a lifeline for many in the town and surrounding areas - needs £60,000 to continue its essential work.
In recent weeks Estuary’s staff and volunteers have been delivering groceries, medicines and essential supplies, cooking and delivering hot meals, taking people to urgent medical appointments and making telephone calls to vulnerable people who are self-...
The CBI have urged even more businesses in region to join the ‘battle’ to produce protective equipment for the NHS and front-line workers. The organisation have organised a webinar for companies and CBI Deputy Regional Director Ben Rhodes welcomes all those interested to sign up.
The organisation are urging firms with the skills or expertise that could be harnessed to get involved, as well as those who have skills that could be useful for the fight, including the suppliers, lawyers, logistics and others needed to make this critical endeavour happen.
Devon’s GP practices are helping the fight against COVID-19 by enabling patients to consult their doctor without leaving the house, either online, by the telephone or through video.
More than 90% of the county’s practices have now signed up to the eConsult online platform, which allows patients to access services from their smartphone, tablet or computer.
This represents a significant increase for Devon, which already ranked among the leading areas in the country for online consultation usage. Last month (March) more than 34,000 eConsults were processed by practices...
With spring in the air as well as signs of new life from the natural world, the RSPCA is seeing an influx in fox cubs coming into its care up and down the country.
Animal welfare officer (AWO) Nicola Thomas was called earlier this week to collect a lone fox cub that was found in a garden in Leyton, east London. When she arrived to collect the cub, she could also hear his siblings calling from the garden next door.
Nicola said: “The neighbours kindly let me take a look and sure enough there were two more cubs, who were also very hungry and crying. I popped all three cubs...
