The support on offer for patients at their GP practice is expanding across the South West, thanks to many more healthcare staff working in local communities and the new GP access recovery plan. Since 2019, thousands of additional staff have been recruited into healthcare roles at general practices in the region – meaning an expanded […]

The NHS and UK Health Security Agency in the South West are joining forces to help reduce the toll from urinary-tract infections (UTIs), which led to more than 21,000 urgent hospital admissions across the region last year. UTIs can be particularly serious in older people, with the over-70s accounting for 70% of admissions. While the […]

A Dorset man diagnosed with testicular cancer has applauded a supermarket chain’s efforts to make people more ‘body aware’ of the potential cancer symptoms. Morrisons in partnership with the NHS launched its Nutmeg branded underwear in August featuring advice on the labels inside urging shoppers to contact their GP practice if they spot potential symptoms […]

  · Parents and carers in the South West urged to get children vaccinated against flu · Over 10,000 children hospitalised across England due to flu last winter · Flu vaccination best way to protect children from serious illness and limit spread of the virus to more vulnerable family and friends · Last winter, 55.3% […]

From today (Monday 4 September) the NHS in the South West is calling on people, over 40 years old, to get their blood pressure checked as part of a drive to prevent strokes and heart attacks. The campaign is being backed by community pharmacies as well as by the Cornish Pirates rugby club and Somerset […]

This summer, secondary school students in Gloucestershire and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (CIOS), had the fantastic opportunity of taking part in work experience in a dental practice. As part of a pilot scheme in the South West to support the NHS Long Term Workforce plan, seven dental practices signed up to work with […]

The NHS in the South West is facing significant disruption to routine care due to strikes, compounded by staff holidays and sickness and warm weather. Consultants across the NHS will begin striking today (Thursday 24 August ), bringing almost all routine care to a standstill. The NHS is advising people to continue to use 999 […]

From today (Monday 21 August) , Morrisons shoppers in the South West will find NHS advice on underwear labels urging them to contact their GP practice if they spot potential symptoms of breast or testicular cancer. The Nutmeg branded underwear featuring NHS advice will be in 240 Morrisons stores, including South West outlets from Gloucester to […]

Thousands more scans and investigations are to be offered to NHS patients in the South West, under a groundbreaking agreement for a series of fixed and mobile diagnostic centres to speed up treatment, reduce waiting lists and provide care closer to home for people in remoter areas. Five state-of-the-art community diagnostic centres (CDCs) will be […]

Lung health checks given to thousands of smokers and ex-smokers in Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire, are saving lives. The Targeted Lung Health Check Programme gives people the chance of having lung cancer detected and treated earlier. Today (Tuesday 1 August) on World Lung Cancer Day, figures show that  3,758 people have attended a scan […]