Are you planning to stay local this Easter? Make sure you’ve collected your prescription in good time for the Bank Holiday. Take a few minutes to think about your health by ordering and collecting any repeat prescriptions early, ahead of bank holiday when some GP practices and pharmacies will be closed. Dr Peter Wilson, Medical […]

Women living in the South West who have experienced domestic abuse and sexual assault are being urged to contact the NHS for support, as the number of people seeking help halved during the first lockdown. Following recent high-profile events highlighting sexual abuse and the increase in women sharing their experiences of assault and harassment, both […]

Debbie, previously the Deputy Director of PHE South West, has been acting in this role since Debra Lapthorne’s retirement in December 2020 and has now been formally appointed. As the Deputy Director for PHE South West since 2015, Debbie has already overseen a range of public health issues and achievements in the South West, working […]

Miniature cameras which patients can swallow to get checked for cancer are being trialled across the South West NHS. The imaging technology, in a capsule no bigger than a pill, can provide a diagnosis within hours. Known as a colon capsule endoscopy, the cameras are the latest NHS innovation to help patients access cancer checks […]

Over two million vaccinations have now been delivered by the NHS in the South West, as the biggest and fastest vaccine drive in NHS history continues at pace. NHS staff, alongside volunteers, have been jabbing people in over 100 sites across the region. The NHS is working with local communities to make it as easy […]

Sir Andrew Strauss, the ex-England cricket captain who lost his wife to lung cancer, has backed an NHS and Public Health England campaign urging people to get checked if they test negative for Covid-19 but have a persistent cough. Sir Andrew has joined television presenter Gaby Roslin, who lost her mother to lung cancer, and […]

A ‘major milestone’ has been met today as the number of first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine offered to people in the south west tops one million. Staff across the NHS have been supporting the roll-out of the vaccination programme in the areas, with people most at-risk of Covid-19 being prioritised, in line with expert […]

To mark the anniversary of the first confirmed Covid patients being treated by the NHS, Sir Simon Stevens today paid tribute to NHS staff for their “extraordinary work in a year like no other”. He today met the team who cared for the country’s first two confirmed Covid patients, who were admitted to the Royal Victoria […]

The new Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is being rolled out to General Practice led services today making it easier to protect care home residents and other vulnerable people against Covid-19. The vaccine has been trialled at selected hospitals for surveillance purposes before being sent out to hundreds of community-based local vaccination services. Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, […]

The biggest vaccine campaign in NHS history kicked off this morning, as 90-year-old grandmother Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 jab following its clinical approval. At 6.31AM early riser Margaret, known to friends and family as Maggie, was given the life-saving jab by nurse May Parsons at […]