Local News Friday 22nd April

Friday, 22 April 2022 06:00

Work has resumed on up-dating Yeovil town centre. The latest figures show that five people in South Somerset who had Covid-19 died between last Thursday, April 14, and Wednesday, April 20. The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has apologised for the waiting times endured by some of its patients. A computer glitch is being blamed for the poorest families in Somerset missing out on cash to buy fresh fruit and veg and ‘Beat The Street’ is coming back to Yeovil on the 4th of May.

Work has resumed on up-dating Yeovil town centre but South Somerset District Council says it can’t give a date for when the whole of the Yeovil Refresh scheme will be completed. Work on the first part of the project in Westminster Street suffered a setback when Midas Construction went into administration in February. The Council says that the contract has been re-let and work on the south side of Westminster Street, from outside the NatWest bank to Clarence Street, should be completed by the end of May. A date for work to start at The Triangle in Lower Middle Street, where a new amphitheatre and fountain will be built, has yet to be confirmed. The Council says contracts to up-grade upper Middle Street should be signed next month, with work beginning later in the year.

The latest figures show that five people in South Somerset who had Covid-19 died between last Thursday, April 14, and Wednesday, April 20. Over the same period, 594 people in the district confirmed they had tested positive for the coronavirus. The number of people in South Somerset given a first dose of the Covid vaccination by Monday, April 18th was 141,833, 136,093 had received a second dose and 114,471 a booster or third dose.

The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has apologised for the waiting times endured by some of its patients. It follows the publication of data showing the longest period an NHS patient in Somerset had to wait to be seen to start treatment after being referred was 152 weeks. The figures also showed no patients waited for more than three years (156 weeks) or for more than four years (208 weeks) at the trust.

A computer glitch is being blamed for the poorest families in Somerset missing out on cash to buy fresh fruit and veg. The food poverty campaign group, Sustain, says that since the NHS Healthy Start voucher system was digitised in October last year, many eligible families applying for vouchers have been rejected. The Department of Health says the software issue is now working.

‘Beat The Street’ is coming back to Yeovil on the 4th of May. The game involves walking, cycling or rolling between ‘Beat Boxes’ across the town centre to earn as many points as possible for you and your team.

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