Local News Wednesday 2nd November

    GPs in Somerset need to make their websites easier to use. NHS data shows cases of type-2 diabetes, generally associated with older people, are now rising at a faster rate among people aged under 40. A Somerset woman has received a Master's Degree for referees and umpires. A new report has shown a big increase in people referring to the Salvation Army as victims of modern slavery. A woman from Merriot has been banned from driving for fifteen months after pleading guilty to a drink and driving charge. ..and more.

    GPs in Somerset need to make their websites easier to use. That's one of the findings of a new report into patient experiences by Healthwatch Somerset. It says more help is needed with using GP websites for people booking appointments and ordering repeat prescriptions and that websites need to be made simpler to navigate. 

    NHS data shows cases of type-2 diabetes, generally associated with older people, are now rising at a faster rate among people aged under 40. Head of Long-Term Conditions at NHS Somerset, Rachael Rowe is urging people to check their risk levels more often.

    A Somerset woman has received a Master's Degree for referees and umpires. Clare Daniels, who works for England Rugby, as part of the match official’s team, says she would like to see more women trying their hand at refereeing. 

    A new report has shown a big increase in people referring to the Salvation Army as victims of modern slavery. Last year, 150 people in the South West region were taken out of situations in which they were working against their will or being coerced into sex work. 

    A woman from Merriot has been banned from driving for 15 months after pleading guilty to a drink and driving charge. Magistrates in Yeovil were told that Sam Elliot gave a positive breathalyser result after crashing her car into a telegraph pole on Holloway Road in Lopen in September.

    Entries are now open for the annual spoof art prize - the Turnip Prize. Organisers say entries should be creative and look ridiculous but take as little time and effort as possible to make. The Turnip Prize is run by The New Inn, at Wedmore, and the closing date for entries is November 19th.

    More from News

    • Friday 17th May

      A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more

    • Thursday 16th May

      Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.

    • Wednesday 15th May

      Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more

    • Tuesday 14th May

      Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.

    • Monday 13th May

      Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.

    • Friday 10th May

      The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.

    • Thursday 9th May

      Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.

    • Wednesday 8th May

      A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.

    Today's Weather

    • Yeovil

      Light rain

      High: 19°C | Low: 11°C

    • Chard

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 18°C | Low: 10°C

    • Crewkerne

      Heavy rain shower

      High: 19°C | Low: 10°C

    • Somerton

      Light rain

      High: 20°C | Low: 10°C

    • Wincanton

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      High: 19°C | Low: 10°C

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