Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to be inspired by rivers and castles
On Friday, the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) said it wanted new facilities to "reflect communities". People are being asked to vote on a preferred palette and theme for the upgrades, based on either rivers, castles, hills. "We want the locations and departments to reflect our communities and points of interest across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and mid Wales," the trust said. Colour schemes could be based on the Shropshire Hills, resembling things like moorland plants and trees.
Ed Rysdale, the clinical lead in charge of the project, previously sought to reassure patients while the work was under way. "Our staff... are going to be understanding that there is a lot of change," he said. "Don't worry, don't panic, you will get to your appointment and you will be seen."The work is expected to be completed in 2028.
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South Wales Guardian
20 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Llandovery hospital to remain open say health board
On Thursday, July 17, hundreds of residents gathered at The Castle Hotel for a consultation hosted by Hywel Dda University Health Board, seeking clarity on the hospital's services. Although the health board confirmed the hospital will remain open, many feel services have steadily declined. Mickey Gough, Chairman of the League of Friends in Llandovery, highlighted a key issue: 'We raised a quarter of a million pounds through donations to buy an X-ray machine for the hospital, but it is currently not in use.' Mr Gough believes there is a lack of provision for older people at Llandovery Hospital. (Image: Google Maps) The community-donated X-ray machine is now considered limited due to technological advances, and the health board has indicated that if X-ray services are to continue in Llandovery, the machine would need replacing. Currently, X-ray services are offered one day a week by a visiting member of staff, but some patients still have to travel to larger hospitals for imaging that the outdated machine cannot provide. Mr Gough also expressed concern about the impact on older residents, many of whom must travel further afield for care. Following the consultation, the health board acknowledged the challenges in radiology services, noting long wait times and staffing difficulties. They proposed that X-ray provision could be shifted to larger hospitals in Carmarthen and Llanelli. Mr Henwood said: 'Thank you to everyone who came to talk to us in Llandovery on 17 July – it was great to meet so many people who care deeply about Llandovery Hospital and our NHS. The proposed options included in the Clinical Services Plan seek to deal with fragilities in our radiology services particularly, but we are consulting with our communities to learn more, to listen to potential impacts and also to hear and consider new ideas or alternative options from people. 'There are no plans or decisions ongoing about closing Llandovery Hospital, which was a concern put to us by many people in the community at our recent event. 'Llandovery hospital is a hub for our community, and we have heard the passion the community has for local services very clearly at our recent event. We are extremely grateful to the League of Friends and the community for their continued support of the hospital and our staff. The hospital is still open and providing a range of services from the ward and palliative, end-of-life care, to the range of services offered through clinics. We are grateful to our committed and compassionate staff who work there, in the community, and primary care locally.' Clinics that are currently run from Llandovery Hospital include: People can share their views on what is important to live a healthy life by visiting The health board will also come back to Llandovery, and other communities, to discuss this with the local people in the autumn. Andrew Carruthers, Chief Operating Officer for the Health Board added: 'Whilst the broader potential of the hospital and its future is not part of the current consultation into clinical services, we would value continued discussions with our community about the hospital and community-based care, especially as we are also engaging on a review of our Healthier Mid and West Wales strategy.' The League of Friends continues to invest in the hospital, having recently funded a new kitchen for nursing staff.
Daily Record
26 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Over 260,000 Scots out of work due to long term sickness or disability
EXCLUSIVE: The figures have prompted calls for the SNP Government to give people the support they need to get back to work. Over a quarter of a million Scots are out of work due to long-term sickness or having a disability after a rise caused by the pandemic. The SNP Government has now been urged to invest more in mental health and the NHS to help people back find jobs. Keir Starmer's Labour Government recently proposed tightening eligibility for disability and sickness benefits in a bid to slow the rate of social security spending. But the bulk of the plan was ditched amid claims people who genuinely need to be on benefits would be harmed. Despite the u-turn, Labour sources believe action will have to be taken by the UK and Scottish Governments to get people back into jobs. New figures reveal there are an estimated 269,000 people in Scotland aged 16-64 who gave their reason for being inactive as long-term sick or disabled. It works out at around one third of Scotland's economically inactive people in the same age group. This includes 35,200 people in Glasgow, 16,100 in North Lanarkshire, 14,100 in Fife, 14,000 in Edinburgh and 12,800 in South Lanarkshire. Critics say First Minister John Swinney needs to use his devolved powers to help people who can work into jobs. It was recently reported that Scots on disability benefits for conditions such as anxiety and depression are costing the taxpayer more than £1.3bn a year. Lib Dem MSP Jamie Greene, who uncovered the 269,000 figure, said: 'These figures show that across Scotland there are huge numbers who are economically inactive because they are off long-term sick. 'Of course, there will always be some for whom paid work is not a feasible option but for many more, if they got the right care, the right mental health support or the right career advice, they could find a role that fits them and their needs. 'It seems ridiculous that around five times more is being spent on social security payments for people with mental health conditions than is being specifically dedicated to helping them through the NHS and back into the workplace. 'Similarly, people waiting on autism and ADHD diagnoses are facing waiting lists that stretch into the years. 'We should be investing in the NHS to bring down these long waits. Not only is that the compassionate approach, but it would also be the sensible one economically, allowing people to get back to work. "The Scottish Government need to work urgently with health boards and local authorities on a new plan to support those who are long-term sick; one that tackles long waits for care, invests in mental health and offers tailored advice and support for those who need it.' Labour MSP Daniel Johnson said: 'It's clear far too many Scots are being locked out of work as a result of the SNP 's disastrous mismanagement of our health and social care systems. 'Under the SNP almost one in six Scots are stuck on NHS waiting lists, over 100,000 people have been waiting over a year, and ADHD and autism services have been effectively privatised. "As someone with ADHD, it makes me angry that the SNP is consigning people with ADHD and autism to the employment scrapheap. 'The SNP is robbing hundreds of thousands of Scots of their livelihoods and holding back our economy – it is time for a new direction.' However, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: 'Jamie Greene is correct that the Scottish Government should invest more into occupational health services and our healthcare system more generally. 'But he risks robbing Peter to pay Paul if he thinks that investment in mental health can come from social security budgets. Disability payments are a lifeline and prevent people falling into further ill-health. He is misguided to think that government savings should therefore be borne on the backs of the sick, disabled or those living with long term health conditions. 'With a growing blackhole in the public finances, projected to be £2.2 billion by 2030, the Scottish Government, if they properly use their powers of taxation, can afford to both give dignity and security to the long-term sick whilst fully funding our public services and creating well paid, secure jobs for those who need it. 'Progressive income and wealth taxes could enable the best of both worlds: a route into gainful employment whilst still providing a safety net for those in need of assistance. That's the route out of economic inactivity and we would encourage Mr Greene and his party to turn their attention to the wealthy instead of those on welfare.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'There will always be some people whose health conditions mean they cannot work, and they should be supported with dignity and respect. It is unacceptable that the UK Government is introducing a two-tier system which reduces the health element of Universal Credit for new applications and will see people losing around £3000 per year by 2029-30. Removing barriers for those who can enter the workplace is a priority for the Scottish Government. 'This is why we are improving our employability support services, including enhanced specialist support for people with disabilities and long term health conditions across all 32 local authorities in July 2025, and increasing access to health board services which support people in work.'
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
'It destroyed my life': The drug addiction leaving users in chronic pain
Nicole will always remember the first time she took ketamine. It was the start of a night out and she didn't want to drink. So instead, she picked up the bag of white powder she found in her friend's car. It was a decision that had life-altering consequences. "I tried it and remember having it and just thinking, this is it," she recalls. "This is my saviour. This is my drug." Instead of rescuing her from her mental health struggles like she hoped it would, ketamine sent her into a spiral. Less than four years on, the 31-year-old mother of one from Southport is now living in a detox centre, separated from her son and living in chronic pain. 9:33 Nicole's journey from recreational use to a deep addiction that caused her severe bladder and kidney problems may be just one extreme case, but ketamine use is now at record levels. Experts believe this could cause a tidal wave of issues the country is not prepared for, placing severe pressure on the NHS, as well as addiction and mental health services. Currently a Class B drug, ketamine is used in clinical settings as an anaesthetic for people and animals. It is usually taken recreationally as a crushed powder, but also sometimes injected or swallowed - making people feel detached and dreamlike. Referred to as "ket" and "special k", it's easily available and costs around £30 a gram. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of children and young people who reported having a problem with the drug surpassed cocaine for the first time. The number of ketamine deaths in England and Wales also increased from seven in 2015 to 53 in 2023. 'I don't remember the last three years' I met Nicole at Birchwood, a residential drug and alcohol detox facility on the Wirral. In the week before I arrived, 14 out of 25 beds were taken by ketamine users. As we walk through the corridors, Birchwood manager Jo Moore tells me that in more than two decades of working in healthcare, she's never dealt with a challenge as big as the wave of people she's seeing addicted to ketamine, arriving with extreme and complex health issues. "They're all presenting with urinary incontinence, some can't even walk, they've lost their muscle tone, some are in wheelchairs, and the crippling pain they're going through is significant," she says. As well as running Birchwood, Jo speaks about the drug at conferences and holds a weekly video call, offering support for a growing group of parents whose children are addicted. I also met Callum, who describes himself simply as "just a lad from Cheshire ways". While speaking, he often pauses for thought, struck by how quickly his life has taken a turn since his addiction began three years ago. When his dad died following a struggle with alcoholism, Callum, who had been his carer, turned to ketamine. Until then, the 24-year-old had only taken the drug at festivals, but it quickly took over his life. "I was so out of it constantly," he says. "I don't remember the last three years properly because of just, you know, you've taken it the whole time." Daily use nearly cost Callum his life. He had multiple organ issues and weighed just six stone by the time Jo, who knew his family, told his mother that he needed to come to rehab. Callum's experience is a reminder of how hard it can be to break a dependency on ketamine. As an anaesthetic, it creates a vicious cycle. Users need it to help ease the pain it causes them. "It's only once you get off the ketamine you realise the pain that you've got and the problems that you've got," Callum tells me. "When you're on it, you know you've sort of got pains, but you don't think they're that bad. "People I know drank for 30, 40 years and my liver is worse than theirs, just from ketamine alone." 'Ketamine destroyed my life' Nicole also turned to ketamine because it felt like a way out. She'd had a difficult childhood, been in an abusive relationship as an adult and struggled with mental health issues her whole life. In a moment of blunt honesty, she tells me she does not regret taking ketamine. "If I didn't take ketamine in that period of time, I wouldn't be here," she says. "It was a coping mechanism for a while, before it destroyed my life." As her bladder and kidneys deteriorated, Nicole was taken to hospital several times, often treated by medics who could not understand the problems caused by heavy ketamine use. On one occasion, she was sent home with chlamydia tablets. On another, she had an invasive kidney procedure with no anaesthetic, because doctors were concerned about giving her pain relief due to her ketamine use. Becoming more animated, Nicole tells me: "To be in that situation where you need help, you don't know what's going on yourself, the only place you can go to is the hospital and not even they know what is going on with you. That is like a complete state of isolation, loneliness." Nicole now starts her days in severe agony. She says the chronic pain will last the rest of her life, and pauses at one point in conversation to tell me her bladder is spasming as we speak. Despite how difficult the last few years have been for them, Nicole and Callum both have hopes for their lives beyond Birchwood. In the months after I met him, Callum successfully completed his detox and rehab. He has also made good on a promise to "get his life back on track" by finding a full-time job. Things have been more difficult for Nicole, who is still in Birchwood and has been in and out of hospital for a range of bladder and kidney complications. She is still waiting to find out whether her bladder will be removed. Nicole has made it her mission to raise awareness, posting regularly on TikTok about her appointments and her day-to-day life. Her ultimate hope is to one day join Jo in delivering talks across the country about the drug and its dangers. Life-changing injuries within a year Away from Birchwood, the struggles of people like Callum and Nicole are also being felt in the NHS. Alison Downey is a consultant urologist at Pinderfields Hospital in West Yorkshire, where "ketamine bladder" has become an increasingly common phrase to describe the severe damage the drug can do. "We've seen an explosion in numbers over the past, particularly two to three years," she says. "Maybe about four or five years ago we would have one or two cases a month, we're now seeing eight or nine a month." Ms Downey says while urologists are continuing to learn about the drug's impact, there is one certainty: ketamine causes complex challenges for medics. "There's no other drug that does this amount of damage this quickly to your kidneys and your bladder," she says. "We obviously see patients who have drug addiction problems from heroin and cocaine in A&E or on the wards, but ketamine has this very specific, quick damage to the kidneys and bladder specifically that we just don't see in any other drug use." With balloons and a jug, Miss Downey explains the impact the drug can have on someone's bladder, reducing its capacity. "We know that the average (bladder) capacity of a person that's been using ketamine for a long amount of time is about 100ml, which is about the size of this balloon," she says. "If you compare that to a normal adult bladder, which holds about 500ml, so five of these balloons, you can see that the capacity is severely reduced. That can result in needing to go to the toilet every 15 to 20 minutes throughout the day or night." Framing the issues being seen on the frontline are the ongoing discussions around reclassification. Earlier this year, the government announced it would look into the possibility of making ketamine a Class A drug, which would carry greater penalties for making and selling it. Dr Caroline Copeland is a senior lecturer in pharmacology and toxicology at King's College London and also the director of the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality. For her, this debate is nuanced and needs to go beyond criminalisation. "I think that instead of necessarily focusing on the punitive measures, which is what comes with the reclassification, we need to be thinking more about how we can actually spend that time and money towards helping the people who are using ketamine and education programmes to stop people starting to use ketamine in the first place," she said. Dr Copeland also thinks reclassification needs to be a process that takes into account the wider context, because this is a drug that is commonplace and being used casually by many, without significant health consequences. She added: "Since ketamine was last reclassified from C to B, the landscape of its use has changed somewhat. "There's much more recreational use in a younger demographic. So we need to do a comprehensive assessment of its harms to determine whether it warrants escalating to being a Class A substance." However, for those whose lives have been changed by casual use spiralling into addiction, solutions are needed urgently. I can still remember Jo Moore's words as she walked me out of Birchwood on my first day of filming this story. She sees this as an issue that needs tackling, with a national framework to bring systems together. "We're really trying to fight, because we see the damage," she says. "I've looked after heroin addicts and after 20 years of them using heroin, they don't have anything related to the harm that we've got now for the ketamine users, only after a very short time. "And I think that's what's been so shocking about seeing these ketamine users come through. They can use ketamine for 10 months, two years, and have life-changing injuries. "That's why we're fighting for this. I think that we have all been very slow to react as a nation to these health concerns." Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@ in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
