Retired police dog looks after former handler's ill wife
"She won't leave my side and insists on following me, keeping a close eye on me, and laying by my side when I'm feeling unwell," said Mrs Collins, who lives in Wiltshire. "It's difficult for her to jump up onto the bed due to her back problems but, when I'm in pain and stuck in bed, she knows and will hop up to snuggle with me."After recent surgery, Donja stayed close to her, offering comfort and emotional support. "She knows how to cheer me up and when I need a smile she'll bring me a toy or nuzzle in for a cuddle," she said.
Donja, who patrolled military sites including RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, is supported by the Thin Blue Paw Foundation, a charity that rehabilitates and protects serving and retired police dogs.It pays for Donja's regular medication and provides her with free food through the charity's partnership with Barking Heads.Charity chairman Kieran Stanbridge said: "After everything Donja has done, it's only fair that she gets to enjoy her retirement pain-free."
You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Why thousands now face travel misery at popular airport
Flights at Birmingham Airport were suspended for over five hours on Wednesday following an emergency landing by a light aircraft. The incident, involving a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air, occurred due to landing gear problems, leading to the runway's closure from 2:40 PM until shortly before 8 PM. Three people on board the aircraft were assessed by West Midlands Ambulance Service, with one person sustaining minor injuries. The emergency caused significant delays for passengers, both those departing from and arriving at Birmingham, even after the runway reopened. The Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB) has launched an investigation into the incident, with a team of experts dispatched to the scene.
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
One in five NHS doctors considering leaving UK profession, report warns
The Government's pledge to cut hospital waiting lists is at risk unless more is done to retain doctors in the NHS, the medical regulator has warned. Almost one in five (19%) of doctors are considering quitting being a doctor in the UK, the General Medical Council (GMC) said. And one in eight (12%) are considering leaving the UK to work abroad, according to GMC figures. The main reason given for considering a move abroad was that doctors are 'treated better' in other countries, with an increase in pay cited as the second most common reason for plans to emigrate. Overall, some 43% of doctors told the GMC that they had researched career opportunities in other countries. Some 15% of doctors reported they had taken 'hard steps' towards leaving UK practice – such as applying for roles overseas or contacting recruiters. 'We must be alive to the ongoing risks to retention of doctors and the impact of losing talented staff,' the authors of the GMC's latest report wrote. 'This could threaten Government ambitions to reduce waiting times and deliver better care to patients.' Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged that, by July 2029, 92% of patients will be seen within 18 weeks for routine hospital treatment such as hip and knee replacements. The GMC's latest report also raised concerns about career progression for medics. The report highlighted that 8% of doctors who felt they could progress their career said they were likely to leave the UK medical profession and had taken hard steps towards doing so, compared with 27% of those who did not feel this way. Overall one in three doctors said they are unable to progress their education, training and careers in the way they want, according to the report, which is based on responses from 4,697 doctors around the UK. It found that those who did not feel as though their careers were progressing the way they would wish were at higher risk of burnout and were less satisfied with their work. The GMC said that workloads, competition for posts, and lack of senior support for development are adversely impacting career hopes for UK doctors. Charlie Massey, chief executive of the GMC, said: 'Like any profession, doctors who are disillusioned with their careers will start looking elsewhere. 'Doctors need to be satisfied, supported, and see a hopeful future for themselves, or we may risk losing their talent and expertise altogether. 'Achieving this requires modernising the current training system, so it meets the needs of doctors and patients.' It comes as Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the British Medical Association are locked in talks to avert further strike action by resident doctors after a five-day walkout in July. Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, are in a dispute with the Government over pay and a lack of places for doctors in training. Commenting on the GMC report, Billy Palmer, senior fellow at the Nuffield Trust think tank, said: 'Pay and industrial action have been a lightning rod for dissatisfaction among doctors but this survey puts a spotlight on the wider difficulties facing the medical profession. 'Job guarantees, better rotas and placements, and protection of training time all need to be on the table. 'Addressing the burden of medical graduates' student debt by gradually writing off loans could also be a promising way to reward doctors' NHS service. With fewer than three in five doctors in 'core training' remaining in the NHS eight years later, unless warnings from this survey are dealt with, we'll continue to lose these skilled clinicians.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'The findings in this report are further evidence of what we know, that after more than a decade of neglect, doctors have legitimate complaints about their conditions, including issues with training bottlenecks and career progression. 'We want to work with them to address these and improve their working lives, which includes our plans set out in the 10 Year Health Plan to prioritise UK graduates and increase speciality training posts. 'This Government is committed to improving career opportunities and working conditions, bringing in ways to recognise and reward talent – as well as freeing up clinicians' time by cutting red tape.'
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Warning of NHS staffing crisis as fifth of doctors tempted to move abroad
Sir Keir Starmer's pledge to cut hospital waiting lists is at risk unless more is done to retain doctors, as one in five consider leaving the UK to work abroad, the medical regulator has warned. The General Medical Council (GMC) said 19 per cent of doctors are considering the move – with claims doctors are 'treated better' in other countries given as the main reason. Better pay was the second most common reason for plans to emigrate. The news comes as the government faces ongoing strike action from resident doctors over its refusal to give in to their demands for a 29 per cent salary increase. According to the GMC, 43 per cent of doctors surveyed said they had researched career opportunities in other countries, and 15 per cent had taken 'hard steps' towards working outside the UK – such as applying for roles overseas or contacting recruiters. Sir Keir has pledged that 92 per cent of patients will be seen within 18 weeks for routine hospital treatment such as hip and knee replacements by July 2029 – a vow the GMC said could now be under threat. 'We must be alive to the ongoing risks to retention of doctors and the impact of losing talented staff,' the authors of the GMC's latest report warned. 'This could threaten government ambitions to reduce waiting times and deliver better care to patients.' The newly agreed salary for doctors on foundation training in England is between £38,831 and £44,439, with specialist training salaries rising to £73,992. That includes the 5.4 per cent increase awarded earlier this year, but does not include London weighting. The average salary for a general practitioner is £84,000, according to NHS data, while specialists such as radiotherapists can earn up to £350,000. By comparison, resident doctors in the US are paid on average between £51,000 and £86,000, according to Glassdoor, but some surgeons can earn upwards of £500,000 a year. Average salaries for doctors in Canada sit around £122,000, with peak pay at £236,000. In Australia, recruitment agency Medrecruit said resident medical officers, who are the equivalent of foundation year two doctors in the UK, earn between £31,748 to £46,402, while more senior doctors can earn between £58,400 and £77,800. The GMC's latest report, based on responses from 4,697 doctors, also raised concerns about career progression for medics in the UK. Overall, one in three doctors said they are unable to progress their education, training and careers in the way they want. It found that those who felt this way were at higher risk of burnout and were less satisfied with their work, while 8 per cent of doctors who felt they could not progress their career in the UK were likely to look for work overseas. The BMA has already raised concerns with ministers over the number of resident doctors unable to get specialist training jobs, with 30,000 doctors applying for around 10,000 posts each year. Charlie Massey, chief executive of the GMC, said: 'Like any profession, doctors who are disillusioned with their careers will start looking elsewhere. Doctors need to be satisfied, supported, and see a hopeful future for themselves, or we may risk losing their talent and expertise altogether. 'Achieving this requires modernising the current training system, so it meets the needs of doctors and patients.' It comes as Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the BMA remain locked in talks to avert further strike action. Following a meeting on Wednesday, BMA resident doctors' committee co-chairs, Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan said 'we feel that we have achieved a greater mutual understanding than in previous talks' and they had agreed on a window for further negotiations this month. Commenting on the GMC report, Billy Palmer, senior fellow at the Nuffield Trust think tank, said the survey shone a spotlight on the wider difficulties facing the medical profession. 'Job guarantees, better rotas and placements, and protection of training time all need to be on the table. 'Addressing the burden of medical graduates' student debt by gradually writing off loans could also be a promising way to reward doctors' NHS service. With fewer than three in five doctors in 'core training' remaining in the NHS eight years later, unless warnings from this survey are dealt with, we'll continue to lose these skilled clinicians.'
