Veterans in Cornwall urged to 'speak up' for extra support
Armed forces veterans in Cornwall are being urged to speak up when using health and care services, as a hospital trust is offering extra support.The Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust holds silver Veteran Aware status, which is a programme supporting healthcare providers to understand and meet the needs of the armed forces community.The trust said the service supported veterans with orthopaedic issues through their treatment.Armed forces champion and progress coordinator Neill Wilson said: "If we know a patient is a veteran, we can help them in more ways than to provide just medical care."
'Offered him support'
The trust said support available included contact with an armed forces champion, as well as connecting them with charities and other voluntary agencies which could support a veteran's ongoing care.The trust, which achieved its Veteran Aware status in 2022, said it had 22 armed forces champions.The trust earned its silver award through the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, it said.
Anthony is one of the veterans who has been helped by the scheme. He served in the Royal Engineers as a sergeant.After his wife died in January 2024, he said he became disengaged from society and neglected his own health.The trust said both Cornwall Housing and adult social care offered him support but he declined and there had been a court order to repossess his home. It said Anthony became an in-patient at one of its hospitals after collapsing at a supermarket.
'Fall through the cracks'
Mr Wilson said he was called in to support Anthony and contacted his housing officer to prevent court action. The housing officer managed to find safe, alternative accommodation for Anthony.Mr Wilson said: "Success is dependent on many factors, such as resources, availability, and funding."Thanks to Anthony's bravery, many civilian and military agencies and charities are now involved with supporting him to ensure that he does not fall through the cracks."
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Wales Online
3 days ago
- Wales Online
A&E 'should have been warned' by paramedics about seriously ill 21-year-old with sepsis
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Mr Booth asked Dr Morgan if she agreed that the cardiac arrest could have been prevented if Bethan had been promptly transferred to the hospital and arrived at resus. In response she said: 'My opinion is I think Bethan would have died of this illness regardless.' She added that it was difficult to say for definite since she had not seen Bethan at the time paramedics first attended her home. She described Bethan's deterioration as 'atypical'. Mr Booth acknowledged that medics at the time were 'trying to piece together' what was causing Bethan's presentation that day, and that it was not known that the cause of Bethan's sepsis was 'viral'. Dr Morgan said: 'I think we assumed it was bacterial at the time of seeing her.' During the first day of the inquest on Tuesday it was heard how Bethan was 'dismissed' by a number of medics in the weeks that led up to her death. 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Glasgow Times
17-05-2025
- Glasgow Times
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South Wales Guardian
16-05-2025
- South Wales Guardian
Broadcaster Jo Wilson celebrates two years cancer-free with Race for Life
Sky Sports presenter Jo Wilson, 40, was diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer in 2022. She underwent treatment after the diagnosis and was declared cancer free in May 2023. This year, she is taking part in a Race for Life event in her home country of Scotland. She said she is 'super-excited' to join the race, which takes place in Glasgow on Sunday. In a video message posted on Instagram, Wilson said she was about to set off for one of her last training sessions before the race. She said: 'I am super-excited to be doing the Race for Life up in Scotland this year with ScottishPower, their partnership's in its 13th year now, and that partnership has raised over £40 million, which is just incredible. 'I am so pleased to get involved again, particularly because I'm now celebrating being two years cancer free. 'I got that news earlier this month, and it just feels like such a massive milestone to reach. 'I did the Race For Life last year in Regent's Park, London, and it was incredible. It was such a great event. 'I live in London but Scotland is my home, so it's brilliant to go back up to Scotland to take part in the Glasgow Race For Life. It's the biggest of all the events.' Wilson, who has been a presenter for Sky Sports News since 2015, previously told how she had been for a smear test in June 2022, with further tests confirming the following month that she had cervical cancer, which had spread to two of her lymph nodes. She said: 'I don't think you ever expect to be diagnosed with cancer, as much as we hear the stats that it affects one in two people, but you just don't think you're going to be one out of the two. 'It was a massive shock, I was terrified. 'I'd just had a little girl, which made it so much worse. The first thing I asked was 'am I going to die?', because I didn't want her to be without a mother.' Now she has hit the two-year mark, Wilson is grateful to be back at full health, but said recovery was no easy feat. 'A lot of people talk about treatment and how ill it makes you, but the recovery took me about a year to feel fit again and less tired,' she said. 'I would say now I feel much more like my old self. There are side-effects that I'll be dealing with for life however, such as early menopause. 'I'm a 40-year-old woman, so I'm feeling that much sooner than I should have done, but I'm getting back into fitness, I'm back at the gym and I'm playing a lot of padel.' She says she will undergo an annual check-up each year, and while she is glad to have recovered, she worries the cancer may eventually return. She said: 'I think as the years go on, something I'm living with is this fear of it coming back, and I think that anxiety will always be there, and for my family as well. 'I'll sometimes get a little niggle and immediately start thinking the worst, so that anxiety is there as the years go on, but each milestone I reach being cancer free I feel that anxiety will continue to get a little less.' The presenter encouraged others to get involved with the Race for Life event in Glasgow. She said: 'If you haven't done one before, if you haven't watched one before, they really are just an event like no other. 'Everyone comes together, whether you're celebrating your own milestone, your own cancer journey, whether you're supporting a loved one going through cancer, whether you're remembering a loved one that we've lost to cancer, or just simply supporting and raising awareness for what is a great cause. 'It's honestly one of the most joyful and uplifting experiences, such a sense of community, everyone coming together for the same reason, and I'm really excited to experience it all in Glasgow on Sunday.' Anyone interested in signing up for the event can do so on Cancer Research UK's website.
