Latest news with #NatashaHunt
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Essex and Suffolk hospital job cuts may harm patient care
A search for voluntary resignations at a health trust's hospitals "could harm patient care", a union has at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs Colchester, Ipswich and some community hospitals, have been invited to apply as part of a government drive to cut down on back-office also claimed the payout for staff who opted to resign would be less than they would get under an ordinary redundancy trust said the scheme would "achieve significant savings" and was not open to clinical staff. Health trusts across the country have been asked to reduce bureaucracy as part of the government's efforts to slim down administration in the biggest change will be the abolition of NHS England, but hospitals are being asked to do their said it was "offering staff in administrative and clerical roles the opportunity to apply to leave the trust under a mutually agreed resignation scheme"."The trust is launching the scheme, along with a recruitment freeze on posts in administrative, clerical and corporate functions, to achieve significant savings during the current financial year," it Unison said the "targeted staff play a key role in helping clinicians deliver patient care".It added that the payout on offer to staff was "less than they would receive under a regular redundancy scheme". The union's Colchester and Ipswich area health branch secretary Natasha Hunt, a nurse at the trust, said: "This is bad news for staff and patients. Anyone working in the NHS knows the vital contribution made every day by administrative employees. "Without the support of administrators - nurses, doctors and other overstretched healthcare professionals will be forced to spend more time on clerical tasks and less time caring for patients."The NHS needs real investment in its workforce, not destructive staff cuts." ESNEFT's chief executive Nick Hulme said: "Taking these steps will help us to achieve the savings we need to make while protecting our frontline services and retaining staff who wish to remain in employment."I'd like to offer my reassurance that while we go through this process, we will make sure our services remain safe. People in our communities will continue to get the care, treatment and support they need, when they need it."The trust said it would not undertake any more savings schemes in this financial year. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
ABC News
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Romance fiction enjoys comeback as women seek escapism
Romance novels are enjoying a renaissance in Australia but their female characters are no longer just dreaming of marrying a knight in shining armour. The contemporary female protagonists in modern-day romance fiction deal with real-life struggles and dramas, are proactive rather than passive and have agency in their lives. And readers are here for that, with an average annual growth rate of 49 per cent over three years for Australian sales of romance fiction, a genre once trivialised as a low-brow guilty pleasure. According to Nielsen BookScan Australia, 3 million romance books, valued at $46.4 million, sold in 2024. With romance sub-genres such as rural, historical, paranormal, erotic, billionaire, LGBTQIA and romantasy, the female protagonists in these stories are diversified and represent women's experience across different cultural, faith and class backgrounds. Collins Booksellers owner Natasha Hunt in Sale, Victoria has observed an uprising of female writers in the fiction and memoir space, and women who want, as readers, to be inspired and feel joy, particularly with romance, general fiction and romantasy. "There's some fantastic literature out there," she said. Ms Hunt describes that immersive experience and the pleasure of touching the pages and feeling the weight of a book as an alternative to doing "bite-sized bits on the phone" and endless scrolling. "They hold a book, they sit in their favourite place, their favourite couch, looking out the window and immersing in that story, sipping a wine or a coffee or whatever brings them joy." It is also a portal for learning about life and relationships. In a world of digital transactions in which people lack connection, Ms Hunt believes women are seeking depth, nuance and the lost art of getting to know someone slowly, even if that is through a story. The slow awakenings, prolonged courtships and gradual unravelling of a book offer a counter point to the relatively superficial online realm. "The world is hard at the moment. Books are not cheap, but people will buy a book and then share it with their family and their friends — it's the gift that keeps giving." Upper Pakenham-based rural fiction author Jennifer Scoullar has published 13 books, but only after a career change. Her ambitions to become a writer were thwarted by her mother's insistence that she pursue a career in law. After years of working as a lawyer with the National Crime Authority and Legal Aid, she became burnt out and desensitised to the daily stories of human struggle, a burden that took a toll on her wellbeing. Feeling that she was losing her empathy towards people, she delved into the escapism of writing, creating worlds where she could control the behaviour of her characters and the situations they faced, even granting them a more optimistic future. Eventually she made the break and quit law to write. It was a move that would bring an end to her marriage, and confront her with the challenges of raising her four children alone. She completed a year-long novel writing course with Writers Victoria but with no industry connections or big profile to launch a book in a market saturated by celebrity cookbooks and biographies, Ms Scoullar's chances of being published were slim. But then a friend suggested attending a writers' conference, where she was able to pitch to publisher Belinda Byrne, sister of First Tuesday Book Club presenter Jennifer Byrne, who was on the hunt for a rural fiction writer. The chance meeting resulted in a book deal with Penguin Australia. Stratford-based author and women's literary event organiser Lisa Ireland is in the process of writing her ninth book published by Penguin Random House. Originally from the western suburbs of Melbourne and a teacher for 20 years, Ms Ireland said her books had mirrored the various stages of her life, from finding love, to motherhood through to middle age. She believes the women's fiction movement is primarily driven by younger female readers, who are discovering books and authors through TikTok and Instagram and want to see their own lives represented. "Our stories are just as important as men's stories," Ms Ireland said.
Telegraph
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Natasha Hunt: I still have not reached my potential and the Lions carrot is dangling
Natasha Hunt wants to set the record straight. 'I don't hate people mentioning my age,' says the England scrum-half. 'The thing I hate is when people mention my age and it's tied with, 'Look at how she's playing now'. It's this perception you should get worse as you get older. I'm playing some of the best rugby I've ever played and I still haven't reached my potential. It's exciting.' Hunt has been a mainstay in a white shirt for more than a decade. She might be entering the twilight of her career, but her outlook on the game has not changed. She still has designs to be quicker, to refine her box-kicking and fine-tune her ball distribution. And, aged 36, she has an even bigger goal in mind. 'If I'm honest, the Lions carrot is dangling,' she says, referencing the inaugural British and Irish Lions women's tour to New Zealand in 2027. 'I'd love to give myself the best opportunity to vie for a shirt there. If that doesn't come off or I decide before then that I'm done and my body can't take any more, I'll be so content in what I've done in my career. 'Equally, if I'm not good enough to keep playing the level I need to be able to attain something like that, then that's OK. It's not going to define my career.' Hunt, one of four members of England's Six Nations squad who won the Rugby World Cup in 2014, considers retracting the Lions comment for fear her ambition might be perceived as borderline arrogance. In the end, she decides not to, feeling empowered by the fact that deep down, she has more to give. Hunt has reinvented herself as England 's first-choice nine since her shock omission from the 2022 World Cup squad. In the intervening years, she has become the beating heart of a Gloucester-Hartpury side who have won consecutive honours in the women's domestic game. In her team's latest title-winning campaign, she was the league's in-form scrum-half, spearheading Gloucester-Hartpury's attack with rapid ruck distribution and snappy offloads. And yet Hunt detests how praise for her performance is inherently linked to her age and the raised eyebrows that follow. It is quite bewildering when one considers the increasing number of women competing well into their thirties. The great footballer Marta, Brazil's all-time leading goalscorer, played in the Paris Olympics final last year at 38, showing age and experience should not be a barrier to peak performance in an era where science is prolonging many athletes' careers. Earlier this week, New Zealand rugby player Portia Woodman-Wickliffe announced she was coming out of retirement, aged 33, to target a spot at the World Cup. 'It's talked about now because we're the first generation doing it,' says Hunt, who started her international career in the pay-to-play era as an amateur. 'Sarah Hunter [the former Red Roses captain] played until she was 38. Mike Brown [39] has spoken so much in the media about how people keep talking about his age. 'There's so much you can do to look after your body now from a nutritional perspective or sports-science view. As long as you get your recovery right and you know what works for you, we'll see careers go on and on. This is the best job in the world – why wouldn't I want to do it for as long as possible?' As part of her quest to make John Mitchell's World Cup squad later this year – and have a shot at redemption after cruelly missing out in 2022 – Hunt has joined her club and country team-mate Zoe Aldcroft in forgoing alcohol. 'I think the antioxidants in red wine helped me but I've actually given up alcohol,' she says. 'We're just trying to put ourselves in the best possible space for this year. I gave up chocolate before the 2014 World Cup so I thought I had to go big [this year]. Love a glass of red, me.' Hunt stepped away from the England set-up for a year in 2021, citing her unhappiness within the team environment. She has since credited Sean Lynn, the former Gloucester-Hartpury coach who is now leading Wales, for positively shaping her last few years, and she holds Mitchell in equally high regard. 'Mitch has made a huge difference to the squad, especially in the brutal honesty that he brings,' says Hunt of the head coach. 'We all know where we stand and what our jobs are. I had a good sit-down chat with him after the Ireland game to see what I need to work on and I just love how much he gets people. I feel like he really understands you as a person and drives me in the way I need to be driven.' Her next assignment is helping England chase an 80-minute performance against France in another Grand Slam decider at Twickenham on Saturday. The Red Roses are on a 24-match winning streak in all competitions – and 14 consecutive wins over the French – so does Hunt believe a defeat would benefit the team ahead of the pressure of a home World Cup? 'I don't think it would be the worst thing,' says Hunt, diplomatically. 'There are so many ways to look at it. If we can go the whole way and not lose another game until I'm done, that'll be awesome. As long as you review and you're on it with everything that has been asked of you, you can get what you need out of the right situation.' Right now, Hunt is getting the most out of hers.
