Latest news with #Ricketts
Wales Online
02-06-2025
- Health
- Wales Online
Verbal abuse from patients and relatives to nursing staff has risen dramatically
Verbal abuse from patients and relatives to nursing staff has risen dramatically A survey of healthworkers has found that bullying and abuse of health workers is on the rise in one region of Wales NHS Wales staff are encouraged to fill out a survey every year about various aspects of their job (Image: Getty Images ) A quarter of Swansea Bay University Health Board staff who responded to a survey said they faced abuse, harassment or bullying from patients, their relatives or members of the public. The figure of 25% for 2024 was nearly 10% higher than the previous year, a health board report said. And 24% of those that responded said they'd experienced abuse, harassment or bullying from health board colleagues in the preceding 12 months - up nearly 5% on year before. A total of 19% said they'd faced abuse, harassment or bullying from their line manager - a rise of nearly 3%. The annual survey, held over two months, is deployed by all Wales' health boards, Public Health Wales and the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here There were some positive findings for the Swansea Bay region, which covers Swansea and Neath Port Talbot. Employees cited supportive teams, job satisfaction and colleagues wanting to go above beyond to ensure the well-being of patients. Introducing the survey findings at a health board meeting Tina Ricketts, director of workforce and organisational development, said the low response rate by Swansea Bay staff was "quite disappointing". Just under 13% of the health board's 15,601 employees filled in the survey, nearly 6% fewer than the previous year and considerably less than the 21.9% Welsh average. Article continues below Feedback about the low response rate has indicated that staff lacked confidence that anything would change as a result, while concerns were also voiced about the confidentiality of individual responses. The survey findings in many respects mirrored the wider experience of NHS Wales staff. For example 56.7% of Swansea Bay staff said they'd recommend the health board as a place to work, hardly any different from the 56.4% Welsh average. And 65.1% said they were enthusiastic about the job, a smidgeon fewer than the 65.7% country-wide average. Ms Ricketts said the survey, combined with other workforce data, had informed three priority improvement areas around leadership and management, being able to speak up and raise concerns safely, and values and behaviours. A report before the board said it took a zero-tolerance approach to any bullying, harassment or abuse. Independent board member Nuria Zolle said she found the percentages around abuse, harassment or bullying from the survey "really worrying", and welcomed the focus on improved leadership. Article continues below Fellow independent board member Reena Owen said she felt it was important to tell staff what was going to change as a result of the previous year's survey in order to address the perception that nothing would change. Speaking at a health board meeting earlier this year a senior sister at Morriston Hospital's emergency department, Charlotte Gallivan, said verbal abuse from patients and relatives was increasing, and that staff were under immense pressure.
USA Today
29-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Keilani Ricketts tops list of greatest Oklahoma softball players of all time
Keilani Ricketts tops list of greatest Oklahoma softball players of all time Picking the greatest Oklahoma softball player is a bit like picking the greatest New York Yankees player of all time. If the remark sounds farfetched, consider the Sooners have won eight national championships in the last 25 years. No team, in any sport, college or pro, in North America has that kind of dominance. A bit like the Yankees of the 20th century. So when The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson counted down the top 50 players in OU softball history (Subscription Required), the whole of the list was just as interesting as who would sit atop. And just like Babe Ruth is practically a unanimous choice for No. 1 for the Yankees, Oklahoma's top spot isn't the most surprising, either. And that's not where the Ruth comparisons end. Carlson named former Sooners pitcher Keilani Ricketts as the greatest player in school history. Pitcher, if you forgot, hardly does her justice. Ricketts was nearly as good a hitter as she was in the circle. "OU softball's Babe Ruth," Carlson wrote. "She was a two-time USA Softball Player of the Year and is the only Sooner to win the Honda Cup as the nation's top female college athlete." Ricketts ranks fifth in Oklahoma history with a .503 on-base percentage and 10th with a .674 slugging mark. She also holds a 1.26 earned-run average over more than 1,000 innings, making her the only player in school history to hit that mark. Ricketts is the Sooners' all-time leader in games started, appearances, wins, and shutouts. Just as impressive, Ricketts' 1,605 strikeouts are by far the most in Oklahoma history. Paige Parker, who sits second on the list, recorded 968 strikeouts over her four-year career. Two current players cracked the top 50. Sophomores Ella Parker and Kasidi Pickering ranked 42nd and 43rd, respectively. That duo will lead the Sooners into the Women's College World Series on Thursday. Oklahoma will play Tennessee in the first round at 1:30 p.m. CT. The Volunteers won the season series, two games to one in Knoxville. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.
Sydney Morning Herald
07-05-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘They are not mucking around, these parents': Scale of selective test chaos emerges
Frustrated parents are weighing up whether their children should resit the high-stakes selective schools test after chaotic crowds and technical glitches led to a breakdown in testing at three major centres last week. Tensions are high inside tutor Tim Ricketts' selective school coaching classes. Ricketts, who runs a tutoring centre in North Rocks, said some parents fear students whose test was postponed will now have an unfair advantage. Others, whose child made it through Friday's exam, are grappling with whether their child should reattempt the test. Thousands of children sat the selective and opportunity class (OC) tests at various centres across Sydney. At Randwick and Canterbury, police were called after surging crowds led to the tests being postponed. At these venues and Olympic Park, where there were technical glitches, 4628 students who sat the tests would have the chance to re-sit them within three weeks at public schools. It was the first time the exam had been held online, managed by online education provider Janison Education. Ricketts questioned whether the integrity of the test had been damaged. 'No one understands what has gone on or how they can resolve it,' he said. 'For some parents, this [test] is as equally important as the HSC.' He said some parents see the bungle as an opportunity for their child to squeeze in a couple of weeks' more study. 'That's how cut-throat it is. They are not mucking around, these parents,' Ricketts said.
The Age
07-05-2025
- General
- The Age
‘They are not mucking around, these parents': Scale of selective test chaos emerges
Frustrated parents are weighing up whether their children should resit the high-stakes selective schools test after chaotic crowds and technical glitches led to a breakdown in testing at three major centres last week. Tensions are high inside tutor Tim Ricketts' selective school coaching classes. Ricketts, who runs a tutoring centre in North Rocks, said some parents fear students whose test was postponed will now have an unfair advantage. Others, whose child made it through Friday's exam, are grappling with whether their child should reattempt the test. Thousands of children sat the selective and opportunity class (OC) tests at various centres across Sydney. At Randwick and Canterbury, police were called after surging crowds led to the tests being postponed. At these venues and Olympic Park, where there were technical glitches, 4628 students who sat the tests would have the chance to re-sit them within three weeks at public schools. It was the first time the exam had been held online, managed by online education provider Janison Education. Ricketts questioned whether the integrity of the test had been damaged. 'No one understands what has gone on or how they can resolve it,' he said. 'For some parents, this [test] is as equally important as the HSC.' He said some parents see the bungle as an opportunity for their child to squeeze in a couple of weeks' more study. 'That's how cut-throat it is. They are not mucking around, these parents,' Ricketts said.
Miami Herald
02-05-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
42 apex predators that feast on venomous snakes released in Florida. What to know
Biologists trudged through the grassy nature preserve carrying cloth bags that contained fearsome-seeming cargo: 42 snake-eating apex predators. The conservation program has now released 209 Eastern indigo snakes in Florida as part of efforts to revitalize the population of the rare species, The Nature Conservancy announced. During the ninth annual release, the team let 42 snakes loose into the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve, where the species hadn't been seen since 1982 until reintroduction efforts began in 2017, organizers said. Biologists hatched the snakes in captivity at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens' Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation. The snakes then were raised at Welaka National Fish Hatchery until they reached the age of 2 and were ready to be released into the wild. The Eastern indigos look formidable on paper — they eat venomous snakes, and they're the longest snakes native to the U.S. — but they're non-venomous themselves and aren't aggressive when approached, researchers say. The snakes are known for their sleek, sometimes iridescent bluish-black scales and their ability to reach 9 feet in length, according to the National Park Service. They live in symbiosis with gopher tortoises, using their burrows for shelter and laying eggs, researchers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. Habitat loss and fragmentation have contributed to the decline of the snakes from their historical range in the Southeast, including in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. The population has been mostly whittled down to Florida and parts of southern Georgia, although the Central Florida Zoo has also released Eastern indigos in Alabama. During a 2024 survey at the Florida preserve, the team said it found a 6-foot-long male, a 'testament to the health and longevity of the snakes released here.' Researchers also celebrated the milestone discovery of two hatchlings in 2023, which proves the species has begun producing a new generation of wild-hatched snakes. 'In our longleaf pine-wiregrass savannas, we want the complete suite of species here, including birds, mammals, insects and an apex predator: the eastern indigo snake,' said Catherine Ricketts, manager of the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve. 'These snakes are a key component of restoring north Florida's longleaf pine forests.' The preserve has undergone restoration of the longleaf pine and sandhill ecosystems, making it a suitable habitat for the species' reintroduction, Ricketts said. Last year, the team released 41 snakes, McClatchy News previously reported, just barely making this year a record for the most Eastern indigos released into the wild.
