Latest news with #pensioner
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
Pensioner, 86, found murdered in small Somerset village
A pensioner in her 80s has been found dead in a small Somerset village in a suspected murder. The woman, who has not been named, died at a house in Westonzoyland, near Bridgwater, on Tuesday morning. A man in his 60s has been arrested on suspicion of her murder and is in police custody at a hospital. Police were called to an address in Monmouth Close at 9.17am and arrived at the scene at 9.50am. The man was arrested 'a few minutes later' before paramedics pronounced the woman dead at the scene. Neighbourhood Inspector Jon Eamer, of Avon and Somerset Police, said the woman was yet to be formally identified but her family were aware of her death. 'The woman's family are aware of her death and our sympathies are with them at this incredibly upsetting time,' he said. 'We will ensure they receive support from specially trained officers going forward. 'Detectives from our major crime investigation team are conducting extensive enquiries at the scene to establish exactly what has happened. A forensic post-mortem examination will also be carried out as part of our investigation. 'We can confirm a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. He remains in police custody at hospital. 'Our enquiries are at an early stage, but we'd like to reassure everyone we do not believe there is any increased risk to members of the public. 'Nevertheless, we know this tragic incident will cause concern and upset in the local community, and therefore we will ensure neighbourhood officers are available in the area to provide help and support to anyone who needs us.' Westonzoyland is a small village east of Bridgwater which is home to 1,465 people, according to the 2021 census.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
My family lives abroad. Does that cause problems with my father's will?
I am an executor on my father's will. He died earlier this year and we are now trying to organise his estate. He did not have much other than his home, so it is not overly complicated. But I am having trouble getting answers to some questions which I need to sort out the tax affairs with Revenue . First, he was a pensioner receiving the State pension and the Revenue form wants a 'personal claim number'. I thought this would be his PPS number, but a quick Google search tells me it is a different number. Also, some of my siblings live abroad and they and their children are named in the will. Does that create any problems? Mr DS READ MORE Getting to grips with a loved one's estate always sounds easier than it turns out to be. Inevitably, there are legacy credit union accounts or prize bonds or tiny, long-forgotten shareholdings to be found and sorted. People think that, because they are close family, they know everything about a parent or sibling. This is rarely the case. That's why most families leave the digging and sorting to a solicitor. First, they're more familiar with what to look for and second, by the nature of their business, they are familiar with what is required in dealings with the Revenue and the Probate Office. Your issue with the personal claim number is a case in point. Everyone in receipt of a social welfare payment – a State pension or anything else – has a personal claim number. This number is required on the Statement of Affairs that must be submitted to the Revenue Commissioners as part of the probate process. It is not something I came across before but it certainly makes sense. Following your query, I did a Google search and it does, rather unhelpfully, state that this personal claim number is distinct and separate from a person's unique Personal Public Service (PPS) number. That is not the case and is just one example of why one should always be careful about the Encyclopaedia of Google. Having contacted the Department of Social Protection , they assure me that a person's PPS number acts as their personal claim number precisely because it is a unique identifier. Your second point is less black and white. As you can imagine, inheritances across borders can get complicated, not least because of the very different approaches to taxing estates and inheritances in different countries, even within the EU. Just because your siblings and their children live abroad, they could have a liability to Irish capital acquisitions tax (inheritance tax) as your dad lived here and his home is physically in the State. Whether they will actually end up having to pay tax in Ireland depends on how much they receive. I'm not going to get into what they owe in whatever country or countries they actually live in, not least because you have not identified them. Revenue will certainly require everyone receiving a benefit valued at more than €12,000 to be identified with a PPS number in the Statement of Affairs. Far anyone living or working in Ireland, this is not a problem. Similarly, if you were born in Ireland since 2000, you will automatically have been assigned a PPS. For anyone else, including children who were born abroad and never worked in Ireland, they will need to apply to the Department of Social Protection's Client Identity Services unit at cis@ They will need proof of identity (a passport), proof of address and a reason why the PPS is required. Stating that it is because of inheritance is valid. You also have to fill in a questionnaire and, if the number is to be sent to a third party, such as an executor, a consent form. Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to , with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice
The Sun
4 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Brit tourist, 74, found dead on his sun lounger on Greek island Crete after falling ill when he went swimming
A BRIT pensioner has been found dead on a sun lounger after being discovered by beachgoers in Greece. The 74-year-old tourist was found unconscious on the lounger after he reportedly fell ill following a swim on a popular beach in Crete. 2 Officials quickly rushed to Stalis Beach at around 12pm on Sunday, July 20 after being alerted of the elderly man's state. Hellenic National Center of Emergency Care (EKAB) said they tried to revive him but he was pronounced dead shortly after they arrived. The Brit is said to have gone swimming in the sea before returning to the beach to have a sit down on a sun lounger. He was then hit with a "strong feeling" of sickness before slowly losing consciousness, Cretapost reports. His official cause of death is yet to be confirmed. An autopsy is now due to take place in Crete. The Sun has contacted the Foreign Office for comment. It comes just weeks after another pensioner died on his sun lounger. The 73-year-old Brit was reportedly found in Agia Paraskevi, Skiathos by horrified beachgoers. A local doctor tried to revive the man for 40 minutes - but unfortunately was unable to do so. In June, another Brit tourist died in Greece after he went swimming. The 68-year-old holidaymaker was found dead after he lost consciousness in the water on the island of Rhodes, local media reported. Officers from the Central Port Authority of Rhodes rushed to the scene and rushed the man to the Archangelos Health Centre. He was sadly pronounced dead just hours later. 2
ABC News
4 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Federal government will face pressure to add dental to Medicare, amid 'overwhelming' wait times
Queensland pensioner Don Batty has always looked after his teeth, but age has taken its toll. These days, the former NSW Police officer finds it hard to look in the mirror. "I'm 80 years old now and my teeth have started to disintegrate," he told the ABC. The Toowoomba resident is missing multiple molars, which makes it hard to chew food. His dental issues affect his diet, speech and confidence. He has been living like this for nearly two years because he cannot afford to visit a private dentist. "It would be totally impossible. "There is no way I can save enough money to spend the thousands that are required to go to a private dentist." Mr Batty is among 140,000 Queenslanders waiting for non-urgent public dental care. More than 10,000 patients have been added to the queue in the past year. "I've been waiting now for about 21 months," Mr Batty said. "We've got a very, very good dental service, but it's overwhelmed. There's no way they can deal with the number of people in this city and surrounding towns with the resources they've got." Data obtained by the ABC shows patients in every state and territory can expect to wait months, if not years, for non-urgent public dental care. Around one-third of Australians are eligible for the free or low-cost public dental services, which are delivered by state and territory governments with some funding from the Commonwealth. There are variations in how states and territories record and report their data, but the figures are similar. Queensland Health says it is "desirable" to provide a patient with general dental care within two years. In New South Wales, the "maximum recommended waiting time" for patients seeking non-urgent routine care is around 18 months. The Victorian Health Department said the average wait for the state's non-urgent public dental services was 12.4 months. The most recent data available shows the longest wait times were in Tasmania and the Northern Territory. In Tasmania, 50 per cent of patients removed from the waitlist in the past 12 months had been there for more than 2.5 years. In the NT, the median wait time for a first appointment from 2023 to 2024 was also around 2.5 years, according to data compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The AIHW also found about 10 per cent of patients in Tasmania and the NT waited nearly five years for their first appointment. The shortest waiting times were in Western Australia, where last year patients received non-urgent care after an average of 5.4 months. In South Australia, the average wait was seven months. No average or median wait list data was available for the ACT. Each state and territory government told the ABC that patients in priority groups or those requiring urgent care did not have to wait for treatment. Australian Dental Association president Chris Sanzaro said the issue was adding pressure to other parts of the health system. "Around Australia there's nearly 90,000 potentially preventable hospitalisations each year due to dental disease. "There's a lot of links between poor dental health and overall health. The one link we know is very strong is between diabetes and poor dental health." Grattan Institute health program director Peter Breadon said the public dental system was underfunded and "overwhelmed". "Of all the funding that goes into dental care in Australia, about 60 per cent comes out of the pockets of patients, in the form of fees," he said. "To put that in perspective … it's nine times the share that comes from patients when you see a GP." As the new federal parliament prepares to begin its work this week, the Greens are vowing to ramp up pressure on the government to add dental to Medicare. Despite being nearly wiped out in the lower house at the federal election, the minor party is returning to Canberra with the sole balance of power in the Senate. This means the government will rely entirely on its support to pass legislation when the Coalition is not on board. Greens Health spokesperson Jordon Steele-John said he would be "pulling every lever as an MP" to get dental added to Medicare. "We are excited and energised as a party to get to work," Mr Steele-John said. When asked if the Greens would refuse to back bills if the government didn't agree to add dental to Medicare, he did not rule it out. But he added his "starting point" would be to work with people across parliament to create a consensus on the issue. Mr Steele-John described the beginning of the new parliamentary term as "an opportunity to strike a new tone". "To signal clearly you are willing and excited to work with people of goodwill to get something done for the community," he said. The Greens have previously indicated they will take a less hardline approach in the upcoming parliament, after losing three lower house MPs at the federal election, including then-leader Adam Bandt. In the previous term, the party used its senate numbers to block a bill designed to ease the housing crisis, as it pushed for more rights for renters. New leader Larissa Waters said the Greens wanted to be "firm but constructive" in the new term. The minor party campaigned heavily on the issue of adding dental to Medicare ahead of the election, and was encouraged by comments previously made by Health Minister Mark Butler. Mr Butler told the ABC in March: "Our party would love to bring dental into Medicare at some stage. We've got that as part of our platform commitment." When pressed over the possible timing this week, Mr Butler said in a statement the government's immediate focus was on strengthening Medicare and rebuilding general practice. "I can't say to people that in the short term there's going to be any change to dental," he said. "But I do recognise in the longer term there's a lot of ambition for dental to be covered by Medicare." The federal government has previously indicated it cannot yet add dental to Medicare due to the cost. Policy experts and dentists argue dental services could be added to Medicare in stages, to keep costs down. The Australian Dental Association claims the first step should be a Medicare-funded dental scheme for seniors. "It would be somewhere between $1.1 billion and $1.4 billion a year," Dr Sanzaro said. "A means-tested scheme, with a capped amount available to every individual every couple of years." The Grattan Institute estimates it would cost $8 billion a year to gradually add dental services into the Medicare scheme over a decade. "Obviously you can't just turn on a switch and put that much money into the system," Mr Breadon said. Some children are already eligible for free or low-cost dental through the Child Dental Benefits Schedule under Medicare. Around 3.5 million children have received treatment through the scheme since it started in 2014.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Pensioner probably did not get proper treatment
Records detailing a pensioner's care were patchy and he was probably not given the treatment required before he died, a coroner Coffey, who was 85, died at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough in September 2024, 17 days after a fall at home. He had spent about 17 hours on the floor following contracted a chest infection, for which effective pain relief "was not always offered or achieved" and medical records were incomplete, Berkshire's assistant coroner Health NHS Trust was approached to comment. Robert Simpson, Berkshire's assistant coroner, was told that because of his condition, Mr Coffey should have been repositioned from a seated position every two to four seated position would have allowed him to breathe more deeply and cough more effectively, important when treating chest the hospital told Mr Simpson that, following random monthly audits, "this was either not being done or not being properly recorded".Mr Simpson found that Mr Coffey's medical records had multiple gaps, one of up to 27 hours, between 15 September to 27 found Mr Coffey was "probably not repositioned as required".Mr Simpson issued a prevention of future deaths report following Mr Coffey's inquest earlier this NHS Trust must respond to his concerns by September. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
