2018 National & International News Stories.

[boatbuilder]

Latest post of the previous page:

It never ceases to amaze me how some newspapers, Daily Mail in this instance, then go on to publish personal information which has no relevance to the incident whatsoever. What has the fact that somebody else is the mother of his child from 15 years previous got to do with this case? They should be taken to task on such things, particularly when the person, as in this instance, is not the guilty party.

[boatbuilder]

The police have recovered a damaged drone near to Gatwick.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-46665615

[Trigger]

Hospitals making hundreds of millions from parking charges

Hospitals are making hundreds of millions of pounds from car parking charges, with more than four in 10 NHS trusts increasing the cost of a stay in the past year.
An investigation using freedom of information requests has found that some trusts have doubled the price of car parking for patients and visitors.
Analysis of data published by NHS Digital in October shows that NHS trusts made more than £226m in 2017-18 from parking, including penalty fines.
A total of 124 NHS trusts responded to the Press Association requests on parking charges, with 53 (43%) reporting an increase in prices in the past year for visitors or staff, or both. The remaining 71 (57%) said they had not put up their prices.
Labour has pledged to abolish the costs, while the Patients Association said people should not be “charged for being ill”.
The shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said: “These car parking charges are a tax on the sick. The next Labour government will axe them.”
The Liberal Democrats’ health spokeswoman, Judith Jolly, said the charges amounted to “taxing the sick” and that although hospitals were struggling with financial pressure, it was “not a green light to charge patients”.
Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “Charges for car parking at hospitals are a charge on people who are unwell, levied on them because they are unwell.”
Guardian

[Trigger]

Full patient records to be available online under NHS IT shake-up

All NHS patients in England will be able to book GP appointments online, order repeat prescriptions and access their full medical history on a new cloud system as part of a shake-up of IT systems.
The changes, which aim to replace outdated IT technology and improve digital coordination between parts of the healthcare system, should allow GPs, ambulance services and other primary care providers to access patient records digitally in real time.
The announcement is the first major alteration to the NHS patient record system since a failed £12.7bn digitalisation project to link up the healthcare system, which was scrapped by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2011.
The project was launched under Labour in 2002 but was beset by changing specifications, technical challenges and disputes with suppliers, leaving it years behind schedule and over budget.
Under the latest plans announced on Friday by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, technology companies will be encouraged to bid for contracts to deliver the changes, which will be regulated by new standards and minimum requirements developed by NHS Digital.
The government hopes the changes will save clinicians time and reduce delays, while also allowing GP surgeries to pick from a wider range of IT systems providers.
Guardian

[Trigger]

More prisoners to get phones in cells in drive to cut violence

Thousands more prisoners will be able to make phone calls from their cells as part of government plans to reduce violence and reoffending.
In July, the government announced plans to install in-cell phones in 20 prisons in England and Wales to tackle the flow of illegal mobiles and reduce tension on wings.
Under a further £10m roll-out, funded by additional money allocated to prisons in the budget, the number of prisons with phones in cells will rise to 50 by March 2020.
Many prisoners queue for public phones on the landings, which can act as a trigger for violence and fuel demand for illicit mobile phones, the Ministry of Justice said. It hopes the expansion of in-cell phones will also reduce the rates of reoffending, which is estimated to cost £15bn a year.
Guardian

[boatbuilder]

Ruth Strauss, the wife of former England captain and director of cricket Andrew Strauss, has died at the age of 46 as a result of a rare lung cancer.

BBC News

[Trigger]

Dame June Whitfield, star of Absolutely Fabulous, dies aged 93

Dame June Whitfield - celebrated for her comic roles in BBC sitcom Terry and June and cult favourite Absolutely Fabulous - has died aged 93.
The London-born actress was a regular fixture on TV and radio for six decades, starring in Carry On films, Hancock's Half Hour, and even Friends.
At 89, she appeared in EastEnders as Sister Ruth, a nun with a secret about Kat Moon. At 92, she was made a dame.
Her agent said she died peacefully on Friday night.
BBC

[boatbuilder]

I gave that a mention last night in the Entertainment news topic.

[Trigger]

Councils 'failing' to prosecute blue badge abusers

A disability charity says it is "disgraceful" councils are failing take action against people misusing blue-badge parking permits.
Analysis by the Press Association found 94 out of 152 (62%) local authorities in England did not pursue anyone for abusing the scheme in 2017-18.
Phil Talbot, from charity Scope, said thefts of disabled permits were rising.
The Local Government Association said councils had to take "tough decisions" on enforcement with limited resources.
Mr Talbot added: "Stealing blue badges isn't a crime without consequences. They are a vital lifeline for those who genuinely need them."
The analysis of the Department of Transport data showed the number of blue badges reported stolen totalled 4,246.
BBC

[boatbuilder]

US zoo intern fatally attacked by lion in North Carolina

A 22-year-old zoo worker was killed in North Carolina on Sunday after being attacked by a lion at a wildlife park.
Conservators Center, in Caswell County, said the attack happened when a lion escaped an enclosure during a routine cleaning.
Alexandra Black, an intern who had worked there for less than two weeks, has been named as the victim.
Her family have said she "loved animals" and had died following her passion.
"This was her fourth internship, because she really wanted to make a career of working with animals," her family said in a statement.
"She was a beautiful young woman who had just started her career, there was a terrible accident, and we are mourning."
Ms Black had recently graduated from Indiana State University with a degree in animal behaviour.
The 22-year-old had volunteered with other animals, including wolves.
The family said she had started working at the centre, founded in 1999, only 10 days ago.
According to its website, the wildlife facility is home to 80 animals, including 15 lions.
In a statement on Facebook, the centre said it was "devastated by the loss".
The park said the cleaning was supervised by a professionally trained keeper, and said it remained "unclear" how the lion had escaped.
It also confirmed the animal was shot and killed at the scene after attempts to tranquilise it, in order to retrieve Ms Black's body, failed.

BBC