Tuesday 14th May

Tuesday, 14 May 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.

Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. Speaking on behalf of NHS Somerset, Dr Bernie Marden says 25 percent more GP appointments were created in 2023 compared to 2019 before physios, paramedics and nurses were used to treat people in GP surgeries.

A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a private water supply, and a wild-swimming pond on the Somerset/ Devon border. Appearing for sentencing at Exeter Magistrates Court, Derek Dyer of Crawley Farm at Yarcombe was also given a community order of 60 hours of unpaid work in a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency.

Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Clare Moody, who won the recent PCC election standing on a Labour ticket, is promising to create a better connection between the public and the police. Meanwhile, a week of action to tackle knife crime in the Avon and Somerset Police area is underway. Assaults involving a knife increased by 13 per cent in the final quarter of 2023 with more than 370 incidents recorded.

A Somerset pharmacist says a new service that allows pharmacists to treat common health problems is benefiting patients. People suffering from things like sore throats and earache can now go straight to a pharmacist for help rather than seeing a GP.

New owners take over running Chard Post Office today. As well as Chard Post Office, Steve and Teresa Smith, also run Crewkerne and Beaminster post offices. Chard Post Office is closed today for the transfer to take place.

Work’s been completed fitting a new roof to the village hall in Ashill. It replaces the original roof of the 90-year-old building that was found to contain asbestos.

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The Leader of Somerset Council has repeated his call for a reform of the way that councils are funded. Crimestoppers is stepping up efforts to help tackle violent crime in Somerset. A new radar satellite is playing a crucial role in collecting data about flooding in Somerset...and more
Thursday 6th March

Somerset Council has approved a seven-and-a-half percent increase in council tax. People are being asked to return boxes of paracetamol bought from Boots Chemists in Somerset. It’s been revealed that five members of staff at Somerset Council are being allowed to work from home outside the UK...and more
Wednesday 5th March

Somerset Council has been told that hundreds of millions of pounds in loans taken out by former district councils, including South Somerset, have to be paid back. A Somerset charity says it needs more volunteers to help with research into new treatments for dementia. A local shop owner has welcomed Somerset Council’s decision to scrap plans to charge for parking after 6 pm...and more.
Tuesday 4th March

The population of Somerset has reached record levels with nearly one in ten born outside the UK. Stanchester School in Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been rated as ‘requiring improvement’. Experts have been called in to appraise a 15th-century piece of artwork in Sherborne...and more.
Monday 3rd March

A woman from Crewkerne has been fined £280 for assaulting two emergency workers. Plans have been announced to open new NHS dental surgeries in Chard and Crewkerne. A Yeovil man has been thanked for raising £10,000 for the cardiac charity Heartbeat...and more
Friday 28th February

A local man has been charged after allegedly driving a tractor while under the influence of alcohol. One hundred bikes, collected with household waste in Somerset, have been donated to charity. The junction of the A37 Ilchester Road and Stiby Road in Yeovil will again shut this evening for resurfacing...and more.
Thursday 27th February

Fourteen hundred people have added their names to a petition against Somerset Council's plans to scrap free car parks. St Margaret’s Hospice has won a share of £25 million of government funding. A man from Charlton Adam is preparing to visit Ukraine as an Aid Worker for a tenth time...and more
Wednesday 26th February

A local man has been charged with possessing an air weapon following an incident in Yeovil town centre. The Labour government has removed funding to the Amulet Theatre in Shepton Mallet that the previous Conservative government had allocated. Entries are now open for this year’s Minster Miles 10K fun run with organisers aiming to exceed last year’s number of runners...and more.