Tuesday 17th September

Tuesday, 17 September 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

£400 million is being invested in research and development projects at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil. £29 million in council tax was left uncollected in Somerset in the last 3 years. A teenager from Yeovil is calling for more awareness of kidney failure. A new procedure for treating varicose veins has made it possible for patients to leave hospital earlier... and more.

An investment of £400 million in the Leonardo factory in Yeovil has been announced by Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, during his visit to Italy. Sir Keir gave no other details except to say the money would be spent on research and development.

£29 million in council tax was left uncollected in Somerset in the last 3 years, with the former South Somerset District Council owed £9.1 million in uncollected council tax. A Freedom of Information request by Accident Claims Advice found that Somerset's five former local authorities wrote off £7 million of debts deemed impossible to collect in the financial year 2021/22. A total of £28,978,000 in council tax remained uncollected across all five former councils between the 2021/22 and 2023 /24 financial years. £7 million was written off as unviable or impossible to collect in the financial year 2021/22.

A teenager from Yeovil is calling for more awareness of kidney failure in young people after she was struck with the condition over the summer. Lilly Canterbury, who’s 14, was placed in a coma after becoming seriously ill in June following flu-like symptoms. She now has dialysis three times a week and will need a kidney transplant. Lilly says she’s gone public with her story to raise awareness of kidney failure.

Babies, re-admitted to Yeovil Hospital with jaundice are being given a diagnosis within just two to three minutes of arriving, thanks to a new way of testing for jaundice. Senior sister Beth Hawken and nurse Eleonora Forbes worked on developing the new test, a procedure that previously had been taking up to seven hours to complete. Yeovil Hospital says it has made the care of neonatal babies more efficient meaning they’re not jaundiced for long and are less likely to experience complications.

Parents and carers of children in Somerset due to start school or move on to their next school in September 2025 are being urged to apply for a place online. Applications can be made via the Somerset Council website until January 15th.

Patients in Somerset having varicose veins treatment are now able to go home within a few hours of a procedure. A new treatment room at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton is allowing patients to be treated under local anaesthetic in an outpatient setting with them leaving hospital earlier and not taking up any theatre time.

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