Lifestyle

Devon father one step closer to completing world-first swim to raise awareness of son’s brain condition

A father from North Devon is set to complete the final six lakes in his bid to become the first person to swim Switzerland’s ten largest lakes after his young son was diagnosed with a rare brain-attacking condition PANDAS, that caused sudden onset aggression, OCD and tics overnight.

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TUC attacks tax credit cuts in the South West

Families will be more than £3,000 a year worse off by 2015 as a result of tax credit cuts, says the South West TUC.

With many tax credit changes that could leave families thousands of pounds out of pocket taking effect from today, the South West TUC has updated its tax credit calculator to help parents find out how they will be affected by the government’s recent changes.

The...

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Iain Duncan Smith

tax credits

South West TUC

families

tax credit calculator

government

Coalition

TUC

Older patients have higher expectations and are more satisfied with healthcare

New research on patients' experiences of health services and how these relate to their expectations and satisfaction, published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, reveals that older people have higher expectations of their care and that they believe that their expectations are being met.

The research questions prevailing stereotypes that characterise older patients as...

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healthcare

GPs

hospital

University of Southampton

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Royal Society of Medicine

Amy Childs launches BANK Fashion collection at Drake Circus

Reality TV star, Amy Childs will be unveiling her new SS13 clothing collection with BANK Fashion at Plymouth's Drake Circus on Saturday (6th April).

The former star of the ITV2 series 'The Only Way Is Essex' is now an emerging fashion designer and style icon.

Describing her new range, BANK Fashion say:

"The Amy Childs' Collection is feminine yet classy; with a mixture...

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The Only Way Is Essex

fashion

Urban art brightens youth centre

Urban art to brighten youth centre walls

A group of nine young people from Barne Barton and St Budeaux are picking up paintbrushes and adding a splash of colour with a piece of urban art for their youth centre.

As the momentum around the bid to become UK City of Culture 2017 builds in Plymouth, Cornish artist Phil Harvey is sharing his expertise and helping the members of the...

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UK City of Culture 2017

Phil Harvey

Voice and Influence Youth Forum

The Barn

Kit Hill

Tiny technology could spark revolution in house buying

Estate agents’ signs across towns and cities around the country could be a thing of the past thanks to scientists at Plymouth University .

Academics have developed a tiny NFC (near field communication) tag which can be placed discreetly at the entrance of a property to signal it is on the market.

Prospective buyers simply touch the tag with their smartphones or tablets, and are...

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near field communication

smartphones

tablets

Professor Martin Tomlinson

School of Computing and Mathematics

Plymouth University to host global coastal research conference

The largest worldwide gathering of coastal science researchers will convene at Plymouth University next week for an international conference on how climate change is affecting our coastal zones.

The 12th International Coastal Symposium will bring together 500 of the world’s leading experts from 38 different nationalities for a week-long event to discuss the latest developments in...

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12th International Coastal Symposium

Coastal Environments and Global Change

Professor Gerd Masselink

School of Marine Science and Engineering

Professor Colin Woodroffe

Professor Marcel Stive

Dr Edith Gallagher

South West

Important safety notice - potential fire hazard

Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service are bringing to local residents' attention the fact that certain older Bosch dishwashers are being recalled as they may be a potential fire hazard.

These are ones manufactured between 1999 and early 2005 for models purchased and used in the United Kingdom only. The affected dishwashers are in the batch number range from FD 7901 to FD 8504...

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Bosch

product recall

safety warning

Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue

Meditation technique enhances children’s mental health

Teachers in schools across the globe are turning to a new philosophy to help improve the behaviour and well-being of students.

Mindfulness, a form of meditation, has been shown to help with a wide range of mental health conditions and improve well-being in adults. However, few trials have evaluated its effectiveness in children.

Professor Willem Kuyken from the Mood Disorders...

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Devon

Exeter

University of Exeter

Professor Willem Kuyken

Plans to speed up adoption set out by councils

Children in care would be found a home with adoptive parents more quickly under new plans to reform the adoption system.

In a joint submission to Government, councillors, chief executives and directors of children's services have set out proposals to significantly increase the number of adopters recruited and speed up the process of finding new homes for children in care.

Under...

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Local Government Association

Children's Minister Edward Timpson

Hospital's Project SEARCH seeks new interns

An award winning scheme that supports young adults with learning disabilities gain paid employment is holding a series of information events to attract new interns who could benefit from the project.

Project SEARCH is based at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, and helps adults with learning disabilities between 18 and 24 move towards paid employment by working in the hospital in a series...

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Organisational Development Facilitator