Devon

Councils identify alternative accommodation to help the NHS

Councils are identifying accommodation that could, if required, be turned into temporary care facilities for people when they’re ready to leave hospital, to relieve pressure on the NHS.

The accommodation could also be used to temporarily house additional staff being recruited into healthcare, or staff being redeployed to frontline care roles.

Hospitals everywhere are under...

Devon and Cornwall’s creative communities invited to show that “home is where the art is”

A playful and innovative set of new small-scale arts commissions, designed to harness Devon and Cornwall’s creative talents by showing that ‘home is where the arts is’, have been launched.

Arts and Culture, University of Exeter has partnered with the Exeter Phoenix, Kaleider and Exeter Northcott Theatre to unveil this new initiative to encourage freelance artists across Devon and...

Devon Air Ambulance stands down aircraft

Devon Air Ambulance will temporarily be responding to patients solely by critical care car but its critical care paramedics will still be able to respond to patients with their specialist skills and equipment. Heléna Holt, CEO, explains “Standing down our aircraft has been a very difficult decision for us to make but one we have had to take in order to protect all of our crew.” She added “...

Devon County Council launch COVID-19 Prompt Action Fund to help communities

Devon County Council has launched the COVID-19 Prompt Action Fund to help provide valuable funding to organisations working in communities that have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

The scheme, which only launched this week, has had over 80 applications already.

The grants of less than £500 will help voluntary and community groups to tackle the social and economic...

Secret garden haven for NHS heroes at Derriford

Teams treating Covid-19 patients will be able to step into a secret flower garden at University Hospitals Plymouth after flowers were donated that were destined for the now cancelled Chelsea Flower Show.

Volunteers, coordinated by Intensive Care Specialist Sister Sister Kate Tantam, transformed a courtyard near to the Intensive Care Unit.

Kate said: “The PPE staff are...

Devon charity sets up vital Covid-19 helpline to help communities

A COVID-19 helpline has been launched by the charity Devon Communities Together to provide vital support for parish and town councils and the Devon Village Halls Community Buildings networks as they pull together their resilience plans to help support their communities.

Devon Communities Together is the Rural Community Council for Devon founded nearly 60 years ago, providing a huge...

Being active on social media will help you cope with isolation

Active use of social media will be a lifeline for people coping with social isolation during the Covid-19 crisis, says the British Psychological Society’s Cyberpsychology section.

Cyberpsychology expert Dr Lisa Orchard has shared tips on how to get the most out of social media during the Covid-19 outbreak. She says that interacting with other people is hugely important for our...

Charity mascot Harold the Giraffe posts daily diary following school closures to help keep Devon’s children healthy and happy

The animal mascot of South West children’s charity Life Education Wessex has launched a daily blog to give health and wellbeing advice to children in Devon aged 3 to 11, who can’t go to school because of the Coronavirus shutdown.

Harold the Giraffe is the well-known mascot of the national charity, Coram Life Education. A Harold puppet usually accompanies LEW’s specialist educators when...

Moor Otters arts trail postponed

Dartmoor National Park Authority is postponing Moor Otters 2020. The public arts trail and associated events, which aims to raise £60,000 for conservation projects in the National Park, was to be launched on May 27 - World Otter Day. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, and the imperative need to protect the health and wellbeing of communities, ‘otter spotters’ and businesses, a decision has been...

Stagecoach SW bus services to move to new timetable

At these unprecedented times, Stagecoach South West are working hard to maintain services across the region to keep their communities connected and ensure key workers can travel.

From Monday 30 March the bus operator will be reducing their frequency in line with customer demand and changing travel patterns.

For most routes this means a Sunday timetable with additional early...

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