NHS Volunteers Help Ease Maternity Pressure

By Isabel Webster, West of England Correspondent

Volunteers are being used by the NHS at the Royal Gwent Hospital in South Wales to ease pressure on overstretched maternity wards.

Twenty so-called "maternity buddies" handle babies at the request of new mums while they sleep or shower, sit and chat to keep them company, help with meals, or even change water in flower vases.

The unpaid helpers are given basic training in confidentiality and infection control but are not permitted to carry out any clinical duties including bathing or changing newborns' nappies.

The buddy scheme was piloted at the hospital over a six-month period and has now gone live due to its success.

Linda Hall, a mother of four and grandmother of two, finds time around her full-time job at a nursery to pop into the postnatal ward whenever she can.

"The midwives are so busy that sometimes the new mums are anxious about buzzing and asking for help," she said.

"So we just come along and get them some milk or some drinks - all the things the midwives struggle to fit into their busy days."

The scheme is intended to free up the midwives so they can focus on clinical care.

The NHS is looking to increase volunteers at hospitals

The Royal College of Midwives believes there is a shortfall of around 5,000 midwives in England and Wales as a result of the birth rate exceeding the rate of midwives joining the profession by around 6%.

But the Aneurin Bevan Health Board in Gwent maintains the buddy scheme is not about plugging a staffing gap.

Suzanna Hardacre, the senior midwifery manager at the Royal Gwent Hospital, said: "We're not short-staffed. We don't have any shortages of health care support workers or with midwives. There are sufficient clinical staff to be able to give that care.

"Our volunteers are purely there to enhance the patient and the woman's experience while she is in hospital with us."

A recruitment drive is now under way to bolster the number of volunteers in NHS hospitals across the UK.

Many hospitals already enlist them to help patients eat their meals and the Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust says their volunteers sometimes help to make the beds.

But Beverley Lawrence Beech, from the Association For The Improvement of Maternity Services, warns that unskilled helpers are no substitute for trained health professionals.

"If they really want to enhance patient experiences what they should be providing is community based midwifery. But this is the first step towards removing yet more midwives," she said.

"Frilly hand-holding is no substitute for proper trained midwives who know to look out for things like postnatal depression or infections."

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Hertfordshire Crash Leaves Three Men Dead

Three men have been killed in a collision between a car and a lorry on the A10 in Hertfordshire.

The men - the driver of the car and two passengers, thought to be in their late teens and early 20s - died at the scene.

They were travelling in a Vauxhall Corsa on the northbound carriageway near Turnford, at 2.15pm on Friday, when the collision with a Mercedes lorry happened.

A fourth person in the car suffered serious injuries and was taken by air ambulance to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel for treatment.

The driver of the lorry was not injured.

Sergeant Colin Jenkinson, of Hertfordshire Police, said: "We are conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the collision and are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident to get in contact as soon as possible.

"Perhaps you saw the vehicle just before the collision took place or maybe you saw something immediately after. Any information you provide could be crucial to our investigation."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101.

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Wiggins Thanks Well-Wishers After Collision

Bradley Wiggins has said he is "looking forward to getting back on the bike" after he was injured in a collision, as it emerged a van driver may face prosecution.

The 32-year-old Olympic champion cyclist spent a night in hospital after suffering a bruised hand and ribs after he and a van collided in Lancashire on Wednesday. He is now recuperating at home.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their kind thoughts and messages over the last 48 hours, and of course all the staff at the Royal Preston Hospital who looked after me so well," Wiggins said on www.teamsky.com last night.

"Although I'm still a little bit sore I will now be spending time at home with my family and concentrating on making a full recovery.

"I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike soon and continuing my preparations for the 2013 season."

After a formal interview, the van driver, Cath Burrows, 44, was summonsed by Lancashire Police over driving without due care and attention.

In a statement, a police spokesman said: "Following a voluntary attendance for interview with Lancashire Police, a 44-year-old woman from West Lancashire has been reported for summons for driving without due care and attention.

"However an investigation into the full circumstances of the incident is still under way."

Wiggins was reportedly riding a mountain bike to meet a group of local cyclists near to his home in Eccleston when the collision happened in Wrightington, shortly after 6pm.

Wiggins, who became the Tour's first British winner in July before winning Olympic time-trial gold at Hampton Court on August 1, also issued an apology for a one-fingered gesture to photographers as he travelled home on Thursday.

He said yesterday: "I would also like to apologise for the gesture that I made when I arrived home yesterday afternoon.

"I was tired, in a lot of pain, and just wanted to get inside, but I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I'm sorry for that."

In a separate road accident, British cycling head coach Shane Sutton was also admitted to hospital on Thursday with a fractured cheek bone and bleeding on the brain.

The 55-year-old was riding along the A6 Stockport Road in Levenshulme when he was involved in a collision with a blue Peugeot 206 driven by a 61-year-old man.

Sutton was part of the management team which has helped Wiggins to many successes including the world's toughest bike race and this year's time trial gold medal at the London Olympics.

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Olympic Stadium: Dismay Over Delayed Future

By Enda Brady, Sky News Correspondent

Olympic and Paralympic champions have voiced their dismay at news that the stadium may not open fully until the summer of 2016.

Four bids are still being considered as full-time tenants at the Stratford venue, but each bid will require significant and time-consuming modifications.

Dennis Hone, chief executive of the London Legacy Development Committee, revealed this week that it will not re-open until August 2015 at the earliest and probably not before August 2016.

Olympic champion Jessica Ennis told Sky News it was important the stadium was opened to the public without delay.

She said: "I've some amazing memories of the stadium, like a lot of other athletes.

"I'd love to see it opened to the public as soon as possible."

Leyton Orient FC are among four bidders to use the stadium in Stratford

Paralympic double gold medallist Hannah Cockroft said it was vital to speed up the process so that the goodwill generated by the success of London 2012 could be tapped into.

"The danger is that if it's not opened fully to the public for four years then that interest will wane," she said.

"It's an amazing venue and people want to see it, they want to be a part of it. I really hope they sort this out, they have to."

A transformation project costing nearly £300m is currently under way at the site and is expected to last up to 18 months.

The park itself will be opened to the public on July 27 next year, one year to the day the Games opened in London.

Maria Miller, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, told Sky News: "The stadium is vital for the legacy of the Games, but the important thing is to get the right tenant in."

The four bidders are West Ham United FC, Leyton Orient FC, a Formula One venture and the University College of Football Business - an academic institution owned and run by Burnley FC.

A final decision is expected in the first half of 2013, or possibly sooner.

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Ex-Oil Exec Archbishop Faces Big Challenges

The Bishop of Durham has been officially unveiled as the new Archbishop of Canterbury - in what is seen as a meteoric rise in the clergyman's career.

The Rt Rev Justin Welby, 56, was only in his current job for a year and will now become the spiritual leader of the 77 million-strong Anglican Communion.

Eton-educated Bishop Welby is a former oil executive with 11 years in the industry who turned to the church in the early 1980s.

The clergyman, who is a member of the House of Lords, is on the parliamentary committee looking at banking ethics in the wake of the Libor-rigging scandal.

The bishop is reportedly set to keep his place on the committee despite his new appointment.

Bishop Welby is keen to increase Church congregations

He is apparently known for his outspoken criticism of corporate excess and is likely to be a champion of banking reform and a key figure in discussions of business ethics.

The Rt Rev Justin Welby will have his work cut out in his new role as Archbishop as he takes over the leadership of an institution battered in recent years by rows over women bishops and gay priests.

He will take up the mantle from Dr Rowan Williams, whose tenure has been marked by a bruising war between liberals and traditionalists in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion over the issue of homosexuality.

The new appointment also comes as the Church of England stands poised to give final approval later this year for the introduction of women bishops following several years of tortuous negotiations and the departure of some Anglican bishops to the Catholic Church.

The long-running war within the Anglican Communion over gay people will be a very difficult issue for him.

But Bishop Welby's skills in conflict resolution and peace building will stand him in good stead in dealing with the warring factions in the run-up to the next worldwide meeting of Anglican bishops, the Lambeth Conference, due in 2018.

Dr Rowan Williams is stepping down as Archbishop of Canterbury

Bishop Welby, who is himself opposed to gay marriage, is also well travelled, particularly in Nigeria.

And he understands the viewpoints of both conservative Nigerian Anglicans and those of the liberal US Episcopalian Church which is strongly divided on the issue.

The new Archbishop, who was first ordained as a deacon in 1992, will also have to face declining Church congregations.

Bishop Welby is clearly keen to turn this around, and in his first sermon after becoming Bishop of Durham last November, he reportedly called on churchgoers to rekindle Christian faith in the North East and "reconvert" the region.

While Dean of Liverpool before this, he instigated a five-year plan to double congregation figures, and saw them rise considerably during his leadership.

Being the public face of the Church of England in the 21st century also means being able to deal with the demands of the media and 24-hour news.

Bishop Welby has already shown that he embraces social media with an account on Twitter, and the 2,500 followers that he currently has are set to rise dramatically now he has been named as the new archbishop.

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Calculators To Be Banned In Maths Tests

Eleven-year-olds are to be banned using calculators in maths tests amid concerns by ministers that primary school pupils are overly reliant on them.

Under the current curriculum, pupils can begin using calculators at the age of seven but, from 2014, pupils will not be able to use them in the maths national curriculum tests, the Department for Education (DfE) said.

The tests, known as Sats, are taken by youngsters in their final year of primary school.

The current maths Sats test is split into three papers, and pupils are allowed to use calculators for one 45-minute test.

The new draft primary maths curriculum, published earlier this year, suggests that calculators should not be introduced until the later years of primary school, after children have a good grounding in mental and written arithmetic.

Education minister Elizabeth Truss said that all pupils should know their times tables, and be able to add, subtract and divide sums before they begin using calculators.

"By banning calculators in the maths test, we will reduce the dependency on them in the classroom for the most basic sums," she said.

"Children will have a solid grounding in the basics so they can grow up to be comfortable with the maths they will need in their adult lives."

Around 98% of 10-year-olds in England are allowed to use calculators in maths lessons, compared to an international average of 46% according to research published in 2007, the DfE said.

Ms Truss said: "Maths influences all spheres of our daily lives, from working out the change from your shopping to an architect's calculations in designing the latest London skyscraper.

"The irony is that while maths is all around us, it seems to have become acceptable to be 'bad with numbers'. The habit of simply reaching for the calculator to work things out only serves to worsen that problem."

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Ash Dieback: New Trees To Be Destroyed

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

New and young trees infected with ash dieback disease will be destroyed under new Government plans to contain the outbreak.

The action plan will also see the search for trees with the deadly fungal disease spread beyond the countryside into towns and cities.

But there are no proposals yet to remove mature trees due to fears for wildlife as well as hopes they could help research into ash dieback.

The public, along with foresters, land managers and environmental groups, will also be told how to spot the disease and what to do if they find an infected tree.

An ash sapling infected with the disease

The proposals to tackle the crisis, which threatens millions of the UK's native ash trees, were finalised by ministers at a Cobra crisis meeting on Friday

Department of the Environment officials have worked with the Forestry Commission and other agencies to find the best way to contain the spread of Chalara fungus, known as ash dieback disease.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson will later outline the Government's response to the outbreak.

The fungal infection, which causes leaves to turn black and drop off before the tree eventually dies, is thought to have arrived in Britain on wind-borne spores blown in from mainland Europe.

So far more than 100 cases have been reported across the country, in Sussex, Berkshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Northumberland, Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent and Essex.

Other countries including France and Belgium have already been hit hard by the tree disease but Denmark has been the worst affected - losing 90% of its ash population.

Ash dieback has been found at 115 sites in the UK

It is feared the disease could have the same impact in Britain as the infamous Dutch Elm epidemic of the 1970s, which wiped out most of the country's elm trees.

There are an estimated 80 million ash trees in Britain - one-third of the entire tree population.

In a bid to contain the epidemic, the importation of ash trees has already been banned and the planting of new ones has also been halted.

Officials have also carried out surveys on acres of forest and woodland.

Signs warning visitors to take extra precautions to stop the spread of ash dieback have been posted at several National Trust sites, including Ashridge, Hertfordshire.

Ashridge has hundreds of ash trees in its 5,000 acres of woodland. The site is popular with walkers taking in the magnificent countryside - especially in the autumn.

It has also been the setting for several films, including Sleepy Hollow and Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.

Some of these ash saplings in Suffolk are infected with the disease

Graeme Cannon, Ashridge Estate manager, told Sky News: "It's potentially very dangerous. Ashridge is here because ash trees feature very prominently in its background and they have done for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

''With ash dieback in the country we'll end up in a situation where we will be losing a lot of our trees and they are an important feature of the British landscape and woodland.

"So far we have not had any confirmed cases in Ashridge but if we do then the impact would be catastrophic.''

Mr Cannon said several of the ash trees were more than 200 years old. ''Although it seems to be impacting younger trees, we would hate to lose those veteran ash," he said.

Infected saplings have been burned to contain the spread, but visitors to woods are also being asked to do their bit by keeping to marked paths to help reduce the spread of infected leaves.

They are also being advised to clean footwear and bike and car tyres of mud and earth when they get home.

Although the Government claims it has acted as swiftly as it could, there has been some criticism that the response has not been quick enough.

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New Archbishop Of Canterbury 'Astonished'

The Bishop of Durham has been officially confirmed as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, in an appointment that was widely expected.

The Right Reverend Justin Welby succeeds Dr Rowan Williams as the spiritual leader of the 77 million-strong Anglican Communion.

The former oil industry executive becomes the 105th holder of the post.

As he addressed the media, he began by saying a prayer and then joked his appointment was "the best kept secret since the last Cabinet reshuffle".

He went on: "To be nominated to this post is both astonishing and exciting", and it was something "he never expected".

The clergyman, who has been Bishop of Durham for a year, admitted the last few weeks "have been a rather strange experience".

He added: "We are at one of these rare points where the tide of events is turning and the Church nationally, including the Church of England, has great opportunities to match its very great but often hidden strengths.

"I feel a massive sense of privilege at being one of those responsible for the leadership of the Church in a time of spiritual hunger when our network of parishes and schools, and above all people, means we are facing the toughest issues in the toughest places."

The Bishop said he was astonished and excited to be nominated

He told reporters that one of the biggest challenges was taking over from Dr Williams, who he claimed "will be recognised as one of the greatest Archbishops of Canterbury".

Bishop Welby also said he was "wildly optimistic about the future of the Church".

He added: "We'll certainly get things wrong, I certainly will. But the grace of God is greater than our biggest failures. We will also certainly get much right and do so already."

Bishop Welby takes over the leadership of an institution battered in recent years by rows over women bishops and gay priests.

Dr Williams' tenure has been marked by a bruising war between liberals and traditionalists in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion over the issue of homosexuality.

The new appointment also comes as the Church of England stands poised to give final approval later this year for the introduction of women bishops following several years of tortuous negotiations and the departure of some Anglican bishops to the Catholic Church.

The new archbishop, who was first ordained as a deacon in 1992, will also have to face declining Church congregations.

The Bishop of Chichester, Martin Warner, welcomed his appointment, saying he would bring "many gifts and a rich experience of life to this calling".

But he warned: "He faces a daunting task, but the priority he attaches to a spiritual life of prayer, to reflection on the Bible and dependence upon the holy spirit will sustain him, as will the love and support of his family and friends.

"To that support I add my own and my prayers for his future ministry."

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Petrol Prices Down By Another 2p At Supermarkets

Three supermarket chains have cut their petrol prices again, reducing the cost of fuel by 2p at pumps across the nation.

Asda was the first to announce the discount, which follows similar reductions towards the end of last month.

It will now charge 137.7p for a litre of diesel and 131.7p for unleaded petrol on its forecourts.

Sainsbury's and Tesco followed suit, saying they would also slash 2p off their prices.

Welcoming the move, the president of roadside recovery group AA, Edmund King, said: "Once again the supermarkets have led the way on fuel price reductions.

"We have said there is scope for price cuts given wholesale price falls and welcome the move and hope all the other retailers follow."

He said that many people are cutting back on the number of car journeys they make because of the high cost of fuel.

"This reduction will go a little way towards helping families and businesses keep mobile," he added.

Asda's petrol trading director, Andy Peake, said his company was "leading the way" in reducing the price at the pump.

"Unlike other retailers, our price cuts benefit everyone across the country, meaning that no one filling up at Asda will be forced to play a postcode lottery," he said.

A Tesco spokesman said: "As Britain's biggest petrol retailer with 490 forecourts, more motorists will make savings at the pumps at Tesco than at any other fuel retailer."

And Sainsbury's head of fuel, Richard Crampton, said: "With Christmas on the horizon, we know that this can be an expensive time of year so we're delighted to announce that we will be lowering our petrol and diesel prices."

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Surgeon Faces Inquiry Over Breast Cancer Ops

A surgeon is to face a criminal inquiry over allegations about his treatment of more than 1,000 breast cancer patients.

West Midlands Police said they were liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service to determine the course of the investigation into the conduct of Ian Paterson.

Mr Paterson is alleged by a law firm representing some of his former patients to have performed up to 1,150 "unnecessary, inappropriate or unregulated" operations.

Thompsons Solicitors, which is pursuing negligence claims for several women, said Mr Paterson worked at a number of NHS and private hospitals from 1994, including those run by Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which covers hospitals in Sutton Coldfield, Solihull and Birmingham.

An investigation into Mr Paterson by the General Medical Council potentially spans up to 700 cases of an unregulated procedure that involved leaving some breast tissue behind after a mastectomy, Thompsons said.

It is further alleged that up to 450 women could have had invasive breast surgery when a biopsy might have been sufficient.

Mr Paterson is alleged to have performed "unnecessary" operations

The Medical Defence Union said in a statement: "Mr Paterson is co-operating fully with the GMC investigation. He cannot comment further due to his duty of patient confidentiality and the ongoing investigation."

Sky News' Health and Science correspondent Thomas Moore said the GMC has been looking into Mr Paterson for some time, adding that conditions were imposed on his practice in July 2011.

Mr Paterson's GMC record shows that the Interim Orders Panel ruled that he "must not carry out breast surgery" and that he should "confine his medical practice ... to general surgical work and out-patient consultations with patients with breast disease".

Kashmir Uppal, a senior medical negligence solicitor at Thompsons, said she believed patients had been subjected to needless worry and risk.

She said the law firm was also liaising with the GMC to assist its investigations.

"The women who have come forward so far have been very brave," Ms Uppal said.

"Hopefully all who have had unnecessary or inappropriate treatment will seek reassurance or justice."

In a statement confirming the police inquiry into Mr Paterson, who has not been arrested, Detective Chief Inspector Matt Markham said: "West Midlands Police can confirm it has received a referral from the General Medical Council in relation to allegations about the medical practices of a surgeon who previously worked in Solihull.

"A criminal inquiry has been launched and the force is working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to determine the course of the investigation."

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