A new mobile information unit was launched by the Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind as part of World Sight Day. The Unit will give information and advice about how to look after your eyes.
A new mobile information unit was launched by the Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind as part of World Sight Day. The Unit will give information and advice about how to look after your eyes.
Sheffield North Active is going to be a new baths opening in 2016. The facility will offer a swimming pool and gym to people in the North of the City and encourage local people to have a more active life style. The current Chapletown Baths will be closed down.
Sheffield Wheelchair Sports Club has been able to refurbish its snooker and gym rooms after successfully raising £15,000. The club enables people to play rugby, basketball, archery as well as pool and have a good work out in the gym.
A derelict piece of scrub land near Snig Hill in Sheffield has been shortlisted in a national scheme which could see it win up to £120,000 to transform it in to a wildlife haven. Love Square would become a place were people could go and enjoy their lunch and aims to become a flagship space for wildlife development in an urban setting if it wins.
Plans for Sheffield’s Olympic Legacy Park have been unveiled. Richard Caborn, former MP for Sheffield Central, revealed plans for Sheffield’s “Silicon Valley of Sports”. The Olympic Legacy Park is going to be built on the Don Valley Stadium site and will cost around 50 million pounds to build. The park will provide permanent home grounds for the Sheffield Sharks and The Sheffield Eagles.
Kathryn Smiles reports for Sheffield Live!
Stoptober starts today. The campaign offers support to help people quit smoking. Evidence shows you are more likely to quit for good if you give up smoking for four weeks. Claire Holden, Service Manager, of Yorkshire Smoke Free Sheffield says that there are over 70 venues in the City that you can drop in to for advice. You can also phone their help lines on 0800 612 0011 free from landlines and 0330 660 1166 which is free on most mobiles.
David Richards and Steve Day report for Sheffield Live!
By Alice Rose
A fire service campaign which intends to make people aware of the danger of electrical chargers has won European backing.
The campaign was started up by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue following a house fire in which five members of the same family sadly lost their lives.
It is thought that the fire was probably caused by a faulty charger.
Linda McAvan, MEP for Yorkshire and Humber, is backing the campaign to help stop fires, such as the one in Netheredge, from happening again.
“We are doing all that we can to reduce fires in the home at a European level. MEPS have legislated to standardise chargers for mobile devices to both reduce environmental waste and to save you money.”
The legislation was voted on by MEPS in March this year and was approved by ministers in April.
South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s Station Manager Darren Perrott, said:“Most people probably have several electrical chargers lying around at home at any given time, but all we’re asking for is a little bit of common sense when charging them.” Mr Perrot continued “What we’re particularly concerned about is unbranded chargers which can be bought cheaply over the internet. You should only buy chargers which are compatible with the device you are charging, and never leave things charging overnight.”
GP surgery’s in Sheffield have said that they may have to close if funding cuts continue to be phased in over the next few years.
Cuts to the Minimum Income Practice Guarantee (MPIG) pose a real threat to the survival of up to five surgery’s in Sheffield.
Sheffield could see up to 13,000 patients being directly affected because of the withdrawal of MPIG funding.
The additional funding supports GP surgeries which serve populations with more complex and demanding health needs. The Government began withdrawing MPIG funding in April 2014 and plans to phase it out totally over the next seven years.
NHS England says 100 GP surgeries across the country are threatened by closure as a result, whilst the British Medical Association has warned that the number of surgeries seriously affected will be far higher.
Some practices under threat could lose more than £100 per patient per year, while others will lose £20 or £30 per patient.
Devonshire Green Medical Centre and the Hanover Medical Centre are two of the affected surgery’s in Sheffield. MPIG funding cuts could be in the region of £140,000 between them.
Staff are concerned that they may have to close. Dr Graham Pettinger, who works at both practices said: “At the moment, NHS England have a poor understanding in my view on the impact this is going to have on practices and the patients in Sheffield and across the country on a whole.” Dr. Pettinger continues “This is an extremely serious threat to our survival – if we are unable to find replacement money then the practice may have to close its door to the patients and the community.”
Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central, challenged Health Minister’s on this issue. He said: “Local GPs have expressed serious concerns to me about the consequences of this vital funding being withdrawn. The Health Minister’s answer to my question was shockingly complacent. He’s putting patients at risk and I’ll now be seeking a meeting with Ministers to press this issue further.”
Mr Blomfield added “Our local GP surgeries are the first port of call for most people who are unwell or have health difficulties. No-one wants to see service cutbacks having to be made which is why I’m raising this issue now before the situation gets critical. The Government should be talking to GP surgeries now and rethinking this decision.”
A spokesperson for the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw area team of NHS England, said: “We are committed to making sure patients have access to high quality GP services. The minimum practice income guarantee (MPIG) payment is being phased out to make funding for GP services more fair for everyone.” They continued “This is a national plan. Future funding for GP services will be based on the numbers of patients that a GP practice serves and the health needs of those patients. These changes started in April this year and will happen over a seven year period.”
Dr Graham Pettinger speaks to Sheffield Live! George Torr
The staff and regulars at The Hammer and Pincers of Bents Green have hit on an innovative exercising method of raising money for charity. This Saturday they will be cycling the full length of the Yorkshire leg of the Tour de France – on a static bike!
Manager Anthony Crawford will be cycling in between shifts he will be joined by both pub regulars and 9 members of his staff, all with the aim of raising over £1000 for Cancer Research. Taking turns on the static bike to cycle at a steady speed of 20km per hour, and beginning at 4am, they aim to tackle the 390kn route of the first two stages of the Tour de France in just 20 hours, with the aim of being finished by midnight.
Local Bents Green businesses, including Cannisters Butchers, Le Crunch and Bents Home and Garden, have been happy to jump on board with sponsorship and the fundraiser is intended to be a community event, with a barbecue and bouncy castle laid on (British summer weather permitting!).
Hammer and Pincers’ manager Crawford said, “We’re a small part of a larger company, Mitchells and butler, which has raised over £34,000 for cancer Research already, we hope to do our own small part.”
Sheffield is often described as the greenest city in England, including one third of the Peak District National Park; when in Sheffield you are never far from parks, woodland or countryside.
Now a new piece of research, being undertaken on behalf of Sheffield City Council and Creative Sheffield by Sheffield Hallam University’s Sport Industry Research Centre, is being undertaken to asses the value of Sheffield’s outdoor economy – and your views are invited!
You can help to assess the importance of Sheffield’s ‘Great Outdoors’ to you and your family by completing the quick survey here before 6pm on Sunday, 1st June – it will only take a few minutes and you can be entered into a prize draw for £100 cash.
The survey is for everybody to complete – whether you participate in outdoor recreational activities or not. It will only take 2 minutes; your responses are confidential and will only be used for this research. You will only be contacted if you are the prize winner. The deadline for survey completion is Sunday 1st June.