Wylam psychiatrist to work with Team GB during Olympics
A psychiatrist from Wylam will be helping Team GB athletes with their mental health during the Tokyo Olympics, which are due to start next month.
Alan
Currie, (pictured below) who works for Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation
Trust (CNTW), was selected for the role as a result of his work with the mental
health panel of the English Institute of Sport.
He will not be travelling to Tokyo but will offer support remotely leading up to, during and after the competition.
CNTWCopyright: CNTW
The Olympics will be very different because of the pandemic. Athletes will be in isolation, will not be able to mix with team-mates and will return home after competing, rather than spending time in Tokyo.
Alan said there are lots of things to consider: “There’s the possibility of testing positive for Coronavirus.
"An athlete might qualify for a final and then have a positive test and be unable to compete, we will need to deal with the emotional fallout of that, and that a potentially once-in-a-lifetime chance is gone.”
This will be the first Olympics since Team GB’s mental health panel has been in place.
North
Video content
Video caption: Finds include evidence of the first Roman siege in Britain and Scottish man-made islands.Finds include evidence of the first Roman siege in Britain and Scottish man-made islands.
The very best in British archaeology 2016. In the north, finds include evidence for the first Roman siege in Britain and Stone Age Scottish man-made islands.
North East could lose two MPs in electoral proposals
The political map in the North East could be redrawn, with Wansbeck in Northumberland plus Houghton and Sunderland South potentially losing constituencies.
England’s biggest local authority is currently represented in Westminster by four constituencies – Berwick-upon-Tweed, Blyth Valley, Hexham and Wansbeck.
But under new proposals put forward by the Boundary Commission for England, this could be reduced to three, with Blyth and Wansbeck merged and a host of changes for the remaining two.
It's a similar story on Wearside with the Houghton and Sunderland South constituency vanishing too - the current seat of Labour's Bridget Phillipson.
Conservative MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, Anne-Marie Trevelyan (pictured above), was cautiously optimistic about the review.
She said: “I have reviewed the initial proposals and they seem a sensible way of increasing the size of the electorate in what is presently the Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency.
“I would of course be very sad to lose Longhorsley ward and the wonderful parishes it contains.”
BBCCopyright: BBC
Northumberland’s only Labour MP, Ian Lavery, (pictured above) who is set to see his Wansbeck seat merged with Blyth, was more sceptical about the possible changes, which are now set to go out for public consultation before they are finalised.
He said: “I am concerned about the fact the North East will lose two MPs that will be redistributed to other parts of the country further south.
“I will keep a close eye on where the lines are drawn and am ready to make my voice heard if I consider any changes to be unjustified.”
If approved, the changes would be introduced in time for the 2023 general election.
More areas to benefit from Towns Fund millions
Bishop Auckland will receive £33.2m and Redcar and Hartlepool will each receive £25m of government money as part of the Towns Fund.
The money is part of a plan to "level up" England's regions and follows previously announced funding for Middlesbrough and Thornaby-on-Tees.
Redcar MP Jacob Young said: "It's going to mean we can do some amazing things in Redcar town centre like a new outdoor watersports centre at Coatham and a new indoor activity centre on the Esplanade.
"The only bittersweet part for me is that this is for Redcar and not for the wider borough."
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Read moreWylam psychiatrist to work with Team GB during Olympics
A psychiatrist from Wylam will be helping Team GB athletes with their mental health during the Tokyo Olympics, which are due to start next month.
Alan Currie, (pictured below) who works for Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW), was selected for the role as a result of his work with the mental health panel of the English Institute of Sport.
He will not be travelling to Tokyo but will offer support remotely leading up to, during and after the competition.
The Olympics will be very different because of the pandemic. Athletes will be in isolation, will not be able to mix with team-mates and will return home after competing, rather than spending time in Tokyo.
Alan said there are lots of things to consider: “There’s the possibility of testing positive for Coronavirus.
"An athlete might qualify for a final and then have a positive test and be unable to compete, we will need to deal with the emotional fallout of that, and that a potentially once-in-a-lifetime chance is gone.”
This will be the first Olympics since Team GB’s mental health panel has been in place.
North
Video content
The very best in British archaeology 2016. In the north, finds include evidence for the first Roman siege in Britain and Stone Age Scottish man-made islands.
North East could lose two MPs in electoral proposals
Local Democracy Reporting Service
James Harrison
The political map in the North East could be redrawn, with Wansbeck in Northumberland plus Houghton and Sunderland South potentially losing constituencies.
England’s biggest local authority is currently represented in Westminster by four constituencies – Berwick-upon-Tweed, Blyth Valley, Hexham and Wansbeck.
But under new proposals put forward by the Boundary Commission for England, this could be reduced to three, with Blyth and Wansbeck merged and a host of changes for the remaining two.
It's a similar story on Wearside with the Houghton and Sunderland South constituency vanishing too - the current seat of Labour's Bridget Phillipson.
The Boundary Commission for England says the aim is to make Parliament fairer by giving each MP a roughly similar number of voters.
Conservative MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, Anne-Marie Trevelyan (pictured above), was cautiously optimistic about the review.
She said: “I have reviewed the initial proposals and they seem a sensible way of increasing the size of the electorate in what is presently the Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency.
“I would of course be very sad to lose Longhorsley ward and the wonderful parishes it contains.”
Northumberland’s only Labour MP, Ian Lavery, (pictured above) who is set to see his Wansbeck seat merged with Blyth, was more sceptical about the possible changes, which are now set to go out for public consultation before they are finalised.
He said: “I am concerned about the fact the North East will lose two MPs that will be redistributed to other parts of the country further south.
“I will keep a close eye on where the lines are drawn and am ready to make my voice heard if I consider any changes to be unjustified.”
If approved, the changes would be introduced in time for the 2023 general election.
More areas to benefit from Towns Fund millions
Bishop Auckland will receive £33.2m and Redcar and Hartlepool will each receive £25m of government money as part of the Towns Fund.
The money is part of a plan to "level up" England's regions and follows previously announced funding for Middlesbrough and Thornaby-on-Tees.
Redcar MP Jacob Young said: "It's going to mean we can do some amazing things in Redcar town centre like a new outdoor watersports centre at Coatham and a new indoor activity centre on the Esplanade.
"The only bittersweet part for me is that this is for Redcar and not for the wider borough."
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