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Marking Journalism Matters Week
At Somerset Live, we are proud to bring you the latest and most important stories from across the county to you every day.
Whether it be the latest travel information, news from inside our communities or important campaigns in our areas, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of the big issues and highlighting them to those who deserve to know about them.
All of our news stories are brought to you by a team of highly trained digital journalists, supported by experienced content editors who check every article before publication.
It is that attention to detail and commitment to bringing you the latest news that has seen our stories read more than 109 million times in the last 12 months and generate a loyal audience that has grown by more than 90 per cent since last year.
What is most rewarding for us, as a team committed to serving our readers, is when the stories we write make a tangible difference to our communities.
To mark Journalism Matters Week, here are 11 examples of how we have helped influence our local communities in the last 12 months.
1. We helped bring about a change in a hospital’s visitor policy during the coronavirus pandemic
In April, we covered the story of a nurse at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, who described the decision to ban all visits to terminally ill coronavirus patients as “cruel beyond belief”.
The Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust stopped almost all visits as it looked to minimise the spread of the virus, including to patients receiving end-of-life care as a result of Covid-19 and terminally ill patients with an underlying health condition who had also tested positive for the disease.
It meant that coronavirus patients faced the prospect of dying alone at the hospital.
The nurse, who asked not to be identified, called the decision a “grave injustice”.
The week after we ran the story, the hospital changed its visitor policy so that end-of-life patients could be visited by their loved ones.
2. We highlighted concerns over government-funded food parcels for vulnerable people in Somerset A couple from Somerset were left “disgusted” by the food packages being sent to the vulnerable during the coronavirus lockdown – saying they were reduced to tears by their poor quality.
The government-funded free packages of essential food and other items were being distributed to vulnerable people unable to go and do their own shopping during the lockdown period.
Susan Collins received these packages as she has a number of pre-existing health conditions.
After receiving a first package of good quality items, Susan and partner Tim, who are from Radstock, said some items in their subsequent government food packages had been extremely poor in quality and the downturn had left them unable to take it any more.
We highlighted the issue in this story in May.
3. We helped people keep track of the pandemic with daily updates on local cases and outbreaks
Keeping our readers up to date with the latest and most accurate coronavirus data has been a cornerstone of our news coverage in recent months.
To help people check the latest information for their area, we published a story showing people how they should check the latest figures where they raised. Our cases checker has since been used more than a quarter of a million times.
4. We helped to raise more than £160,000 for homeless people in Bath
Supported by the Bath Chronicle and Bath Live over the months of December and January, the Julian House Christmas Appeal campaign sought to raise not just vital funding but also increase awareness of the complex issues which impact on homeless people in the city.
A record-breaking amount of money was raised for Bath’s homeless as a result of the appeal as a
late surge in support saw donations pass its £160,000 target, with £166,116 donated or pledged.
The money went towards projects including supported housing, domestic abuse services, access to workplace experience and training, emergency hostel provision and an outreach team.
5. We helped to break the news of a Covid-19 outbreak inside Weston-super-mare’s hospital After Weston General Hospital was placed into an emergency shutdown in May following a spike in coronavirus cases, we broke the news of how staff were coping with the measures.
The hospital was urgently closed to new patients after a sudden spike in cases, in what the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust called a “precautionary measure in order to maintain the safety of staff and patients”.
We revealed how an anonymous source at the trust claimed the virus spread beyond wards dedicated to fighting coronavirus at the Westonsuper-mare hospital.
The insider praised efforts to keep staff safe from a new coronavirus spike, while revealing that the virus outbreak at Weston General had left the hospital “nearly empty”.
6. We helped to press for the reopening of Somerset’s recycling centres
As the coronavirus pandemic left many of our recycling centres closed, calls grew for them to reopen in order to tackle the problem of flytipping.
The Somerset Waste Partnership closed all 16 household recycling centres across the county following the Government’s guidelines on non-essential travel in March, and advised people to hold onto waste which they would normally take to the tip – including garden waste.
But as waste mounted at homes around Somerset, we reported the growing calls for them to reopen through April, including from Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-grainger.
The majority of recycling centres across Somerset subsequently reopened in May.
7. We monitored and scrutinised figures to expose how coronavirus hit the most vulnerable in society
One of the darkest points of the coronavirus pandemic was the number of deaths that occurred among care home residents who were suspected of having the virus.
We reported how deaths among people placed in care homes by Somerset County Council in April were around fifty per cent higher than the average for recent years, while nearly 200 health and social care workers in the county tested positive for Covid-19 at the height of the pandemic, more than one in five of those tested.
It helped to bring to light the serious issues that care homes were facing in a very difficult period.
8. We helped Somerset express its grief as families faced loss from coronavirus
The coronavirus pandemic has shattered thousands of lives up and down the country.
Latest estimates suggest that several hundred people have died after testing positive for the virus since the beginning of the pandemic in March.
Among them were twin sisters who grew up in Yeovil and died within three days of each other after contracting the virus and a “sociable” and “jovial” farmer from Frome. Sharing tributes from those who loved them most helped Somerset express its grief.
9. We celebrated the incredible work done by NHS heroes, in care homes and by members of the public across Somerset Quite often, it is the worst of situations that brings out the best in people. The coronavirus pandemic was no exception to that, as we highlighted the work done by the heroic staff working for the NHS and by the general public in Somerset during what was a tumultuous few months.
Not only did it give those people the recognition they deserved for their efforts, but it enabled our readers to say thank you.
10. We tried to give people in Somerset a diversion and distraction during lonely and trying times
While the prospect of lockdown proved challenging for hundreds of thousands of Somerset residents, we strove to keep them entertained during the dull and lonely moments.
As well as providing the latest updates around the pandemic, we sought to provide entertainment for our readers by producing quizzes and ways to pass the time.
11. We helped people in Yeovil fight to keep the town’s only hospice open to in-patients When St Margaret’s Hospice announced a proposal to close its in-patient unit in Yeovil, thousands of people signed a petition calling on the charity to reverse its decision.
We took an active role in the Save St Margaret’s Hospice Campaign and covered the stories of several people who were desperately fighting to save it over a period of several months.
Although the campaign to keep the in-patient unit open was ultimately unsuccessful, we helped to draw attention to an extremely emotive issue in the town.
■ Do you have a campaign or a story that you would like us to highlight? Please contact us by emailing somersetcopy@reachplc.com or via the Somerset Live or Bath Live Facebook pages.