Probe continues into man’s death

POLICE are continuing to investigate a suspected murder after the death of a man in Plymouth.

Officers were called to Shelley Way in St Budeaux last Thursday after receiving reports of concerns for the welfare of a man.

The man in his 70s was taken to Derriford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead during the early hours of Friday morning.

A police cordon was set up around the scene as officers continued their investigation into the death.

Police said later that a Plymouth man in his 50s had been arrested on suspicion of murder and that the suspect and deceased were known to each other.

A spokesperson for the force said: “Both parties are known to each other and we are not currently seeking anyone else in relation to this matter.”

An appeal for witnesses has been issued as part of the investigation.

Police said they were called at 9.55pm last Thursday night and that the man’s next of kin had been informed of his death.

Anyone with any information which may assist the investigation is asked to contact police on 101 quoting CR/012894/21.

ALMOST 200 staff at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital were off sick due to coronavirus over the month of January and into February, the latest available figures show.

The data, released by NHS England, shows how many staff were absent from University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust between January 1 and February 3.

The data includes coronavirusrelated absences, including being told to self-isolate due to coming into contact with a Covid-positive person, as well as those who had tested positive for the virus themselves or are in shielding.

In total, 599 staff were absent from their duties at Derriford Hospital as of February 3. Of that number, 403 were said to be “general absences”, with musculoskeletal issues, such as back ache, provided as one of the examples of sickness.

The other 196 staff member’s sickness was attributed to Covid 19 “either through sickness or self-isolation”. That number was significantly lower that the 847 staff members off on November 18, with 281 related to Covid-19, despite the fact that in January Derriford was seeing more Covid-19 patients occupying beds at the hospital.

January 24 saw the highest number of Covid patients in beds at the hospital, with 124, which was the highest number of patients with confirmed coronavirus that the hospital had seen at one time.

That same day, there were 240 staff off due to coronavirus. January 22 saw the highest Covid-19 related staff sickness for that month, with 265 employees absent.

January 1 saw the lowest number of Covid-19 related absence for that period, with 144 staff absent.

Between January 6 to February 3, 217 coronavirus patients were discharged from the hospital.

GLOBAL rock superstar Roger Taylor from Queen - who grew up in Truro and has a home on the Helford river - has slammed the effects of Brexit on the music industry.

The renowned drummer may have had a hit with I Want To Break Free but he definitely doesn’t want to break free from Europe.

Taylor is one of 100 musicians who have signed an open letter to the government complaining about the impact that Brexit will have on their ability to tour in Europe.

British musicians may be forced to pay for country-specific visas and equipment ‘passports’ when touring the continent. The situation has been condemned by the British music industry as prohibitively expensive and laborious, potentially limiting its £5.8bn contribution to the economy.

The Queen songwriter told Radio 4’s The World This Weekend: “Borders ... what a dreadful invention of mankind. We’re putting up another one. I think it’s a dreadful retrograde step.

“I know all our road crew and all the guys that make our tour work, they’re the ones who have suffered, not so much the artist. We can fall back on our songwriting and publishing.”