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Category: 3. Business

  • Minister for Health highlights improved outcomes as a result of Virtual Care Initiatives

    The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD has today highlighted the significant progress in the implementation and expansion of Virtual Care across Ireland, delivering enhanced patient outcomes and relieving pressure on hospital capacity.

    Since the commencement of two pilot acute virtual wards at St. Vincent’s University Hospital and in University Hospital Limerick, over 1,500 patients have been admitted, equating to more than 13,800 virtual bed days, freeing up vital hospital space.

    Four new virtual wards have now opened in Our Lady of Lourdes Drogheda, Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore, Mercy Hospital Cork, and St Luke’s Hospital Kilkenny, with plans to launch another acute virtual ward in Galway University Hospital in early 2026.

    Virtual care is becoming an increasingly vital approach to the delivery of acute care at home to patients who would otherwise need to be hospitalised. Community virtual wards have also been established, which, along with a variety of Seedling Projects, are harnessing digital technology to deliver clinically led healthcare to patients across the country.

    Minister Carroll MacNeill said:

    Building on this success, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is expanding all types of virtual ward models nationwide. Letterkenny has been at the forefront of Virtual Care and was one of the first areas to adopt the virtual ward concept. Focusing initially on respiratory disease, the Letterkenny virtual ward has demonstrated remarkable results, including an 18% reduction in acute admissions to Letterkenny Hospital in 2025. Other initiatives include the Community Virtual Ward in Cherry Orchard, which primarily serves older adults who would otherwise require hospital care, allowing patients to receive high-quality care at home while protecting them from hospital-acquired infections.

    The Chief Nursing Officer, Rachel Kenna noted:

    Expanding the delivery of virtual care is central to the Department of Health’s mission to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Ireland. “Digital for Care: A Digital Health Framework for Ireland 2024-2030” sets out a roadmap to digitally transform health services in Ireland and improve access for patients. Establishing and scaling virtual wards is part of wider efforts to revolutionise and modernise the health service, while ensuring high quality services and getting the best value from health system resources.

    The paper on “Ireland’s Future Health and Social Care Workforce”, published by the Minister for Health on 23 December 2025, forms part of the long-term health workforce planning projections and the work underway for future workforce needs. It is essential that new and innovative solutions, such as digital health technologies, artificial intelligence, and virtual care, are maximised to enhance care delivery, optimise resources and overall health system performance.

    Virtual wards are supporting the development of innovative models of care as envisaged under Sláintecare and equipping the right mix of healthcare professionals with the right skills, supported by digital technology is essential to ensuring a sustainable workforce of the future.

    The Department of Health remains committed to expanding clinician-led and innovative virtual care initiatives to every region in Ireland, ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare. By embracing a variety of approaches, regions can tailor solutions to address their unique challenges, population demographics, and resource needs, ensuring that the right care is truly delivered in the right place, at the right time.

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  • Worksop ICU nurses to appeal against contract changes – union

    Worksop ICU nurses to appeal against contract changes – union

    “All the nurses want to do is what they’ve done for decades. We’ve got nurses that have been intensive care for 30 years which is to carry on providing excellent treatment to their patients.

    “I think the trust is really potentially going to lose a lot of valuable expensive and skill by forcing these changes on the nurses,” Mr Rawlinson said.

    The union also said the nurses fear the rotation would lead to Bassetlaw Hospital losing its ICU permanently.

    Karen Jessop, Chief Nurse at DBTH, said: “Our priority is patient safety, and that means ensuring our highly skilled ICU nurses maintain the level of competency critically ill patients rightly expect.

    “Bassetlaw Hospital sees fewer very sick patients, and a short-term rotation with Doncaster is the safest and most effective way to keep those specialist skills up-to-date.

    “We have worked closely with colleagues and unions, and we believe our offer is practical, supportive, and focused on enabling our teams to continue delivering the safest, highest-quality care.”

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  • Changes to Swindon, Didcot and Chippenham trains in January

    Changes to Swindon, Didcot and Chippenham trains in January

    Friday 2 January

    • Long-distance trains between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads or Swansea will not stop at Didcot Parkway, Swindon or Chippenham

    • A shuttle train service will still run between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway, plus Swindon and Cheltenham Spa, Bristol Temple Meads or Westbury

    • Replacement buses will run between Swindon and Didcot Parkway or Reading

    Saturday 3 January, plus the weekends of 10/11, 17/18 and 24/25 January

    • Long-distance trains between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads or Swansea will not stop at Didcot Parkway, Swindon or Chippenham

    • Trains will still run between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway, Swindon and Cheltenham Spa, plus Chippenham and Bristol Temple Meads or Westbury

    • Replacement buses will operate between Swindon and Didcot Parkway or Reading, plus between Swindon and Bristol Parkway or Chippenham

    • Valid rail tickets can also be used to travel on local buses in Bath and Wiltshire

    Sunday 4 January (until before midday)

    • Most GWR trains will start or terminate at Reading instead of London Paddington

    • Some GWR and Elizabeth Line trains will run between Reading and Maidenhead; Elizabeth Line will also operate between Hayes & Harlington and London Paddington

    • Buses will replace trains between Maidenhead, Slough and Hayes & Harlington

    • Trains between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central will be unaffected

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  • Reusing Christmas leftovers in Guernsey can ‘help environment’

    Reusing Christmas leftovers in Guernsey can ‘help environment’

    Finding ways to use leftover Christmas food could help household budgets and the environment, a waste management boss said.

    Douglas Button, waste minimisation and sustainability officer at Guernsey Waste, has urged people to find ways to avoid throwing food not eaten during festive celebrations.

    He said recipes which used leftover food could be found on Guernsey’s Love Food, Hate Waste website.

    Mr Button added people should try to “reuse” as much food as possible over Christmas, even if it meant asking party guests to bring a container with them to take some items home with them.

    “We have several recipes on the website and it’s very handy for using leftovers,” Mr Button said.

    “If it has to be wasted then please put it in your food caddy.

    “But clearly, try not to waste and try to reuse as much as you possibly can as it’s much better for your budget and environmentally its a lot friendlier.”

    Mr Button also issued advice on recycling other items including Christmas trees.

    He said real trees could be taken to the waste and recycling centres at Longue Hougue and Mont Cuet or to some garden centres on the island which offered recycling services.

    Mr Button added unless it had items like sequins or glitter added to it, most wrapping paper would be recyclable.

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  • China revises rules for cross-border RMB payment system

    BEIJING, Dec. 26 — China’s central bank on Friday said that it has revised the rules of the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) to strengthen management and better support the development of cross-border renminbi (RMB) services.

    As CIPS business increases and the number of participants expands, the previous rules are no longer sufficient to meet the development and management needs of those participants, making revisions necessary, according to the People’s Bank of China.

    The updated rules standardize a range of activities, including account registration for participants and operating institutions, the ownership of participants’ settlement funds, and the management of liquidity among participants.

    They also refine the system’s settlement mechanism, and clarify requirements for queue management, transaction cancellations and returns, among other business activities.

    The revised rules will take effect on Feb. 1, 2026.

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  • Monitoring strain evolution in water-sand systems using distributed acoustic sensing for geohazard early warning

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  • No longer ‘unloved’: retailers investing more in physical stores, UK data shows | Retail industry

    No longer ‘unloved’: retailers investing more in physical stores, UK data shows | Retail industry

    UK retailers are investing more in bricks and mortar, with shopping centres and food stores leading a revival, according to research.

    Retailers and property investors are reallocating capital back into physical stores, according to the property group Knight Frank.

    The switch represents a fillip for high streets and shopping centres after a difficult decade, which culminated in the shutdown of most stores during pandemic lockdowns and an accompanying surge in online shopping.

    The growth in online retail has fallen back and flatlined at between 26% and 28% of overall retail sales since a peak of 35% in mid-2020.

    Retail has outperformed all other types of commercial property this year, with 9.2% returns on investments in the year to September, Knight Frank said. This is ahead of industrial properties, at 9.1% and offices at 3.2%.

    Shopping centres and food stores are the joint top performers this year, each delivering 10.2% growth in returns.

    Shopping centres such as Bluewater in Kent are seeking to attract people with ‘experiences’ and activities including zip wiring. Photograph: supplied

    Shopping centres are now seeking to attract visitors with “experiences” and activities such as zipwires and darts, to complement shops. While large centres tend to do well, smaller, older malls are suffering because retail chains’ preference for fewer larger stores, Knight Frank said.

    Next year, retail property is forecast to deliver investment returns of 9.5%.

    Will Lund, the head of retail capital markets at Knight Frank, said: “With online penetration flatlining and retailers reinvesting in physical space, the narrative around retail has fundamentally changed. We have great confidence that this demand is going to drive a return to decade-high investment volumes in 2026 and we are expecting a busy year.”

    In November, the chief executive of the commercial property development and investment company Landsec, Mark Allan, said it was prioritising buying more retail assets over the next 12 to 18 months, in a sector that had long been considered “unloved”.

    Landsec, which owns and manages large shopping centres such as Bluewater in Kent and Trinity Leeds, has sold £295m of offices as it shifts towards retail and residential. The company is in talks to buy the Silverburn shopping centre near Glasgow for £250m early next year.

    British Land, another big developer, focuses mainly on London office campuses and retail parks. “Office attendance is accelerating, retailers are expanding out of town, and supply remains very constrained across both markets,” its chief executive, Simon Carter, has said.

    Landsec is in talks to buy the Silverburn shopping centre near Glasgow for £250m early next year. Photograph: Jeff Holmes JSHPIX/REX/Shutterstock

    A number of shopping centres have changed hands this year and supermarkets and other food stores have increased sale-and-leaseback transactions.

    Knight Frank is managing the sale of Merry Hill near Dudley and expects to sell the West Midlands shopping complex for £300m, with 10 investors bidding.

    Last month, Frasers Group, the owner of Sports Direct, bought the Braehead shopping centre near Glasgow, one of Scotland’s busiest, from SGS UK Retail in a deal reportedly worth £220m.

    Knight Frank estimated that £5.8bn was invested in retail assets in 2025, down 17% from the previous year because of a shortage of properties. Transaction levels rose in the second half if the year, and with pricing strengthening, that momentum is expected to carry into 2026.

    Charlie Barke, the head of capital markets at Knight Frank, said: “We’ve got fewer willing sellers because people are expecting these assets to start to perform well again. So stock supply to the market is limited for the first time in quite a long time, and now demand for investments exceeds supply in the retail sector.”

    Across the country, 13.5% of shops stand empty, the lowest vacancy rate since 2020, with a further drop expected next year.

    On the high street, £420m of shops were traded in the second half of 2025, up 150% on the first half. Prime centres and regional cities are expected to deliver rental growth of 6.9% this year.

    Sam Waterworth, a partner at Knight Frank, said: “Retail has decisively turned a corner with 2025 marking the high street’s rebound.”

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  • Lower Thames Crossing: Highways spent £50m buying affected houses

    Lower Thames Crossing: Highways spent £50m buying affected houses

    Purchasing properties affected by large-scale construction projects is common practice, and is often carried out well in advance of work taking place.

    A spokesperson for National Highways said the LTC would “improve journeys and bring significant benefits to people and businesses across the region”, but acknowledged there would be “an impact on properties along the route of the new road”.

    “Through a comprehensive programme of consultation we have been able to significantly reduce the number affected by almost 70%, and reached voluntary agreements with many,” they said.

    The spokesperson added that National Highways had been in touch “with all people with an interest in land affected by the project for almost a decade”, and was “committed to paying a fair market value to property owners.”

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  • Silver crosses $77 mark while gold, platinum stretch record highs

    Silver breached the $77 mark for the first time on Friday, while gold and platinum hit record highs, buoyed by expectations of U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts and geopolitical tensions that fueled safe-haven demand.

    Spot silver jumped 7.5% to $77.30 per ounce, as of 1:53 p.m. ET (1853 GMT), after touching an all-time high of $77.40 earlier today, marking a 167% year-to-date surge driven by supply deficits, its designation as a U.S. critical mineral, and strong investment inflows.

    Spot gold was up 1.2% at $4,531.41 per ounce, after hitting a record $4,549.71 earlier. U.S. gold futures for February delivery settled 1.1% higher at $4,552.70.

    “Expectations for further Fed easing in 2026, a weak dollar and heightened geopolitical tensions are driving volatility in thin markets. While there is some risk of profit-taking before the year-end, the trend remains strong,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.

    Markets are anticipating two rate cuts in 2026, with the first likely around mid-year amid speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump could name a dovish Fed chair, reinforcing expectations for a more accommodative monetary stance.

    The U.S. dollar index was on track for a weekly decline, enhancing the appeal of dollar-priced gold for overseas buyers.

    On the geopolitical front, the U.S. carried out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria, Trump said on Thursday.

    “$80 in silver is within reach by year-end. For gold, the next objective is $4,686.61, with $5,000 likely in the first half of next year,” Grant added.

    Gold remains poised for its strongest annual gain since 1979, underpinned by Fed policy easing, central bank purchases, ETF inflows, and ongoing de-dollarization trends.

    On the physical demand side, gold discounts in India widened to their highest in more than six months this week as a relentless price rally curbed retail buying, while discounts in China narrowed sharply from last week’s five-year highs.

    Elsewhere, spot platinum rose 9.8% to $2,437.72 per ounce, having earlier hit a record high of $2,454.12 while palladium surged 14% to $1,927.81, its highest level in more than three years.

    All precious metals logged weekly gains, with platinum recording its strongest weekly rise on record.


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  • Sound Mechanics: Sheppard’s Auto Service still firing on all cylinders 50 years in | News, Sports, Jobs

    Sound Mechanics: Sheppard’s Auto Service still firing on all cylinders 50 years in | News, Sports, Jobs

    Sheppard’s Auto Service, located at 1903 Seventh St. in Parkersburg, commemorated its 50th anniversary in 2025. The business has maintained a commitment to customer service by giving people what they need and not trying to sell them something they don’t. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

    PARKERSBURG — Sheppard’s Auto Service celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.

    The business was founded by John Sheppard who became interested in working on cars in high school which led him to an automotive school in St. Louis after he graduated from Parkersburg High School in 1964. He came back to Parkersburg and worked at Hupp-Wharton Cadillac Olds for 10 years.

    After considering going into the ministry, Sheppard felt God was guiding him in a different direction which led him to open his own business in 1975 with the help of his friend David Hale, a vice president at United National Bank.

    Sheppard passed away Jan. 8, 2024. However, the business remains, marking its 50th anniversary in May.

    “(Hale) was really a wonderful man, and he was the one who helped us get started,” said Helen Sheppard, John’s wife. “John always liked working for Wharton, but he wanted his own business.”

    They worked with Hale and set up financing. A neighbor agreed to rent them space behind the IGA store on Seventh Street, around where Astorg Ford is now, she said. The address was officially on Homeland Avenue, a dead end street to which they always had to give directions.

    “When we started, we had John as the mechanic and me in the office,” Helen said, adding they were soon able to hire another mechanic.

    In the beginning, the Sheppards were all at the garage along with their children Angie and Blaine, who would play nearby. Helen originally worked in the office, did the banking, drove people home and back while their cars were worked on and was a parts runner.

    As time went on they eventually were able to hire a number of mechanics and someone who could do the office work.

    They were at that original location until 1983 when they got financing and had their current location built at 1903 Seventh St.

    “That is how we did it, just working and paying those bills every month,” Helen said. “John believed in treating people fairly and being honest with people.

    “He did not believe in trying to get people to pay for things they did not need. He always did his best, and he tried to be fair.”

    John approached people and their cars like he would approach his own vehicle, his wife said.

    “We always did what we thought was right to help people,” she said. “We have had a lot of good people working for us.”

    Danny Egbert, has worked at Sheppard’s for over 47 years as a mechanic and now runs the garage.

    “A lot of the leadership from John has kept the business going and built the business over the years,” he said. “We try to carry on his legacy.”

    Sheppard sold the business to his son Blaine 13 years ago on Oct. 1, 2012, when he semi-retired, but remained a presence at the garage until he passed.

    “It was in his blood,” Egbert said. “The key to the success of the business is we have always tried to be honest with people and treat people how we would want to be treated.

    “We try our best not to do any unnecessary work. If they need something done, it actually needs done.”

    The biggest change over the years has been the cars themselves and the systems they have had to learn to fix and deal with, resulting in the garage having to invest in more expensive equipment and the training to use it, Helen said.

    “John was always learning, and he always had to learn something new,” she said, adding they also had other mechanic friends and some of the dealerships who could help them out from time to time if there was something new or unique they encountered.

    “He loved cars,” Helen said. “He worked hard.”

    Blaine Sheppard said his father would not have been surprised that the garage was still going.

    “I think he would have expected it to still be here,” he said.

    His father always enjoyed talking with people, which is why he kept going in after he sold the business, Blaine said. The people who worked there were like family to him.

    “Relationships were what it was all about for him,” he said. “It was all about the customers. He did not mind talking to people. He enjoyed talking to people.”

    In an article that ran in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel on June 7, 2015 to commemorate the business’ 40th anniversary, John Sheppard praised the customers who have continually brought their cars to them to work on and for recommending the garage to other people.

    “We have been blessed with so many great customers,” he said. “It has been great. You build relationships with so many people. Some of the customers I have go back 50 years, when I worked at Wharton’s. I have customers that I worked on their cars back in the ’60s. I am definitely working on their grandkids’ cars now.

    “It is amazing how God has blessed us with so many customers. They are more than just customers; they are friends.”

    Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com

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