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Churchill Hospital day unit nearly doubles cancer treatment

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The oncology day treatment unit (DTU) at Churchill Hospital, part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), expanded its Saturday service in July 2025 and has since almost doubled the number of patients treated on weekends.

By moving routine treatments to Saturdays, the unit has reduced waiting times and freed up weekday capacity for more complex care.

Liz Mellish, ward sister on the oncology DTU at OUH, said: “This project has made a real difference for our patients.

“By expanding our Saturday service, we’ve been able to treat more people, reduce waiting times, and give patients quicker access to the care they need.

“It’s been a huge team effort – our nurses, pharmacy colleagues, support workers, and admin staff have all played a part in making this a success.”

To support the expansion, the unit hired additional Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT)-trained nurses and support staff.

Patient numbers have risen from 112 Saturday treatments in June 2025 to 253 in June 2026.

The rollout took place in two phases: increasing nursing staff in July 2025 and the introduction of an additional nurse in October 2025, which enabled the opening of a dedicated clinic for subcutaneous treatments.

Felicity Taylor‑Drewe, chief operating officer at OUH, said: “We’re incredibly grateful for all of the hard work that our teams have put into these additional clinics.

“Tackling our cancer waiting times is one of our number one priority. Our teams are working tirelessly and innovatively to reduce any delays and ensure patients receive the care they need.”





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Oxford News

Despair as psychic dog makes England V Argentina prediction

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Winston, a whippet from Oxford, has predicted all of England’s matches correctly so far and has now made its call for this evening’s semi-final.

Shaun, Winston’s owner, said: “This is, perhaps, Winston’s boldest statement to date.

“I’m 30 – I’ve never experienced England playing in a FIFA World Cup final before.

READ MORE: Sara Cox’s BBC salary revealed amid £430,000 UK charity collapse

“His predictions have been true to form throughout the entire tournament, but here’s hoping those psychic powers have now run out.”

Shaun is hoping Winston’s powers have vanished as the psychic pooch has predicted Argentina to win and progress through to the final against Spain, causing despair among the dog’s English fans.

Winston’s predictions have become a fixture of the tournament thanks to a light-hearted campaign by Oxford PR agency Fortitude Communications, in support of The Joey Beauchamp Foundation.

Winston, the psychic dog (Image: Fortitude)

The foundation was set up in memory of former Oxford United footballer Joey Beauchamp, who died by suicide in 2022.

The charity aims to support men’s mental health across Oxfordshire.

Each year, one in four adults and one in 10 children in the UK experience mental illness, with around 165,000 people in Oxfordshire impacted—enough to fill the Kassam Stadium more than 13 times.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson issues warning to public ahead of Cotswolds pub event

Shaun said: “Joey’s friends and family want to create a lasting legacy in his honour.

“Mental health challenges can affect any person and can be entirely unforeseen.

“It’s very possible we’ll never know which of our loved ones are handling a particular situation unless we proactively check in.

“So, it’s worthwhile to ignite a conversation not only during this World Cup but beyond the final too.”





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Bottom 20 Oxfordshire GP surgeries revealed – check the list

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The results of the 2026 GP Patient Survey for NHS England were released last week containing data including how easy patients find it to contact their GP as well as reception and administration ratings.

Almost 3 million surveys were distributed by market research agency Ipsos with around 650,000 responses received in England between January and April.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire GP bosses to ‘support improvements’ after NHS survey

The public also gave their views of the ‘overall experience’ of their local GP surgery, ranking them very good, fairly good, neither good nor poor, fairly poor and very poor.

Now, the Oxford Mail has compiled a list of the 20 surgeries that received the highest percentage of very poor votes, with the national average being 4 per cent.

Technically the worst performing GP surgery in Oxfordshire was Luther Street Medical Practice in Oxford with 14 per cent of respondents calling it very poor.

Temple Cowley Surgery (Image: Google Maps)

However only 4 per cent of its patients asked filled in the survey with 55 per cent of them in fact giving it the highest grade, above the national average.

Another Oxford-based surgery, Temple Cowley, wasn’t far behind with 13 per cent saying it is very poor.

Around a quarter of those asked filled in the NHS survey for Temple Cowley (more than the national average), with 3 per cent rating it fairly poor and 12 per cent saying it’s neither good nor poor.

Representatives for both Luther Street and Temple Cowley both said there were reasons for their poor performances.

Luther Street Medical Practice (Image: Google Maps)

The spokesperson for Luther Street said: “Our patients are a unique and often vulnerable population who, like everyone else, require access to regular GP services and ongoing healthcare support.

“Many also face additional challenges that can make accessing and engaging with healthcare more difficult.”

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Temple Cowley explained that it serves a community “with significant levels of deprivation”, with demand rising, workforce pressures and growing patient need all impacting its service.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire GP surgeries hit back after ‘disappointing’ low NHS ranking

Also performing badly were Nuffield Health Centre in Witney and Woodlands Medical Centre in Didcot, which both received 10 per cent very poor scores.

At Oak Tree Health Centre in Didcot, 8 per cent of patients thought it was very poor.

Multiple surgeries were on 3 per cent but Bampton, Long Furlong, St Clement’s and Cogges are included because the percentage of people who called them fairly poor was higher.

The full list is here:

LUTHER STREET MEDICAL PRACTICE (Luther Street, Oxford) – 14 per cent

TEMPLE COWLEY HEALTH CENTRE (Temple Rd, Oxford) – 13 per cent

WOODLANDS MEDICAL CENTRE (Woodlands Road, Didcot) – 10 per cent

NUFFIELD HEALTH CENTRE (Woodstock Road, Oxford) – 10 per cent

OAK TREE HEALTH CENTRE (Tyne Avenue, Didcot) – 8 per cent

DIDCOT HEALTH CENTRE PRACTICE (Britwell Road, Didcot) – 7 per cent

DONNINGTON MEDICAL PARTNERSHIP (Henley Avenue, Oxford) – 6 per cent

THE KEY MEDICAL PRACTICE (Exeter Close, Kidlington) – 6 per cent

MARCHAM RD FAMILY HEALTH CENTRE (Marcham Road, Abingdon) – 5 per cent

MONTGOMERY HOUSE SURGERY (Piggy Lane, Bicester) – 5 per cent

NEWBURY STREET PRACTICE (Mably Way, Wantage) – 5 per cent

THE CHARLBURY MEDICAL CENTRE (Enstone Road, Chipping Norton) – 5 per cent

EYNSHAM MEDICAL GROUP (Conduit Lane, Eynsham) – 4 per cent

BEAUMONT ELMS PRACTICE (Beaumont Street, Oxford) – 4 per cent

WINDRUSH MEDICAL PRACTICE (Welch Way, Witney) – 4 per cent

BARTLEMAS SURGERY (Manzil Way, Oxford) – 4 per cent

BAMPTON SURGERY (Landells, Bampton) – 3 per cent (20 per cent said it was fairly poor)

LONG FURLONG MEDICAL CENTRE (Loyd Close, Abingdon) – 3 per cent (11 per cent said it was fairly poor)

ST. CLEMENT’S SURGERY (Temple Street, Oxford) – 3 per cent (9 per cent said it was fairly poor)

COGGES SURGERY (Cogges Hill Road, Witney) – 3 per cent (8 per cent said it was fairly poor)





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Recycling centre loophole closed stopping illegal activity

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Since the booking system began in January, 67 users have had their access blocked, which Oxfordshire County Council says saves the taxpayer thousands of pounds in disposal costs.

Suspicious patterns of usage has been identified, including unusually high frequencies of visits, the use of multiple sites across Oxfordshire and activity inconsistent with normal household use.

This analysis has identified companies undertaking property clearance activities, handymen, professional gardeners and other businesses generating waste as part of their commercial operations.

Redbridge recycling centre in Oxford (Image: Oxfordshire County Council)

One trader was found to have used the tip service more than 60 times in 2026, visiting all seven sites across Oxfordshire.

Where sufficient evidence is obtained that an individual is abusing the service, access to Oxfordshire’s recycling centres is blocked.

Since the updated rules, recycling, composting and reuse rates have increased month on month, driven by less waste being incinerated or landfilled and more recycled, the council said.

Householders are bringing approximately 10kg more waste per visit than last year (increasing from about 45 to 55kg per visit).

READ MORE: Cafe to shut down just one year after opening

Over £130,000 was saved from February to April 2026, compared to the same period last year, mostly through avoided incineration and landfilling costs.

And more than £10,000 was generated from the new £15 out-of-county charges.

The number of visits to tips is down 36 per cent compared to the same period last year, but County Hall attributes this to better prevention of treader abuse and people brining more waste per visit.

Laura Gordon, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for environment and economy (Image: Supplied)

Laura Gordon, cabinet member for the environment and economy, said: “Household recycling centres are for household waste – not trade waste.

“Trader abuse of the HWRCs costs taxpayers thousands and undercuts legitimate traders who are paying to dispose of waste.

“The measures introduced earlier this year are preventing commercial waste from illegally entering HWRCs, ensuring taxpayers are not covering disposal costs and preventing unfair competition impacting legitimate trade waste operators.”

The county council and Oxfordshire’s district and city councils have been closely monitoring fly-tipping.

A spokesman for the county council said: “Data does not indicate any new trends emerging since the changes were introduced, nor increases outside of normal ranges that may suggest the new HWRC policies are leading to more fly-tipping.

“However, data will continue to be collected and analysed to ensure the best possible understanding of fly-tipping in Oxfordshire.

“A wider review of the changes will be published in December 2026.”

Customers must book a slot online on the council’s website before visiting their tip. Bookings are available up to two weeks in advance or 30 minutes prior, subject to availability.





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