6 ***^ Friday 16 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
Sacked worker campaigns for pet bereavement leave
By Katie O’Neill
A RESTAURANT worker who claims
she was sacked for missing a shift be-
cause her dog had died has launched a
campaign to introduce pet bereave-
ment leave.
Emma McNulty, 18, from Glasgow,
said she was left distraught after the
sudden death of her family dog, Millie,
and was too upset to report for her shift
at a fast food outlet the following day.
She claims the management did not
accept the death of her pet as a valid ex-
cuse for missing work and refused to
grant her a day off to mourn the York-
shire terrier that she “grew up” with.
“After my pet’s unexpected death, I
informed my manager I could not come
into work as I was too devastated and
physically sick to do so. Instead of be-
ing shown the compassion and sympa-
thy stated in the contract, I was sent a
number of nasty messages and told I
had to cover my shift as no bereave-
ment time was allowed for pets.”
Ms McNulty said she did not attend
her shift and was let go as a result.
“A family pet, in my case my dog, has
just as much importance as a humanfamily member. It’s time companies ac-
knowledged this and gave people the
time they need to grieve.”
A petition launched by Ms McNulty
had gained more than 3,000 signatures
by yesterday afternoon.
Last September, a new workplace
right to leave for bereaved parents was
approved. The law will give parents a
right to two weeks’ leave if they lose a
child under the age of 18 or suffer a
stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy.
It will come into force in 2020 and does
not cover mourning for animals.
Blue Cross, which runs an animalbereavement service, said employers
should not underestimate the effect the
death of a pet can have on its owner.
Diane James, the pet bereavement
support service manager at Blue Cross,
said: “We have been supporting griev-ing pet owners for 25 years and we
know how devastating the loss of a pet
can be.
“The despair, grief and sadness own-
ers feel when their pet dies can be as
much as, or even more than, when they
lose a human member of the family, so
should never be taken lightly.”
Ms James said Blue Cross supported
employers who offer bereavement
leave to allow time for pet owners to
come to terms with their loss.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbi-
tration Service (Acas), which provides
impartial employment law advice, saidthat while animal bereavement was not
covered by legislation, employers
should recognise that the death of a pet
can affect an employee’s well-being.
A spokesman said: “Bereavement is a
very personal issue and can affect dif-
ferent people in different ways. It can
impact a person’s mental health.
“Pets are not specifically mentioned
within workplace bereavement legisla-
tion but the death of a beloved animal
can impact a worker’s mental health
and a good employer should be sensi-
tive and mindful of their employees’
well-being.”Surgery raises
risk of ‘silent
strokes’ in
the elderly
By Henry Bodkin
HealtH Correspondent
UNDERGOING surgery in old age
raises the risk of “silent strokes” that
damage the brain, scientists have
warned.
A study reveals that pensioners who
have an operation have a one in 14
chance of suffering a silent or “covert”
stroke – an event that shows no obvi-
ous symptoms but can hasten cognitive
decline.
More than 1,100 patients across the
world were given MRI scans nine days
after some form of major non-cardiac
surgery.
When they were followed up a year
later to assess their cognitive abilities,
researchers found that not only did “si-
lent strokes” double the chance of cog-
nitive decline, they also increased the
chance of a full, life-threatening stroke.
Dr Marko Mrkobrada, associate pro-
fessor of medicine at the University of
Western Ontario, said: “Surgeons are
now able to operate on older and sicker
patients thanks to improvements in
surgical and anaesthetic techniques.
“But, despite the benefits of surgery,
we also need to understand the risks.”
The authors of the study, published
in The Lancet, say it highlights the cru-
cial role played by the vascular system
on brain health.
Roughly one in 200 people aged
over 65 who have a major operation go
on to suffer an “overt” stroke.
A normal stroke, such as an ischemic
stroke, cuts off blood supply to certain
parts of the brain. It is often identifiable
by symptoms such as slurred speech,
numbness, or loss of movement in the
face or body.
However, a silent stroke is hard to
recognise because it disrupts blood
supply to parts of the brain that do not
control any visible functions.
Emma McNulty:
‘A family pet has just
as much importance
as a human family
member’Patients condemn £1,500 parking
charges for mobile cancer unit
By Greg WilfordA COUNCIL charged a mobile NHS
breast cancer screening unit £1,500 in
parking charges, prompting a backlash
from patients who described the fees as
“disgusting”.
Cornwall council issued the bill after
a lorry used to offer routine mammo-
grams to women aged 50 to 71 stayed at
a car park in Liskeard for six months
last year.
After the figure emerged, the local
authority said it would no longer
charge the NHS vehicle for parking,
following a “recent review”.
One patient described the parking
fees as “disgusting”, adding: “The NHS
is facing a funding crisis, the hospital is
on black alert and health workers are
struggling.
“We are constantly told about how
little money the health service has.
“Most of the women will be parkingup in the same car parks and paying for
the time spent there – so the NHS is
bringing the car park business anyway.
“I believe the council gave the NHS a
discount, but also heard that other
county councils don’t charge at all. I
think there are certain supermarketsthat allow them to park up for free, too.”
Cornwall council said it could not
confirm the total figure for parking
charges issued against the NHS’s mo-
bile screening unit.
A spokesman said: “In 2018 there
was a charge of £1,500 to cover theparking of the unit for six months at
Westbourne car park in Liskeard.
“Following a recent review there is
now no charge made to the NHS for
parking their mammogram vehicle in
Cornwall council pay-and-display car
parks.”
A council spokesman said they were
waiting to confirm whether the £1,
fee has been or will be enforced.
The figure emerged days after Royal
Cornwall Hospital confirmed it is on
“black alert”, meaning it cannot guar-
antee life-saving emergency care.
Officials urged people to use other
services after the alert, which was said
to be largely due to an increase in sum-
mer holiday patients.
The NHS Breast Screening Pro-
gramme detects cancer in about eight
out of every 1,000 women having
screening. More than 2 million women
have breast cancer screening in the UK
every year.Last orders at
university bar as
students stay sober
By Yohannes LoweA SCOTTISH university has shut down
its student union bar as students in-
creasingly turn to coffee.
Abertay University in Dundee said
stocking alcohol at Bar One was no
longer viable as sales had plummeted.
Alcohol sales have fallen by 66 per
cent since 2014 as students choose
healthier alternatives. The figures re-
flect a millennial trend that shuns alco-
hol and views drunkenness as
embarrassing. Students also appear to
be more aware of the harmful effects of
binge drinking.
A spokesman said: “Student tastes
have shifted from a bar setting toward a
daytime café culture ... sales have drop-
ped by two thirds in the last five years,
and from Sept we will no longer offer
food or drink in this area.”
Bar One is understood to be the first
student union bar in the UK to stop
selling alcohol because of falling de-
mand. Students who do drink will be
able to go to a neighbouring university
bar, which has traditionally been the
more popular venue.
Figures show the number of young
people shunning alcohol has doubled
in 10 years, driven by their view that
drinking is “for older adults”.News
Dark lady
Laura
Carmichael,
who plays
Lady Edith in
Downton
Abbey, is the
cover star of
September’s
Town and
Country,
which goes
on sale next
Thursday.
The film
version of
the hit series
opens in
cinemas on
Sept 13.TOWN AND COUNTRY/RICHARD PHIBBS2m
The number of women screened for breast
cancer in the UK every year. Cancer is
found in eight out of every 1,000 women.Buzz in the countryside A farm has grown a 55ft-wide bee from black, white and yellow blooms in the heart of its confetti flower crop. Shropshire Petals,
near Newport, is eager to protect the declining bee population and will be keeping the area of the field as a wildlife haven for the rest of the summer.РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS