内容摘要：The BBC understands there are up to six parties interested in taking a stake in Thames Water.

The BBC understands there are up to six parties interested in taking a stake in Thames Water.

Jayne Black, chief executive of Medway NHS Trust, apologised to patients and said the trust was working with pest control experts to clean and monitor the ward.In 2023, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed the trust's pest control services had responded to 215 call outs for rodents in the previous year.

In the 2022-23 financial year it also spent £28,276 on pest control services.In a statement, Ms Black said: "We are very sorry for the distress caused to patients. We are working closely with pest control experts and hospital colleagues to clean and monitor the area to prevent any further issues, as we take the cleanliness and hygiene of our wards very seriously."As part of our preventative measures we have introduced an advanced system using infrared and Bluetooth technology to detect pests.

"We also work hard to minimise opportunities for pests to access our buildings, and encourage staff, visitors and patients to report any incidents immediately, so we can take action at the earliest opportunity and make the improvements needed."An NHS trust covering parts of East Sussex and West Sussex said it has reduced its waiting list by 18.5%.

The University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust said the number of "people waiting for a planned hospital appointment, treatment or service" fell from 149,000 to 121,500 in the 12 months to December 2024.

"Clearly, too many people are waiting too long to access hospital services," said chief executive Dr George Findlay, adding: "I wish to apologise to everyone who continues to wait for treatment at one of our hospitals."But when asked about how people will cope, ministers are inevitably pointing to this increase as evidence of how the government is helping out.

Yes, it is not all doom and gloom today.There is an increase in the minimum wage - up to £12.21 an hour for over 21s - and there are increases too for younger workers and apprentices.

Official figures show that average wages have been rising faster than prices. The state pension and benefits will also go up from next week.This will certainly help pay some of those bills, and you won't see the impact directly until you look at your bank balance in the coming weeks.