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In Search of Hope – by Sam Gannon

Seconded to the parish of Tililngdon, the Reverend Dolores has been presented with a challenge.

She’s living in an antiquated house and she’s cold. Furthermore, her new Bishop, Bishop Alice does not approve of ‘showgirls in dog collars.’

Determined to prove the Bishop wrong, she sets about warming her house – who cares if it smells of horse! There is the crochet club, jumble sale, and soup run to organise. And this year, the church bells will ring, no matter what threats are made. Even more so, the newly formed choir will spread a little joy this Christmas, even though they can’t sing – yet! And with a little help from Phil, her bassist, this year could be full of magic.

However, she has a fight on her hands as the townies out in Knob Hill – she must stop calling it that, are trying to stop her from ringing her bells. When Krystal with a K decides to do some volunteer work, Dolores sets out to see just how committed she really is.

Up to her ears in granny squares and squawking choristers, Dolores is revving up for Christmas, yet a deeper darker secret is beginning to emerge!

A secret that could blow the whole parish apart and put Dolores in danger.

(available from Amazon)

The Regional Government of Madeira has launched a new website for health screenings, a digital platform designed to centralise all information about the prevention programmes available in the region.

According to the Regional Secretary for Health and Civil Protection, Micaela Freitas, the objective is to facilitate people’s access to information. “We are here to present the screening site. It is a website that will concentrate all the information of the screenings that are done in Madeira,” she explained.

She went on to say that the platform seeks to clarify essential doubts about each programme. “When I say information, I am talking about what the screening is, what the objectives are, where you should go and who you can talk to. Through the website, users can also be referred to the user portal, where they can consult their individual situation.”

Currently, five to six screenings are active in the Region, including cervical cancer, colon and rectal cancer, breast cancer, diabetic retinopathy, and child visual health. In addition to these, there is a more recent programme aimed at chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). “This screening was implemented in November 2025.”

According to the Regional Secretary, the new website comes as a complement to the existing tools. “We already had the ‘contact centre,’ where anyone could call and have the information they wanted. The website is another tool to reach people,” she said, noting that this is a tool that allows transparency, so that we all know how the screenings work and whether we are covered or not.

Regarding COPD screening, Micaela Freitas revealed that about 700 people have already joined the screening programme, while recognising that people are sceptical and that it it a recent introduction. “What we do is clarify what the benefits of early detection of this disease are, so that people realise how important screening is.”

Micaela Freitas was asked about the follow-up of patients after positive results, regarding colon and rectum screening. She admitted that “the screening of the rectal neck has gone through some constraints, not only as a result of not having as many gastroenterologists as we would have liked in the Regional Health Service,” she explained, adding that the problem has been resoloved.

You can access the new platform here.

Samantha Gannon

info at madeira-weekly.com

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