Doctors are warning Scotland will be short of 750 GPs within six years because of a shortage of training places. With the equivalent of one in six posts for family doctors lying vacant, they say this scenario could mean patients no longer have their own GP.

The Scottish Health Awards recognise the professionals across the many sectors of the nation’s health service, from hospitals to consultants and volunteers. One group who are often overlooked are the many hundreds of people working with the Scottish Prison Service, providing the same level of care to inmates which is available to the general public. John Porter, nursing services manager at the Scottish Prison Service, felt the work carried out by Frank Gibbons deserved special recognition and he has nominated the health care manager from Barlinnie for the Unsung Heroes Award.

A disabled former nurse – unable to dial a phone, dress, feed or wash herself – is to have her council care slashed by more than half in November. Victoria Shanks (58), a resident of Inverness, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), is one of the first victims of Highland Council’s cuts in home care. Her package will be reduced from 147 hours a week to just 62.5 hours, taking away her carer who stays overnight. Friends of the former Raigmore Hospital nurse and midwife fear her health could be put at risk. While carers at Inverness’s MS therapy centre fear others could experience similar cuts and be forced into residential homes.

Serious shortcomings in the monitoring of violent offenders in the community have been highlighted by Scotland’s social work watchdog, which blamed poor leadership for a catalogue of failures. The Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA) said staff in Dumfries and Galloway must also make better use of risk assessments to analyse the risk of criminals re-offending. In its first full report on social work performance in Scotland, inspectors also described strategic leadership as “unsatisfactory” and raised questions about quality of services provided to the public.

A string of failings in social work services in Dumfries and Galloway has been blamed on a lack of leadership by the department’s senior management. Systemic issues which have undermined services and left staff demoralised are outlined in a critical report by the new Social Work Inspection Agency.

Scotland’s children should help build the future of the country, by contributing to planning and architecture. The call has been made by Children in Scotland, the national agency for organisations and professionals working with and for children, young people and their families. It claims children must be involved in the planning and design process from the outset so that the country’s built environment meets their needs. It maintains all children – “even the youngest” – have views which under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child they have the right to express “and be given due weight.

An influx of immigrants from eastern Europe has stretched Scottish GPs to breaking point, according to the British Medical Association. Doctors have said they need more resources but the Scottish Executive has insisted that funding has increased by 48% since 2003.GP practices have seen 46,000 more patients registering since April 2005.

The charity that raises funds for armed forces veterans and their dependents revealed an identity change yesterday. Formerly the Earl Haig Fund Scotland, officials at Poppyscotland hope the new name will give the charity a more modern image and make its work more recognisable with the public. The name Earl Haig Fund Scotland will continue to be the legally registered name.

Vital services which help many of Scotland most vulnerable children and families are overstretched, a leading charity has claimed. NCH Scotland has submitted evidence to a Scottish Parliament inquiry into family support services. It identified short-term project funding and a lack of qualified social workers as two of the key issues affecting voluntary service providers. The charity provides a wide range of family support services in Scotland. Its family support work seeks to strengthen family relationships and provide children with the best start in life.

Deaf people looking for a translator in Tayside have been given a helping hand by two new websites which stream their content into sign language. Freelance translators Morag Doig and Jennifer Ramsay have launched websites which advertise their services in both English text and British Sign Language (BSL) video clips. With BSL the first language of many of Scotland’s 57,000 people with severe hearing problems, it is hoped the new websites will help make finding a translator less of a challenge.