IPSWICH Hospital has been suffering for years from severe financial constraints.Over the last 12 months the financial picture has deteriorated further and for a time the trust which runs it has been facing a serious financial crisis.

IPSWICH Hospital has been suffering for years from severe financial constraints.

Over the last 12 months the financial picture has deteriorated further and for a time the trust which runs it has been facing a serious financial crisis.

The Evening Star has sought to cover the problems faced by the hospital in great detail, however whenever we have published stories we have tried to make it clear there are thousands of dedicated staff working at Heath Road to make life better for the patients they serve.

Last night's hospital awards was the opportunity to recognise and reward the staff who have really gone out of their way to improve life at the hospital, and amid all the problems at Heath Road it was very good to see so many people turning up for the awards.

If there was any doubt about the determination of the staff to do their best for their patients, their colleagues, and the community as a whole, those fears would have been dashed by anyone at the ceremony.

The Star is proud to have once again sponsored the patients' award - the only one which is chosen by those who are treated in the hospital.

And it was very encouraging to hear hospital trust chairman Mike Brooks tell those who were at the ceremony that the first green shoots of financial recovery are starting to be seen after all the difficult times.

There is now hope that Ipswich Hospital can emerge from its financial nightmare - and that recovery should be boosted by having some of the finest people employed by the NHS.

RAIL services between London and East Anglia have once again been thrown into chaos but overhead line problems in Essex.

Yesterday's problems at Ingatestone show once again why it is vital to replace the ancient pre-nationalisation overhead lines that power our rail link to the capital.

Network Rail announced last week that the wires are to be replaced over the next two years as part of a £50 million investment programme.

For hundreds of thousands of commuters who rely on that link to get to and from Liverpool Street each day that replacement work cannot come fast enough. They are entitled to ask why it is taking so long to replace equipment dating from the mid-1940s.

In the meantime those who have to travel to London are facing yet another day of delays and overcrowded trains trying to cope on a network that has been starved of investment for too long.

FOR fans of both Ipswich and Norwich the 2006/7 football season will not be looked back on with any great affection.

High hopes in August quickly evaporated and both clubs briefly flirted with the relegation zone before recovering to the heady heights of mid-table obscurity.

But for both the season has been kept alive by the prospect of this Sunday's local derby match - and Town with Danny Haynes in fine form will be confident of keeping up their good recent record against the old enemy.