• Health network

Health Network

You don’t have to be a health professional or deliver health services to have a positive impact on the health of the community you serve.

The CVS Health Network supports and informs organisations and individuals who engage with the community and who are therefore well placed to cascade opportunities, news, training and resources.  This in turn benefits and informs that community – consequently having a positive impact on health.  Anyone may join the Health Network – this is an open-information resource.  Local information circulated will link either directly or indirectly to health.  Contact Vicky Attwood for more information.

Health Information

Alzheimer’s Research UK presents #sharetheorange – share with others

New online video – campaign launched on 18 January 2016. Produced by Aardman Animations, featuring actor Christopher Eccleston, whose father suffered from dementia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9MvEZskR6o

The background explanation is at: http://www.aardman.com/ais-london-aardman-create-campaign-for-alzheimers-research-uk/

For every video share the Telegraph will donate £1 to Alzheimer’s Research UK.* Watch the below video and share now: »http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wellbeing/alzheimers-research/living-with-alzheimers/

Zika Virus

Please click here to read a letter regarding the Zika virus from Public Health England.

Be Clear On Cancer – Blood in Pee Cancer Campaign 15 February-31 March 2016

On 15 February 2016, Public Health England will be running a national campaign to raise awareness of “blood in pee” as a symptom of bladder and kidney cancers. A range of resources for the “blood in pee” campaign are now available on the Campaign Resource Centre

Did you know?
If bladder and kidney cancers are diagnosed at the earliest stage, one year survival is as high as 92 – 96%. At a late stage it drops to just 27% – 37%.  See campaign briefing sheet for more info.

Do you have some office space available which could earn your charity an income?

Lancashire Care Foundation Trust are looking for suitable locations for the delivery of mental health services following the closure of Daniels Lane to ensure continued delivery of services in Skelmersdale.  If anyone can offer accommodation for this service, or know of anyone else who might be able to help, please contact Phil Winnard, to chat about what may be possible.  The service requires small rooms suitable for 2/3 people for assessments and 1:1 meetings – 4/5 rooms if possible.

Phil can be contacted on 07775868805 / Phil.Winnard@Lancashirecare.nhs.uk

Dial a doctor to avoid a trip to A&E

Patients in West Lancashire are being encouraged to use the GP Out of Hours service this winter and potentially avoid a wasted trip to Accident and Emergency (A&E).

Local intelligence shows some patients are not aware that the GP Out of Hours service is available, and is run by local GPs. This means they are often delaying treatment after a GP practice is closed or are defaulting to A&E.

Dr Peter Gregory, local GP and board member of NHS West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “We are aware that many patients are unsure how to access this GP service. Many seem reluctant to call the practice out of hours because they think they will be getting their doctor out of bed.

“As a result patients are either waiting in pain and discomfort until the next working day to get an appointment – possibly risking their health – or are presenting at A&E often with problems that are not emergencies. We want to make it clear to patients across West Lancashire that local GPs are accessible 24 hours a day – even out of hours and on bank holidays.”

The advice to patients who become unwell is that they should think about whether they can self-care in the first instance – not all health issues need medical attention and many can be managed safely in the home.

The pharmacy minor ailments scheme means that you can have a consultation with your pharmacist and obtain advice about treatment. If you don’t pay for prescriptions, the treatment the pharmacist recommends is also free.

But if patients do require medical attention then the next port of call should be their GP. They can access medical care from a GP 24 hours a day – if their surgery is closed, just dial 111.

To find your local NHS services, go to www.nhs.uk to use the free service finder.

Four charities partner for World Cancer Day 2016

Cancer Research UK, Breast Cancer Care, Anthony Nolan and the Movember Foundation are working together in the lead-up to World Cancer Day 2016.  The charities have got together as part of a two week campaign, which starts on Thursday 21 January, and culminates in World Cancer Day on 4 February 2016. It is the first time UK charities have collaborated in aid of the awareness day, which Cancer Research UK launched in the UK last year.

Supporters are encouraged to get a “Unity Band”, which is available from each charity in their own colours, for a suggested donation of £2. All money raised through the sales of the wrist bands will go towards the “vital research projects and support services of each charity”.

The website for World Cancer Day 2016 is at www.worldcancerday.co.uk

West Lancs CCG Community Health Services Procurement

Please click here to link to West Lancs CCG’s website and click here to go to Contracts Finder.

30-9-15 Bidder event – please click here to see the CCG’s presentation

23-11-15 Learning Session – please click the links to see the presentations:

This is the document that will help organisations ‘sell themselves’ to providers – VCFS organisation summary form

8-12-15 CVS AGM follow up presentation – click here for the presentation

9-12-15 CCG stakeholder event – click here for the presentation

Patient Online

NHS England wants to increase the use of online GP services and would like to ask other partners to share #patientonline on their websites, social media and newsletters. Many GPs offer online services to their patients for which patients have to sign up. Online services do not replace traditional ways of contacting your GP practice, over the phone or in person. They simply offer additional ways to interact with your GP, making it easier and more convenient. For more information, go to:  http://www.nhs.uk/aboutNHSChoices/aboutnhschoices/find-and-choose-services/Pages/gp-online-services.aspx and https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/patient-online/

Healthwatch Autumn/ Winter Newsletter

See link: http://healthwatchlancashire.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/AutumnWinterNewsletter_web.pdf

CQC Invisible Conditions Campaign

CQC have launched an Invisible Conditions Campaign targeting those with long term conditions such as depression, diabetes, heart disease and COPD.  They know that people living with long term conditions access health and social care services on a regular basis and so their feedback on care will help CQC inspectors decide when, where and what to inspect.  They want to hear their experiences – both good and bad. 

CQC will be engage with people with invisible conditions on Twitter (@CareQualityComm) asking them to share their experiences of care using the hashtag #InvisibleConditions. To find out more about the campaign, visit http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/invisible-conditions

Stay Well This Winter campaign 

The Stay Well This Winter campaign is aimed at helping people prepare against the onset of winter and to raise awareness among those in key risk groups – such as the frail and elderly and those with long term conditions and respiratory illnesses.

A joint NHS England and Public Health England initiative, Stay Well This Winter was officially launched in November and is supported by a national TV, Press and digital campaign.  Some key actions:

  • Making sure you get the flu jab if eligible
  • Keeping yourself warm – heat your home to least 18 degrees C (or 65F) if you can
  • If you start to feel unwell, even if it’s just a cough or a cold, then get help from your pharmacist quickly before it gets more serious
  • Always taking prescribed medicines as directed

For further information about how you and your family can stay well this winter, please visit www.nhs.uk/staywell

Act FAST for Stroke

Public Health England and the Stroke Association urge everyone to Act FAST if they spot any one of the signs of stroke.

A person loses 2 million nerve cells every minute that they do not receive medical treatment during a stroke. Nerve cells are the core components of the brain and the more that are lost, the greater the chance of permanent disability or death. The faster you act the more of the person you save.

Public Health England and the Stroke Association have produced a new video showing what could happen if you Act FAST compared to waiting to see if someone gets better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc9OF64H4sE&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=Stroke%20Association&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6289227_CAP01%2019%2F10%2F15%20FAST&utm_content=FAST%20video

Please spread the word about stroke by sharing this FAST video with the wider community. It’s already reached 35,000 people, let’s keep it going. See more: http://stroke-email.org.uk/1VKM-3QSSR-90KWFD9CB9/cr.aspx?v=2

Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust CQC Inspection

Please click here to read the letter and click here to read the FAQ’s from the CQC inspection for Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust.

Understanding personal health budgets

Personal health budgets have been in the media recently, and the NHS England Customer Contact Centre has received lots of enquiries from people who want to know more about them.  People eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare now have a right to have a personal health budget, and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are currently looking at who else in their area could benefit from the flexibility of managing their care in this way. More information can be found on the NHS Choices website.

Get online to be a click away from improving your health

NHS England is encouraging everyone to use the internet to help stay healthy.  For e.g. you can take a course to see how the internet can help you manage your health. Websites such as NHS Choices can help with those little health niggles, or you could book fitness classes online and order prescriptions. Find your nearest UK Online centre at www.ukonlinecentres.com or call 0800 77 1234.

Do you need to protect yourself from flu?

The local NHS in West Lancashire is urging people to get their flu vaccination, particularly if you fall into particular groups deemed more at risk.

For most healthy people, flu is an unpleasant illness that usually lasts a week or so. However, older people, the very young, pregnant women and those with underlying disease are at particular risk of severe illness if they catch flu.

The following groups that are recommended to have the flu vaccination are:

  • those aged 65 years and over
  • those aged six months to under 65 in clinical risk groups for example those with diabetes, heart disease or chronic respiratory disease
  • pregnant women
  • all two, three and four year olds on 31 August 2015
  • all children of school years 1 and 2 age
  • those in long-stay residential care homes
  • carers
  • health and social care staff

The flu vaccine is still the best protection available to protect against an unpredictable virus which can cause severe illness and deaths each year among at-risk groups, including older people, pregnant women and those with a health condition, even one that is well managed.

Watch the Department of Health’s quick video to find out #staywellthiswinter nhs.uk/staywell @PHE_uk

Cold Weather Plan

See website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cold-weather-plan-cwp-for-england

Your views are making a difference in Lancashire

Thank you for supporting Healthwatch Lancashire by taking part in their campaigns and sharing your feedback.  They have now received more than 1,100 reviews of health and social care services in Lancashire.

Public engagement activities across the county have resulted in more than 1,100 reviews about 163 different hospital, GP practice, care home, social care, pharmacy and dental services since March 2015.  This intelligence has been analysed, shared and has resulted in improvements in care within services in Lancashire.

Healthwatch Lancashire would also like to thank their volunteers for the significant contribution they have made in supporting their engagement activities and by helping them to gather feedback from patients and people in Lancashire.

In total more than 4,500 individual pieces of feedback or responses to research campaigns have been recorded since the start of 2015 with additional people taking part in activities where views have been listened to such as assessments and patient journeys. Feedback received from members of the public is shared with those who manage and run services to identify where services are performing well and where improvements can be made.

Healthwatch Lancashire shares the views of the public with NHS trusts, clinical commissioning groups, the Care Quality Commission and other health and social care providers in Lancashire.

To tell Healthwatch Lancashire about an experience at a Lancashire health and social care service please click here.

Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust Annual Review

Please see link: http://www.lancashirecare.nhs.uk/media/Publications/Annual%20Plans-Accounts-Reports/Annual_Review_2014-15/Lancs%20Care%20Annual%20Review%2014-15.pdf 

Know your numbers

High blood pressure causes strokes and heart attacks. It is a ‘silent killer’ as it has no symptoms. The only way to know you have it is to get a blood pressure check.  ‘Make Every Second Count’ and Know Your Numbers! It could save your life. See website: know your numbers

Progress Report – Improvements To Care In The Last Days And Hours Of Life

See website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improvements-to-care-in-the-last-days-and-hours-of-life

Supporting smoking cessation using a harm reduction approach

Royal Society for Public Health has produced a report which sets out how they can further reduce smoking rates by encouraging smokers onto safer forms of nicotine.  Tobacco contains nicotine along with many other chemicals, but nicotine by itself is fairly harmless.  Nicotine is harmful in cigarettes largely because it is combined with other damaging chemicals such as tar and arsenic, and as a highly addictive substance getting hooked on nicotine is one of the prime reasons why people become dependent on cigarettes.  Electronic cigarettes and Nicotine Replacement Therapy (gum, lozenges, and patches) contain nicotine but don’t contain the harmful substances found in cigarettes.  Read the full report  and the position paper.   Please join in the conversation.

More inclusive Friends and Family Test

Updated guidance has been published to help the Test be more inclusive and now covers services across the NHS that are provided to children and young people – with special provisions for looked after children – as well as patients with learning disabilities, dementia, language and literacy issues or patients who are deaf or deafblind.  More information:  http://www.england.nhs.uk/2015/07/15/making-nhs-patient-feedback-more-inclusive/

Updated NHS Constitution and Handbook Published

The revisions following consultation include a focus on importance of transparency and accountability, greater prominence to mental health, and reflect the recommendations of the Francis enquiry.  More information: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-constitution-for-england

New Infographic shows how your voice makes a difference

Healthwatch Lancashire have produced an illustration to demonstrate how your feedback makes a difference to the health and social care services in Lancashire.

The infographic aims to simplify how Healthwatch Lancashire are working towards improving health and social care in the county by listening to the views, opinions and concerns of residents and raising these with those who manage, run and commission services.  Healthwatch Lancashire challenge when intelligence shows that services need to improve and celebrate when we are told that they are performing well to share best practice. See website: http://healthwatchlancashire.co.uk/news/new-infographic-shows-how-your-voice-makes-a-difference/

Right Wheelchair, Right Time, Right Now Campaign

The Right Wheelchair, Right Time, Right Now Campaign which aims to improve wheelchair services in England has been launched. Visit www.rightwheelchair.org.uk and pledge your support for the campaign to improve wheelchair services.

NHS Citizen update

NHS Citizen has kicked off with Gather – a website and programme of events for everyone to talk about how the NHS can improve. Citizens are discussing more than 20 conversations on different topics already.

Be Clear on Cancer

PHE has launched a national Be Clear on Cancer campaign to drive awareness of the risk of breast cancer amongst women over 70 including increasing their knowledge of lesser-known symptoms.

Public Health England Annual Plan

See link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/450949/Annual_plan_2015-_Aug3-web-1603.pdf

A Focus on Skelmersdale

Please click the link to read the full report on Skelmersdale commisioned by West Lancs CCG – www.westlancashireccg.nhs.uk/resources/corporate-documents/ . The introduction to the document is here – www.westlancashireccg.nhs.uk/introducing-a-new-report-the-seven-wards-a-focus-on-skelmersdale/

Healthwatch Report – Safely home: What happens when people leave hospital and care settings?

Please click the link to read the report – www.healthwatch.co.uk/safely-home

Expert nutritionists have recommended halving sugar in diet

Expert nutritionists have recommended halving sugar in diet – click here.

Healthwatch Lancashire 2014/15 Annual Report

Healthwatch Lancashire has focused its work on the acquisition, collation, analysis and communication of good quality data and soft intelligence from the people of Lancashire which has been used to improve local health and social care provision.

Healthwatch Lancashire’s five key projects are detailed in the Annual Report, together with an account of the progress which has been made in achieving Healthwatch Lancashire’s strategic objectives.

Click here to download the Annual Report

To request a copy by post or in an alternative format please email info@healthwatchlancashire.co.uk

Carers Services in West Lancs

As you may be aware there have been some changes to carers services in the local area and n-compass will now provide support and information to adult carers in West Lancs.  For details of your local carers services contact: 0345 688 7113 between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday.  General email: cadmin@ncompasscarerspoint.co.uk

Carers Assessment Email: carerslancashire@carersassessments.co.uk

Please Click here to read more about n-compass.

Importance of communities to health and wellbeing

This guide from Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England identifies the important roles local government and the NHS have in building confident communities to improve health and reduce inequalities.  See website:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-wellbeing-a-guide-to-community-centred-approaches

NCB – Improving Male Health for the Next Generation

A report, Improving Male Health for the Next Generation, presents findings from a survey of 138 men. The 2014 survey asked men about their approaches to getting help and advice on health issues, and what they think might help boys and young men growing up now to look after their health as they get older. More information:  http://ncb.org.uk/areas-of-activity/health-and-well-being/health-and-social-care-unit/resources-and-publications 

Change4Life campaign encourages families to make sugar swaps

This campaign follows a survey which showed that mothers are concerned about the levels of sugar that their children consume. Change4Life recommends four ways to swap high sugar food items for lower ones. More information:  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-change4life-campaign-encourages-families-to-make-sugar-swaps

From Evidence Into Action: Opportunities to protect and improve the nation’s health

This document published at the same time as the NHS 5 year Forward View should be read in tandem with it. Public Health England has looked at the evidence to identify where they should focus efforts to make the most difference for public health. More information –https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/from-evidence-into-action-opportunities-to-protect-and-improve-the-nations-health

NHS England takes big steps towards patient safety

NHS England is funding a new national programme to improve the safety of patients and ensure learning sits at the heart of healthcare. A Patient Safety Collaborative will be established to empower patients, carers and staff to highlight, challenge and implement local improvements in patient care. More information –http://www.nhsiq.nhs.uk/news-events/news/health-secretary-launches-new-patient-safety-collaboratives.aspx

The NHS Five Year Forward View

The NHS Five Year Forward View has been published and sets out a vision for the future of the NHS. It has been developed by the partner organisations that deliver and oversee health and care services including NHS England, Public Health England, Monitor, Health Education England, the Care Quality Commission and the NHS Trust Development Authority. Patient groups, clinicians and independent experts have also contributed. More information – www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/futurenhs/