December Edition Newsletter

Welcome to the November edition of the Shropshire Health & Wellbeing E-News. This E-News is for everyone interested in health and wellbeing.

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To visit the Shropshire Together website, click here.

Shropshire’s NHS Walk-in Centre has moved

On Monday 15th December, Shropshire’s NHS Walk-in Centre opened its doors into its newly refurbished accommodation at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The same services will be offered at the new site, enabling people to see a GP or nurse without an appointment. Co-locating the Walk-in Centre alongside the Accident & Emergency department allows patients to be seen by the most appropriate health professional.

The Walk-in Centre will be open every day, 8am-8pm.

For more information, please see the Shropshire Council Newsroom here.

Click here to see the find out how to ‘Choose Well’ and see the location of the new Walk-in Centre.

Choose Well this Winter

Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is asking Shropshire residents to think carefully this winter about whether they really need to visit A&E with minor illnesses and injuries. 

It may be that the best option is to stay at home to recover, to visit a pharmacy, make a GP appointment or use the NHS111 telephone service for advice and guidance. This is particularly the case for minor ailments such as headaches, colds and flu, or minor injuries such as muscle pulls or sprains. 

To find out more, you can read the full Shropshire Newsroom story here.

You can download a free app for some smart phones to help you choose the right care and to find out availability and opening times of services. Search for Choose Well West Midlands in your app store.

Dry January 2015

This Christmas, Shropshire Public Health is encouraging people to take up next year’s ‘Dry January’ challenge, to stay alcohol-free for the whole of January 2015.

Organised by national charity Alcohol Concern, the Dry January campaign aims to highlight the benefits of cutting down on drink by challenging people to cut out alcohol for 31 days.

Dry January 2015 builds on this year’s campaign which was a great success with 17,312 people taking part and over 80% saying they had cut down on the amount they would drink for the rest of the year.

Nearly 1,500 people have already signed up to the 2015 campaign, and the money raised will help Alcohol Concern make a real difference to the lives of those harmed through alcohol misuse.

For more information about signing up to the Dry January campaign, visit www.dryjanuary.org.uk. You can ask family and friends to sponsor your big challenge through Just Giving.

Join in on social media through Twitter: @dryjanuary and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DryJanuary

Health and Wellbeing Boards – Survey

This is Regional Voice’s third annual survey asking the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector about engagement with Health and Wellbeing Boards.

What do they want to know?

• What is working well?
• What could work better?
• What support would help? 

You can get involved and take the survey here. The survey closes on the 23rd January 2015.

The results will be used to influence policy makers, develop support mechanisms and share interesting practice. 

To find out more about Regional Voice’s involvement, please click here.

Healthwatch Shropshire update

Click here to read Healthwatch Shropshire’s latest newsletter with information about the A&E survey, the availability of research grants (between £1000-£4000) and to find out how you can get in touch and have your say.

To find out more about the work of Healthwatch and how they act upon your comments, take a look at their ‘You Said We Did’ document.

Please visit www.healthwatchshropshire.co.uk for more information.

Drugs and Alcohol Services in Shropshire Consultation

People living in Shropshire are being asked to have their say on proposals to change the way drug and alcohol services are delivered in Shropshire.

The consultation is seeking the views of local residents on a proposed single drug and alcohol service for Shropshire that aims to:

• Places a greater focus on long term recovery.
• Put more responsibility on individuals to own their recovery.
• Supports families affected by drug and/or alcohol misuse.

The proposal is to bring drug and alcohol services together. You can read more about the proposals here.

To be involved and take the survey, please click here (click on the ‘How to get involved’ tab to complete the survey). If you require a hard copy of the survey, please contact Gavin Hogarth on: gavin.hogarth@shropshire.gov.uk or call 01743 253982.

The deadline for submissions is 6th February 2015.

Healthy Ageing in Shropshire

A Shropshire Healthy Ageing event took place on the 28th November 2014 and was attended by a range of organisations from the health, social care and voluntary sectors.

Professor Janet Lord, Director of MRC-ARUK Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, presented evidence around ageing and how it can be affected by calorie intake and physical activity levels. Professor Lord also discussed the impact of ageing upon the immune system. It was demonstrated that frailty decline is not an inevitable part of the ageing process.

Bob Laventure, Consultant at the British Heart Foundation Centre for Physical Activity, presented evidence around active ageing. He explained how encouraging older people to be less sedentary and more physically active can enable them to maintain strength and balance; key factors for ageing well.

Dr Irfan Ghani, Public Health Consultant, discussed immunisation programmes for older people, such as the flu and shingles vaccination programmes, and their importance in healthy ageing.

Sandy Lockwood, Falls Prevention Project Manager, discussed the impact of falls for individuals as well as for the health economy. Methods for reducing risk were discussed along with the falls prevention agenda.

Through workshops, delegates discussed how organisations from both the health and voluntary sectors can work together to find opportunities to move forward with the Better Care Fund work streams.

The next steps are to establish working groups to discuss and find opportunities for the Better Care Fund work streams (which include Physical Function MOTs, cascade training for falls awareness and piloting a Falls Buddy service). Feedback from the event will help to inform the transformational model for the Falls element of the Better Care Fund work stream.

Are you eligible for the free flu vaccination?

The flu can be a nasty illness for anyone, resulting in a fever, muscle aches and headaches amongst other symptoms. It can leave you feeling exhausted and you may be in bed for several days. However, those with long-term conditions are particularly at risk of the more serious effects of flu.

If you have a long-term condition such as those listed below, you may be eligible for a free NHS flu vaccination: 

• A heart problem
• A chest complaint or breathing difficulties
• A kidney disease
• Lowered immunity due to disease or treatment
• Liver disease
• Diabetes
• Or if you have had a stroke or transient ischaemic attack 

People with underlying medical conditions can be more susceptible to the effects of flu, and it could lead an increased risk of developing more serious illness such as bronchitis or pneumonia.

To find out if you are eligible for a free flu vaccination, please contact your GP. Some pharmacies across Shropshire are offering free NHS flu vaccinations for at risk-groups. You can find out more here.

Who else is eligible for a free flu vaccination?

• People aged with long-term health conditions
• All people aged over 65 years
• All pregnant women
• Young children aged 2-4 years

You can find out more about the flu vaccination at: http://www.healthyshropshire.co.uk/topics/health-protection/flu/what-is-flu/

Teenage domestic abuse victims urged to come forward

This December sees the launch of a new campaign to tackle teenage relationship abuse. West Midlands Police will be working to help teenagers who are subjected to abuse to report it.

The campaign highlights how emotional abuse can come in many forms, irrespective of gender, from ‘being made fun of’ to ‘constantly being checked upon by a partner’.

The Police are urging victims of domestic abuse not to suffer in silence and to put their trust in police and other support agencies to protect them from harm.

For more information, you can read the full press release here.

Anyone suffering from domestic abuse this Christmas should call West Midlands Police on 101.

Wheels 2 Work – Offer for Health and Care Workers

If you are a care worker struggling with your transport to work or are recruiting for care roles then a new package of support from Wheels 2 Work (a scheme run by charity Shropshire RCC) may be of interest. 

Wheels 2 Work are able to offer the following help:

• Advice on transport options for getting to work
• Free vehicle ‘health checks’
• Grant covering 80% of the cost of a vehicle repair, up to £250
• Moped & electric bike rental scheme,  with training and equipment
• Good value pedal bikes

To find out more about the scheme and how Wheels 2 Work may be able to help you, please contact: 01743 237885 or 01743 237883.

You can also visit the Shropshire RCC’s website at: http://www.shropshire-rcc.org.uk/services/individuals/wheels-to-work

Got some news to share?

If you have a topic or article that you would like to feature in this newsletter, please contact us by email: shropshire.partnership@shropshire.gov.uk or telephone: 01743 253937.

Health and Wellbeing Board - Next Meeting:

The next public Health and Wellbeing Board meeting will be held on Tuesday 20th January 2015, 11am at Shirehall in Shrewsbury.

The agenda and relevant papers will become available on the Health and Wellbeing webpage prior to the meeting. Please see the attached link below to access previous meetings agendas:

Health and Wellbeing Board