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In this issue, the following topics are covered:
- Doctors’ strike
- Community reuse and recycling event
- Community urgent eyecare service
- Blood pressure
- Happier minds for children and young people
- Talking therapies
- Protection for students against deadly diseases
- Whooping cough
- COVID-19
- Stay safe during the heat
- Enjoy water safely
- Alcohol Awareness Week
- Women’s bone survey
- Ramblers wellbeing walk leader training
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Junior doctors are on strike from 7am 27 June until 7am on 2 July.
Patients are asked to choose services appropriately during this period of industrial action and take simple steps to help ensure care is available to the patients who need it most.
This includes using pharmacy services for advice, 111 online as the first port of call for urgent health needs, and only using 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.
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Dudley Council is asking residents with unwanted items to gift them to a community sharing pilot.
The local authority is holding it’s third ‘Too Good to Throw Away’ event at The Halesowen Housing Hub on Andrew Road on Tuesday 9 July.
People will be able to donate unwanted household items that are in good working order including curtains, bedding, cushions, kitchenware, small electrical items, clothes, food and unused toiletries.
The items will then be shared between charitable organisations in the borough, including Provision House, which repurposes them for community use.
The event runs from 10am to 3pm and people bringing items by car are asked to use the Andrew Road Car Park in Halesowen, which is free for the first two hours.
Find out more and see a full list of wanted items, by visiting the website
Residents are politely reminded that the scheme is not requesting furniture, soft furniture or white goods.
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The Community Urgent Eyecare Service (CUES) provides urgent assessment, and treatment for sudden onset eye problems such as flashes, floaters, vision loss or minor eye injuries, for people in the Black Country.
What symptoms can be treated by the Urgent Eyecare Service?
- red or painful eye or eyelids
- recently occurring flashes and floaters
- recent and sudden loss of vision
- foreign body in the eye.
If you are registered with a GP practice in the Black Country, book an assessment with the Community Urgent Eyecare Service www.primaryeyecare.co.uk
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High blood pressure can increase your risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and vascular dementia if left untreated.
If you're over 40 and haven’t had a blood pressure check in the last six months, find a free blood pressure check at a pharmacy near you.
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If you, or someone you care about or advocate for, is a child or young person suffering with their emotional or mental health, a local website exists for your support.
Happier Minds, which was developed by Dudley Council, provides national and local mental health support at the click of a button.
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Do you have a young person who will be going to university or college for the first time this year? Have they had the MenACWY vaccine? If not, it is strongly recommended.
The MenACWY vaccine is routinely offered to teenagers in school years nine and 10. The vaccine helps protect against four different causes of meningitis and septicaemia.
Meningococcal disease (meningitis and septicaemia) is rare, but life-threatening.
People can unknowingly carry the meningococcal bacteria at the back of their nose and throat, so there is a higher risk of infection with new university students and older teenagers, as many of them will mix closely with lots of new people.
Anyone who missed having the vaccine at school can ask their GP for it until their 25th birthday.
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Whooping cough cases continue to rise. It’s important for babies and young children to get vaccinated against it.
Babies who are too young to start their vaccinations are at greatest risk and are often very unwell, with many likely to need hospital treatment.
The pertussis vaccination in pregnancy helps to protect people who are pregnant and young babies against serious illness.
The NHS is encouraging those who are pregnant to talk to their midwife or GP about the vaccination. Ideally it is given between 16 to 32 weeks of pregnancy. However, you can have it up until you go into labour, although this is not ideal, as your baby is less likely to get protection from you. But it would help protect you from whooping cough and passing it onto your baby.
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes. It spreads very easily and can sometimes cause serious problems, for example, breathing difficulties, pneumonia, and fits.
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The first heatwave of the year finally reached our shores, and for many of us that was glorious. But it’s important to remember that some people struggle to cope in the heat.
The good news is, we can all take precautions that allow us to enjoy the hot weather safely and help people who might be more vulnerable as temperatures rise.
Who is at risk?
Anyone can become unwell when the weather is hot. People who are at higher risk of becoming seriously unwell include:
- older people aged 65 years and over
- babies and young children aged 5 years and under
- people with underlying health conditions particularly heart problems, breathing problems, dementia, diabetes, kidney disease, Parkinson’s disease, or mobility problems
- pregnant women
- people on certain medications
- people with serious mental health problems
- people who are already ill and dehydrated (for example from diarrhoea and vomiting)
- people who experience alcohol or drug dependence
- people who are physically active and spend a lot of time outside such as runners, cyclists and walkers
- people who work in jobs that require manual labour or extensive time outside
- people experiencing homelessness, including rough sleepers and those who are unable to make adaptations to their living accommodation such as sofa surfers or living in hostels.
- people who live alone and may be unable to care for themselves
What can we do to stay safe?
- Look out for people who may struggle to keep themselves cool and hydrated. Get in touch with friends, family or neighbours that may need help keeping cool.
- Stay cool indoors, taking action like closing curtains on rooms that face the sun, but also remembering that it may be cooler outdoors than indoors.
- If you’re out and about, keep out of the sun, wearing sunscreen that is a minimum of factor 30 with four or five start UVA protection, and avoid physical exertion in the hottest part of the day.
See the Dudley Council website for lots more information to help you stay safe during hot weather.
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National drowning prevention charity Royal Life Saving Society UK is urging people to know how to enjoy being in, on and around water safely.
The charity advises us to:
- Know our beach flags
- Always swim with others
- Acclimatise to avoid cold water shock
- Read all signage before entering the water
- Choose lifeguarded venues
- Look around before entering the water
- If in open water, plan your entry and exit points
- Never use inflatables in open water
The charity also recommends that if you get into trouble or feel tired, stay calm and float on your back.
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Alcohol Awareness Week runs from 1 to 7 July. The national campaign provides an opportunity for the UK to get thinking about drinking.
The theme this year is ‘Understanding alcohol harm’.
As part of the campaign, organiser Alcohol Change UK will shine a light on how alcohol can harm our health and wellbeing on a daily basis. This can be from the quality of the sleep we get, to our relationships with the people we love.
Each year thousands of people experience long-term health problems as a result of the alcohol they drink, or die from alcohol-related causes. But this is preventable.
For young people looking for further information about alcohol awareness, visit Think Alcohol, a website designed by Dudley young people, for young people.
The Healthy Dudley website provides a range of information for adults and young people about reducing their alcohol intake, and details of local organisations which can provide further support.
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Your experience matters. Please can you fill in a quick online survey to help Dudley Council shape a campaign to encourage women to move more and become physically stronger?
What
Dudley Council is preparing a new challenge aimed at women aged 40 to 55. It will guide them through changes they can make, such as helpful exercises and making small alterations in what they eat, to improve their bone health.
The challenge will be part of the wider Let's Get Moving campaign, to encourage everyone, and in particular those aged 40 - 55, to move for at least 30 minutes a day.
Survey
We first need to understand how women in the borough exercise and how much they already know about the increased risk of osteoporosis when you hit your perimenopause – which usually happens during your 40s.
If you are aged 40 to 55 please can you fill in this online survey and share the link with other ladies. There are 12 simple questions that should take only minutes to answer.
Please can you complete the survey by Friday 19 July.
Either scan the QR code above, or type in the web address https://forms.office.com/e/ATy1LxKW9e
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Dudley Public Health and Ramblers Wellbeing Walks want everyone to have access to a short, friendly group walk within easy reach of where they live to help them become and stay healthy.
To do this they need people to share their enthusiasm for the benefits of walking with others in their community by leading walks in your local area.
What's in it for you:
- Access to training
- Support and advice from other walk leaders, walk assistants and a coordinator
- Being part of a friendly group
- Helping people access and explore their local area
- Helping people meet new people and make new friends
To find out more email aidan.wheeler@dudley.gov.uk or call 01384 816316
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