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A series of online events are being held for people who are interested in support from the free NHS Low Calorie Diet Programme.
The sessions are being held during March and will give patients the opportunity to find out more about the service before they register.
Available via a referral from a GP practice, this innovative programme is helping people across Greater Manchester to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle.
It helps people diagnosed with diabetes better control their blood sugar levels – reducing the need for diabetes-related medication and potentially achieving remission of their Type 2 diabetes when their levels return to a healthy range.
The programme in Greater Manchester, provided by Xyla Health & Wellbeing, is a one-year programme that combines specialist nutrition, psychology and physical activity.
Starting with a 12-week diet replacement using the NHS soups and shakes, participants are then supported to reintroduce food and make healthier choices. A diabetes practitioner is on hand throughout the year to offer support.
People on the programme lose weight consuming the low-calorie soups and shakes and maintain significant weight loss as a more normal diet is reintroduced.
The average weight loss in Greater Manchester after 3 months is 13.4kg (over two stone). These findings are a significant step forward and come after trials showed that around half of people who had similar weight loss were able to achieve remission of their Type 2 diabetes after one year.
Dr Naresh Kanumilli, clinical lead for the Greater Manchester Low Calorie Diet Programme, said: “I would encourage anyone with Type 2 Diabetes to consider the support of our local NHS Low Calorie Diet Programme. Losing weight can go a long way to help you to stay well and avoid preventable illness. The results in Greater Manchester are really encouraging and the programme is helping people to make changes that they can sustain going forward”.
Derek, from Stockport, has taken part in the programme. He said: “My lifestyle before the programme was busy with work and social life, the impact of taking medication for type 2 was that I was relying on the medication to maintain blood glucose levels which led to regular side effects and limited activity.
“I received a call from my local doctor’s surgery, from the nurse who regularly monitors my HbA1c and progress. The nurse referred me into the programme, and I agreed, as I wanted to commit to a target of no medication.
“Since starting the programme I have lost 12kg (over two stone). I feel healthier and more active. I have stopped my medication now and my last HbA1c check was 46 and is expected to be lower once my second check is performed.”
Patients can call the programme support team on 0333 577 3561 to find out more about the online information sessions, which are being held on:
- 1 March, 1pm (session in Urdu/Hindi)
- 2 March, 12.30pm
- 16 March, 5.30pm
- 17 March, 1pm (session in Urdu/Hindi)
- 30 March, 5pm (session in Urdu/Hindi)
People living with diabetes, their carers and healthcare professionals are invited to attend a free online course which discusses preparing for Ramadam.
The session on March 17 will include meal plan tips, videos and a live Q&A.
Register via the details in the poster above.
More than 120 people attended the latest Children and Young People’s Stakeholder Forum, which focused on speech, language and communication needs.
An exciting agenda started with Dr Carol Ewing, children’s clinical adviser with the SCNs, opening the event, followed by Kamini Gadhok MBE, chief executive officer with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, who provided a national overview of speech and language issues for Children and Young People.
The Network was also fortunate to have young person and parent carer representatives with lived experience inspiring the audience with their personal accounts of how speech, language and communication needs impacted their lives.
Elizabeth Stanley, parent to Isabel, described how speech and language was just a part of the care required to enable Isabel to achieve her goals, one of which was to be able to make toast. Gaining the motor skills and knowing the right words required input from a range of people and enabled Isabel to do something that was important to her.
Andy Smith, a 24-year-old autistic man, described some of the challenges he had faced when he was younger, and how he had gone on to form ‘Spectrum Gaming’, an online community for autistic young people, ensuring they can have their views heard.
One response from the audience was:
Further presentations were by Katie Shaw, from Rochdale’s ‘No Wrong Door’ project, and Michelle Morris, consultant speech and language therapist at Salford Royal Hospital, providing an overview of the early years pathway.
Attendees learnt about ‘the Balanced System’ approach before being allocated to break-out groups for further discussion about practical steps that can be taken to improve speech and language provision in the short to medium term.
True partnership working was at play in the delivery of the break-out sessions as colleagues from Greater Manchester Combined Authorities (GMCA) and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSC Partnership) worked together as facilitators and scribes to capture the key points from each group.
Chris McLoughlin OBE, director of children’s services at Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, concluded the event by thanking contributors and Dr Ewing, who he said was “a brilliant chair and a very dear colleague”, and summarising with three ‘take-home’ messages:
- Whole systems solutions
- Warm respectful relationships
- Always ask the question, “Is this good enough for my child?”
A report will be published in due course and we aim to identify actions and next steps for speech, language and communications in Greater Manchester.
GPs and health professionals who work with young people with asthma in Manchester are being asked to spread the word about an app which gives them support to self-manage their condition at home.
The digital health passport, which has been developed by Tiny Medical Apps, will support people aged 14-18, who live in the Manchester area.
Just use a smart phone to scan the QR code and download the app.
The Network began its journey pioneering the implementation of integrated community services in 2016 and this approach is now part of the NHS England National Stroke Service Model.
To help speed up introduction of the model across England, funding has been allocated on a regional basis for a quality improvement project called SQuIRe.
We have been working with the other North West stroke networks to appoint a senior clinician who will help us focus on workforce development so we can fully implement the model.
We have two localities that have not yet moved to the integrated model: Trafford and South Manchester. However, our clinical director, Tracy Walker, has been instrumental in helping to translate agreed business cases into operational plans for change, with new investment in Manchester to improve stroke and NR community services in south and central localities.
For the first time, south Manchester residents with neurological conditions other than stroke will be able to access specialist community services – finally, all Greater Manchester boroughs now offer this pathway of care.
The north Trafford stroke Early Supported Discharge Team merged with the Trafford Community Neurorehabilitation Team on February 14 as part of phase 1 of the transformation project.
The team is very excited to finally operationalise piloting a more responsive service for North Trafford stroke patients, with a view to extending this to all south Trafford stroke patients and neuro-rehabilitation patients on May 16 this year. Information has been shared on the new process for referral.
NICE has unveiled changes to the way it evaluates medicines and other health technologies for use in the NHS.
The new approaches will give patients earlier access to innovative treatments by allowing greater flexibility over decisions about value for money and consideration of a broader evidence base.
The changes will also provide greater predictability for industry. The change comes after one of the largest and most comprehensive reviews of all aspects of NICE’s health technology evaluations ever undertaken.
 The SCNs team enjoyed an after work social event for the first time in over two years to mark the gradual return to the office at 3 Piccadilly Place in Manchester city centre (see photo above).
The team is currently working two days a month from the newly-designed, socially-distanced office.
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