25 June 2024
 The Met Office and UKSHA have issued the first Yellow Heat Health Alert of the year for several areas of the UK, including London. It has been in place since Monday and will remain so until 6pm on Thursday, 27 June.
During this time, please take extra care of your own health and look out for others, especially older people and those who have long-term health conditions that make them more susceptible to the heat.
Read the Council's full guidance on how to stay well in hot weather by clicking the button below.
Junior doctors will be on strike from 7am on Thursday, 27 June until 7am on Tuesday, 2 July. During this period hospital services are expected to be very busy. Please help the NHS by using 111 online or calling NHS 111 for advice on non-emergency health concerns.
If you have a GP or hospital appointment, you will be contacted if it needs to be rescheduled. If you don’t hear anything, attend your appointment as planned. In an emergency always call 999.
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Cases of whooping cough are rising in London and new-born babies are particularly at risk.
The only way to protect a new-born baby from whooping cough in their first few weeks of its life is for the mum to have the whooping cough vaccination while pregnant. The vaccination produces antibodies to protect against whooping cough, which are passed from mum to the unborn baby.
If you are pregnant, please speak to your midwife or GP about having the vaccination. They will also be able to answer any questions you may have.
Ideally the vaccination is given between 16 weeks and 32 weeks of pregnancy – often at the 20-week scan in hospital.
Once your baby is eight weeks old, they should have their routine childhood vaccines, including the 6 in 1 vaccine that provides further protection against whooping cough.
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 Residents living with dementia and their families or carers are always assured of a warm welcome at the Memory Café. The next event will take place at Lampton Leisure’s Hanworth Air Park, TW13 5EG on Thursday, 27 June from 12.30pm to 2pm.
You can get a cup of tea, enjoy a chat, and play dementia-friendly games. There will also be memory café sessions on Thursday, 11 July at Heston Pools & Fitness and Thursday, 25 July at Isleworth Leisure Centre.
If you need more information or want to reserve a spot, please email Paula Vincent via the button below.
 Last Friday’s Bowling Balls event at Trinity Church proved a huge hit for men with learning disabilities in Hounslow.
It featured presentations from senior nursing practitioners on male cancers, which helped attendees to understand what to look out if they're concerned about bowel, breast, testicular or prostate cancer, and where to go for support.
There was also a comprehensive Q&A session, food, and plenty of fun and games including skittles, bowls, indoor archery, and limbo dance.
The summer is finally here and there are many great music festivals taking place across the country over the next few months. Some people may take recreational drugs at these festivals, so the Council’s health partners want to share ways that attendees can lessen the risk of harm.
The supply and makeup of drugs is always changing, so it's always best to test and check what is in them before you take anything. There is a chance your drugs may be laced with nitazenes, strong synthetic opioids that have been linked with a number of deaths in the UK recently.
Check with the festival to see if there is a drug testing tent, or if there is another way you can get them checked.
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Measles cases remain high across London. If you have not yet booked your family in for their MMR vaccinations, you can walk into one of the NHS's free clinics across north west London to get vaccinated without an appointment.
There are lots of dates, times and locations and the friendly team can also talk you through any questions you have.
If you head to one of these clinics by 30 June, free Covid-19 vaccinations are also available for anyone who is eligible.
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The Sky Clinic at Sexual Health Hounslow (SHH) is a one-stop clinic for men who have sex with men, and for the transgender community.
The clinic runs every Friday between 9am -12:30pm and is bookable online or by ringing 020 8321 5718. Phone lines are open Monday to Friday, from 8am until 12pm.
At the Sky Clinic you can can vaccinations for Hepatitis A and B, get testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and get confidential advice on a range of sexual health subjects.
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 Jennifer Hood, from the Council’s Travel Training Team, won Best Newcomer at last Friday’s National Learning Disabilities & Autism Awards at the ICC in Birmingham – an event that covers entries from England, Scotland, and Wales. Travel Training is part of the Local Offer for people with Learning Disabilities that also includes drop-ins for families around the borough.
Jennifer, who has a learning disability, expressed an interest in travelling independently to school at a young age and enjoys passing on what she learned: “I didn’t like getting the Community Support Transport because it got me to school too early, so I told my family I wanted to go on public transport. Luckily, I have four brothers and one of them who went to school near me helped me get used to it. Now I can do the same for other people who may find it daunting.”
The next SEND Drop-in is at Redlees Park Play Centre in Isleworth on Wednesday, 10 July (10am to 12.15pm).
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