January Edition Newsletter

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

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Health and Wellbeing Board push forward opt-out system for organ donation in England

On the 18th December 2014, Shropshire’s Health and Well-Being Board were given the green light to lobby the Government to consult with residents in England to determine their views on an opt-out system for organ donation.

The recommendations, which were approved by full Council, follows extensive consultation across the county as part of research undertaken by the council’s public health team.

1,179 responses were received, with a large majority – 76% – of respondents in favour of an opt-out scheme.

Read the full report in Shropshire Newsroom here.

To view the organ donation report click here.

CQC Inspection of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

The results of the Care Quality Commission's inspection of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust have now been published. The inspection was undertaken in October 2014 and involved focus groups and interviews with patients and staff from across the Trust.

To read the full report, please visit: www.sath.nhs.uk/cqc

Once you have read the report, you can give your initial views on the findings here. 

Shropshire Health and Wellbeing Peer Challenge January 2015

From the 19th-22nd January 2015, Shropshire’s health and wellbeing system underwent a peer challenge by a team of ‘critical friends’ from across the country. 

The peer challenge team spent four days working with professionals and the public, taking part in comprehensive discussions, observations, workshops and focus groups to understand health and wellbeing in Shropshire.

The team sought to learn more about leadership, effective relationships, evaluating the impact of the health and wellbeing strategy and Shropshire’s approach to improving the health and wellbeing of local residents.

On the final day of the peer challenge, the team presented their feedback to partners involved in the review. You can access the feedback presentation here.

You can read more about the peer challenge here.

Dry January 2015

Are you taking part in Dry January?

You can follow blogs from members of staff at Shropshire Council here: http://shropshire.gov.uk/news/category/blog/

Here is an excerpt from a blog by Gavin Hogarth from the Drug and Alcohol Action Team:

"Well here we are, just over a week into Dry January 2015. Nine days down and 22 days to go.

For me, the hardest day was New Year’s Day. Putting away in the cupboard the very tempting bottle of single malt I’d received as a Christmas present and thinking to myself ‘will I really want to drink those left over bottles of ‘Snowball’ in February?’

But … I have to say, from that day onward it’s been plain sailing and I’m enjoying the challenge."

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  

Future Fit

Interested in following the development of Future Fit in Shropshire?

You can sign up to receive updates here.

The January edition of Future Fit Digest was published last week and includes detail about the initial 'Call to Action', information about workshops so far 'You said, We did'. You can catch up on the latest issue here.

Managing Chronic Pain

Healthwatch Shropshire and Shropshire Older People’s Assembly (SOPA) are holding a joint public meeting on ‘Managing Chronic Pain’ on Wednesday 28 January 2015 from 10 am – 1.30 pm at the Guildhall, Frankwell, Shrewsbury, SY3 8HQ.

Speakers will include pain management specialists and a representative from the Shrewsbury Arthritis Group.  There will be a Question Time session from the floor after the short presentations; this will be an opportunity to ask questions to the panel of speakers on any issues of concern.

To help with numbers and booking refreshments, please register attendance by email office@shropseniors.org.uk or telephone Bridget on 01743 244640.  Questions can also be taken from people who are unable to attend and a response will be sought where possible.

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

Healthwatch - Public Drop-in and Chat session

Healthwatch Shropshire will be hosting a Public Drop-in from 12.30-2pm on 17th February at the Plowden Room, Craven Arms Community Arts Centre. If you would like to share your experiences of health and social care services, or meet the Healthwatch Shropshire team please come along for a chat. Members of the public are also welcome to stay following the drop-on for the public part of the Board meeting. 

For more information please visit: www.healthwatchshropshire.co.uk or email: enquiries@healthwatchshropshire.co.uk

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.

Shropshire libraries to launch national dementia book collections

Libraries in Shropshire are to hold a series of events to launch new collections of books for those living with dementia and their carers. The books will be available in Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Market Drayton, Oswestry and Shrewsbury libraries but will be free to reserve from all libraries.

To highlight the new collections, libraries will be running a number of free events:

Monday 26th January 2015 - 2-4pm - Shrewsbury library will host a Dementia Cafe session featuring reminiscence, advice, coffee and cake.

Tuesday 27 January 2015 - 2-4pm - Whitchurch library will hold a poetry writing session with a focus on family memories (led by poet Jean Atkin)

Wednesday 28th January 2015 - 2-4pm - Bridgnorth library will offer a Dementia Friendly Teatime. Supported by the Alzheimer’s Society, this event will feature a School Days reminiscence session led by Emily Middleton from South Shropshire Memory Service as well as refreshments.

For more information please read the newsroom article here: http://shropshire.gov.uk/news/2015/01/shropshire-libraries-to-launch-national-dementia-book-collections/

It's not too late to vaccinate!

Flu season is in full force and if you're in an 'at-risk' population, it is really important that you get your vaccination.

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

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. If you're not in an eligible population for the free flu vaccination, some pharmacies can offer the vaccine for a small fee.

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

Flu vaccinations are just one service offered by your local pharmacy. You can get expert, confidential advice and treatment for many minor health complaints from your local pharmacist, as well as information and support to help you start a healthier lifestyle.

NHS England - New GP workforce action plan

NHS England, Health Education England, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the BMA GP committee are working together to ensure that we have a skilled, trained and motivated workforce in general practice.

All four organisations have jointly developed a new GP workforce action plan ‘Building the Workforce – the New Deal for General Practice’ which sets out a range of initiatives to expand the general practice workforce. 

You can find out more information from NHS England here.

Beware of spreading norovirus

People planning to visit hospitals and other healthcare facilities in Shropshire are being reminded to stay away if they have experienced any symptoms of Norovirus.

Norovirus, sometimes known as the winter vomiting bug, is the most common stomach bug in the UK. It is highly contagious and can affect people of all ages.

Read the full Newsroom article here: http://shropshire.gov.uk/news/2015/01/beware-of-spreading-the-norovirus/

Sugar Swaps - Change4Life 

Shropshire Council’s public health team is supporting the new Change4Life Sugar Swaps campaign by encouraging parents across the county to cut down the amount of sugar their children consume by making one or more simple swaps.

Eating and drinking too much sugar means extra calories, which causes fat to build up inside the body. This can lead to heart disease, some cancers or type 2 diabetes later in life. In Shropshire 23.5% of children start school either overweight or obese; this then becomes 30.3% for those in their last year of primary school. Children who are overweight or obese when they are young are far more likely to become overweight or obese adult, and these figures demonstrate the increasing need to address children’s diet and limit future health problems.

You can read more about the Sugar Swaps campaign here: http://shropshire.gov.uk/news/2015/01/new-change4life-campaign-encourages-families-in-shropshire-to-make-sugar-swaps/

Shropshire Council shortlisted for prestigious national award

Shropshire Council’s Public Health curriculum work with primary schools has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award.

Shropshire’s Respect Yourself: Eat Better, Move More, Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) programme supports schools to deliver age appropriate, up to date lessons to help pupils keep themselves healthy, happy and safe. The programme provides lesson plans, resources and works with parents and school staff so that they feel confident about how to address health issues in a positive and coordinated way.

Find out more and read the full story through Shropshire Council's Newsroom.

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 Friday 20th February 2015, 9.30am 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