Spring 2024
Finding urgent healthcare when you need it
We all want the quickest route to urgent healthcare – but we’re not always sure where to turn.
NHS 111 is often the best starting point, as you’ll be assessed and directed to the best service for your needs. Did you know they can book you urgent appointments with a GP outside normal opening hours? You can go online, phone 111, or use the NHS App.
Follow this link to find information on pharmacies, urgent dental care, eye problems and support in a mental health crisis.
Childhood Immunisations
We all want to give our children the best start to life and for them to be happy, healthy and thrive as they grow. One of the best ways to do this is to make sure they get protection from illness through immunisation. Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB, in line with NHS England and UKHSA, has been urging parents and carers to check if their children are up to date with their routine childhood immunisations.
There are a series of immunisations that children are offered between the ages of 0 and 5, including two doses of MMR vaccine which protects against measles, mumps and rubella. A reduction in uptake of the MMR vaccine both nationally and locally has led to a recent increase in cases of measles. Read more.
|
Your Adult Mental Health Services in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent | Join the conversation
The NHS in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent has been working with local patients, staff, interested groups and partners to understand how mental health services could be designed.
Our priority is to deliver quality mental healthcare for patients in their own home or community whenever possible, rather than in hospital. This model of care is the national ambition set out in the NHS Long Term Plan. It is based on the latest clinical evidence, which shows this approach gives patients the best possible outcomes.
This is not new. We have been working with partners and investing in our community mental health services for many years. We have enhanced our community teams and developed better ways of working that help us meet the national goals – like making community services easier to access and giving people more choice and control over their treatment.
The way people need to access mental health services is very different – and we know that what works for one person will not be the right approach for another.
That’s why we want to hear from people who have used mental health services in the last three years, as well as from people who work within mental health services. We also want to hear from people who support people using mental health services as well as people who have no experience of mental health services.
You can find out more by joining one of our conversations by booking your space at an online event
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Diabetes Strategy
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB have developed a diabetes strategy and needs assessment looking to improve outcomes over the next three years. There are 79,000 people living with diabetes in the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent region, with an additional 70,000 at increased risk of developing type 2 Diabetes in the future. Read more and Agenda for events.
Two online engagement events to get feedback on the strategy are planned for:
NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission Programme
NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB has secured funding to support people diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes on their path to remission.
Following on from the success of the three-year programme which supported 479 people diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes to remission, losing an average of 10.23kg, the programme has been relaunched and will run until September 2025.
The funding means another 500 people in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire can receive the help and support they need to lose weight, improve their blood sugar levels, reduce reliance on medication – all of which can help put Type 2 Diabetes into remission.
People living in Stoke-on-Trent, Tamworth, Burton and Cannock who have been diagnosed with diabetes are encouraged to book an appointment with their GP to arrange a review. A leaflet with further information can be found here.
Revolutionising patient care with the launch of PatientAide by North Staffs Combined Healthcare
North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust has launched PatientAide for patients and service users. It is an online tool that allows patients to access their health documents all in one place.
PatientAide is accessible through a free mobile app on smartphones or tablets (compatible with Android and iOS) and on an online webpage. To use PatientAide, patients and service users will need to be signed up by their healthcare professional from the trust before they can register with their details on the app. Read more.
|
Combined Healthcare transforms care planning for patients
North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust is improving how it plans care and support for its patients. As part of the national commitment for the NHS to transform mental health services for adults and older adults, the trust has engaged and co-produced a new, integrated care approach to raise the standard of care planning for everyone.
The trust is replacing the Care Programme Approach (CPA) with a more personalised method of planning the care needed for its service users. Every service user will have a named key worker and a personalised care plan, which has been co-produced with the patient. Their family or carers can be involved in the process where appropriate. Read more.
A Child of Mine - supporting bereaved parents
A Child of Mine runs the attached support groups within Staffordshire..
A new era in community mental health in Tamworth
A new era in community mental health in Tamworth is being celebrated following the renovation and expansion of Cherry Orchard. The formerly vacant Cherry Orchard site now serves as the base for Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust’s (MPFT) adult community mental health services in the area.
The centre provides purpose built facilities in the heart of the community to deliver services that more effectively meet the needs of local people. Alongside the refurbishment of the existing building, additional clinical space has been constructed; this will enable teams to offer further support to those in need. Read more.
At Your Side guides for the Armed Forces community
Suicide Bereavement UK has launched evidence-based ‘At Your Side guides’ for those bereaved by suicide in the Armed Forces community .
The launch event brought together, people of influence from various sectors, those bereaved by suicide in the Armed Forces community and those who helped develop the ‘At Your Side’ guides which were well received at the launch and on social media. You can download the guides here. The third At Your Side guide for serving personnel will be launched later this year.
|
Palliative care updates from Katharine House Hospice
Katharine House Hospice in Stafford provides a range of free services for people with a palliative diagnosis – as well as support for their loved ones and professionals helping them.
Care includes complementary therapy, wellbeing programmes, social sessions including coffee mornings and Tai Chi, counselling, spiritual care, family support, drop ins as well as expert clinical care in people’s homes and on their ward. Their advice line is open 24/7 on 01785 270832 and support can be accessed from day one of diagnosis.
You can sign up for quarterly email updates here to find out how the charity could help those you support.
New state-of-the-art birthing pool makes a splash at UHNM
Expecting mothers can look forward to a more comfortable and relaxing birthing experience thanks to the installation of a new birthing pool at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM).
A brand-new, state-of-the-art active birthing pool is now available to pregnant women deemed low-risk on the Royal Stoke University Hospital’s Midwife Birth Centre (MBC).
The new birthing pool replaces the original pool which was installed when the Royal Stoke’s Maternity Centre was built in 2009. Read more.
|
Stoke-on-Trent City Council launches new family support service
A new service that will help families thrive, stay together and flourish in the future has been launched by Stoke-on-Trent City Council. The city council is committed to ensuring that families in Stoke-on-Trent have the best support on offer to ensure that fewer children in the city end up in care.
Four local organisations will work closely with the council to offer their expertise and support to families. Four Locally Trusted Organisations (LTOs) have been appointed to create and co-ordinate a new approach to family support – Stoke-on-Trent Family Matters.
The new scheme is part of the city council’s commitment to investing in the voluntary sector to develop family support in local communities. It will also be a key part of the draft corporate strategy aim to support family life and give children the best start in life. The LTOs will work in each area of the city, using their local knowledge, skills and expertise and listening to families’ lived experiences to help build the new approach to support families across the city. Read more.
Interpretation of CT scans in relation to stroke session
The North Midlands Integrated Stroke Delivery Network (ISDN) in collaboration with Medtronic, have held a session for over fifty clinicians across the region in the interpretation of CT scans in relation to stroke. Professor Indira Natarajan opened the session by taking delegates through a stroke patient's journey into a comprehensive stroke centre giving information on what acute sites can do to make transfers more time efficient. This comes at an optimal time due to the national roll out of Artificial intelligence to aid in CT interpretation.
A lecture on the anatomy of the brain and how a stroke may appear on CT & CTA scan was also given and delegates were then given the opportunity to work on consoles and look at real patient examples to put this theory into practice.
This course will help front line stroke specialists to rapidly diagnose large vessel occlusive strokes and help in decision making with the use of deep AI based perfusion imaging. Through this course it is hoped to improve stroke thrombectomy referral and access across the region.
|
North Staffordshire Wellbeing College
Free wellbeing workshops for anyone over the age of 18 living in Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Staffordshire Moorlands. Co-produced and facilitated by people who have experienced mental distress.
The aim of the Wellbeing College is to provide learning opportunities for people who have and who continue to experience mental and physical health challenges, their family members, staff who support them and members of the public with an interest or involvement in mental and physical health. These learning opportunities are all focused on increasing understanding, confidence, coping strategies and behaviour to enable people to manage their own lives, conditions and treatments as far as possible, so that they can live the lives they wish to lead.
To find out more email wellbeingcollege@combined.nhs.uk.
To stay tuned with our campaigns, make sure you follow us on Twitter and Facebook via @StaffStokeICS for the ICS accounts and @StaffsStokeICB for ICB accounts.
|
