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Hertfordshire Health Matters

Friday 25 October 2019

Decision made on opening hours of the New QEII Urgent Care Centre

The Governing Body of NHS East and North Hertfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) met last night (Thursday 24 October) to debate the opening hours of the Urgent Care Centre in Welwyn Garden City. In a unanimous decision, the GP-led organisation responsible for NHS services agreed to keep the Urgent Care Centre open overnight while further promotion of the service is undertaken.

Dr Prag Moodley, local GP and Chair of the Governing Body, said: “We undertook this engagement to get a real understanding of patients’ needs and with the intention that the proposal was the right thing for making best use of our limited clinical staff. We are grateful so many people took the time to have their say as this enabled us to have a thorough analysis of the local views and understanding of health services.

After a thorough discussion, the Governing Body has decided to keep the UCC open overnight until the end of March 2020 to see if more patients begin to use the service. We will implement a public information campaign to ensure that local people know about the health services available. At the end of this period, we will review the usage data to see whether enough patients are using the UCC to justify it remaining open during the night.”

For more information, please visit the CCG website.
Cancel Out Cancer session held at the Garden City Practice in Welwyn Garden City

Garden City Practice invites people to
Cancel Out Cancer

The Garden City Practice in Welwyn Garden City welcomed over 25 people to their evening Cancel Out Cancer session. Promoted alongside their yearly flu clinics the surgery invited patients to take part in an interactive session which raises awareness of cancer screening programmes, the steps people can take to help prevent cancer and how to spot the warning signs and symptoms.

Patient volunteers, Rosie and Mandy, presented the interactive session to an appreciative audience who participated in activities designed to help people improve their understanding of cancer and encourage everyone to take action to improve their health and help others to do the same.

As well as expressing how well the session was presented, guests also fed back how it was very informative and involved the audience really well in raising awareness.

Sarah Ellingworth, practice manager, said: “We were delighted to host this pro-active event for the benefit of our patients. We all know that cancer affects one out of two of us and anything that helps improve awareness has got to be a good thing.”

Following the success and feedback, the practice is planning to hold another session along with other practices in Welwyn Garden City in the New Year.

Cancel Out Cancer has been developed with our patient members and supported by Cancer Research UK.

If you would like to book a Cancel Out Cancer session for a voluntary organisation or community group, or are interested in volunteering to deliver sessions in your community – call 01707 685 397 or email enhertsccg.engagement@nhs.net.

Think you need medical help right now?

NHS 111 is available to offer advice on the best course of action.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are running a campaign to raise awareness of how NHS 111 can help you decide the best course of action to take when you have an urgent but non-life-threatening health concern.

NHS 111 allows you to have access to advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by phone and online and, if necessary, they can arrange for you to speak to relevant healthcare professionals, including nurses, emergency dentists, or even GPs.

Advisors can arrange face-to-face appointments, and if you are assessed as needing an ambulance, one will be sent directly.

NHS 111 provides you with a convenient way to get the right help or advice when you need it. Whether over the phone or online, NHS 111 will ensure that you get the right care, from the right person, as quickly as possible.

So, if you think you need urgent medical help, call 111 or go online at 111.nhs.uk.

LGBT Foundation launch their patients' experiences of primary care survey

The LGBT Foundation would like to know about your experiences of accessing healthcare services from your GP, dentist, pharmacist and optometrist. Their survey aims to build a picture of current healthcare provision by primary care services for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people. The findings will be turned into a report which will be used to make sure that primary care services are better able to recognise and meet the needs of their LGBT patients.

To complete the survey, please visit: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/VYJTXS7

Youth members needed for the Children and Young People’s Transformation Board

Are you, or someone you know, aged 13-24 interested in transforming and developing children and young people’s NHS services across England? Would you like to work at a national level to improve outcomes, care and services for all children and young people?

NHS England and Improvement are looking for four children and young people to join the Children and Young People’s Transformation Board as Youth Members for one year (December 2019-December 2020) to represent the voices of children and young people.

This is an exciting opportunity to make a difference to children, young people and their families in England. Applicants should have current or previous experience of using one or more children’s or adolescent NHS services in England.

For more information, visit: https://www.england.nhs.uk/participation/get-involved/opportunities/.

Stoptober is back for its eighth year to help smokers realise that they are ready to split up from their relationship with smoking this October.

Its not too late to end your relationship with smoking
NHS Stoptober can help

It’s not too late to end your relationship with smoking. With a range of free quitting support options, Stoptober can help you split up with smoking this October. Visit nhs.uk/stoptober.

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A Healthier Future - Improving health and care in Herts and west Essex

Health careers expo engages young people with interactive activities
A successful careers event was held at Harlow College last week which attracted over 600 young people. There were many interactive stands from Princess Alexandra Hospital as well as other organisations, such as the ambulance service. Young people from schools and colleges from around the area had an opportunity to see the range of exciting careers available to them from occupational therapy to NHS IT services. Interactive games and activities helped engage young visitors and helped them to develop an awareness of career paths for the future.
 
The event was supported by the STP workforce programme team who are driving the strategic improvements in recruitment and retention of NHS staff and have been collaborating with colleagues across health care, education and community organisations.


Find out more about our STP by visiting: www.healthierfuture.org.uk

There are links to the STP’s ‘Healthier Future’ newsletter and copies of the STP leader’s update on our intranet.

Follow us on Twitter: @HWEfutureSTP

Sign up to receive the Hertfordshire and west Essex Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) newsletter by clicking here...

NEWSLETTERS AND EVENTS

This section promotes useful newsletters from organisations in our area which you can share. We'll also post information on health-related events in the area that you might find interesting.

There are lots of ‘Preparing for Baby’ courses taking place in the area, so please let your family members know if they are expecting. Visit Eventbrite for more dates and locations.

29 October: Footgolf for carers in the villages, Ash Valley Golf Club, Much Hadham, 11am-1pm - Enjoy some fresh air and exercise with a round of FootGolf.

30 October: Resilience for carers, Northchurch Social Centre, Northchurch, 1-2pm - Learn techniques to help you manage the everyday stresses of being a carer and build up resilience.

4 November: C4A Forum (Adults with Autistic Spectrum Conditions), Oxlease House, Hatfield, 7.30-9.30pm.

LOCAL NEWS week ending 20 October

Some of our area's outlets covered a range of health matters in the past week. Click on the links to take you to their home pages where you can search for health news.

Hertfordshire Mercury

St Albans & Harpenden Review

Herts Advertiser  

Hemel Gazette

Watford Observer

Bishops Stortford Independent

@ENHertsCCG Twitter report
14 - 20 October 2019

Total followers: 5,035
New followers this week: 10
Tweets sent this week: 17
Total number of views of our tweets: 6,257
Retweets this week: 6
Total number of ‘follows’ or tweets ‘favourited’ or ‘re-tweeted’: 45
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