Hertfordshire Health Matters
Friday 18th September 2020
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Preparing for winter flu and COVID-19
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Flu clinics have already started and received a positive response from participants as surgeries gear up to tackle the winter flu and COVID-19.
Practices are delivering flu vaccines in different ways and patients have found the process to be safe and really quick.
All eligible groups will be contacted by their practice to have the jab.
Those in the 50-64 year old age group with no long term conditions will be contacted later in the season to have their jab if stocks are sufficient and this will take place in November and December.
Please encourage anyone you know with a long term condition or who is eligible because they are a carer, are pregnant or have children at primary school up to Year 7, to have the vaccine.
Follow us on Twitter @ENHertsCCG for more information on flu clinics and also our web pages https://www.enhertsccg.nhs.uk/news over the winter months.
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Thank you for joining AGM
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Thank you to Herts Health Matters readers once again for joining our CCG’s AGM on 3 September, and to the presenters who ran the two workshops about NHS 111 and the Cancel Out Cancer campaign just afterwards.
If for any reason you weren’t able to join us that morning, you can watch the AGM in full and find supporting information all in one place here at the CCG’s website: https://www.enhertsccg.nhs.uk/news/202009/east-and-north-hertfordshire-ccg-agm-3-september-2020
You’ll also be able to link to the videos about young carers, eConsult and primary care premises development that were shown in the AGM, as well read the Q&As from the AGM itself.
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Your questions on COVID-19 answered
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Hertfordshire’s lead GPs - Dr Prag Moodley and Dr Nicolas Small - have teamed up to provide answers for some common dilemmas facing people concerned about COVID-19.
Subjects tackled include advice on how to tell the difference between the symptoms of a cold and COVID-19, what to do if you can’t get a test, and sources of support and help if you have symptoms or need to self-isolate.
Dr Prag Moodley, the lead GP for East and North Hertfordshire CCG, said: “As the father of school-aged children and a GP looking after elderly and vulnerable patients, I understand the anxiety that the growing number of coronavirus cases is causing. We hope that these questions and answers can give some clarity to anyone who is worried or confused.”
To access the full Q&A, visit these mobile friendly websites:
https://www.healthierfuture.org.uk/news/2020/september/concerned-about-coronavirus-your-questions-answered, or https://hertsvalleysccg.nhs.uk/your-health-and-services/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-what-you-need-know .
If you’re reading this on a PC, you can go to our CCG’s website at www.enhertsccg.nhs.uk and search for ‘COVID-19 advice’ in the search box.
If you are active on Twitter please follow @ENHertsCCG and share our tweets on the topic, as well as looking out for our Facebook posts too.
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Keeping safe on World Patient Safety Day
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The safety of our health workers was at the forefront of our minds yesterday (17 September) as we marked the World Health Organisation's World Patient Safety Day.
As we move from summer in to autumn and winter when virus and infections spread more easily, it’s a good time to look at our safety.
The theme of the day was around health worker safety, but why should we be looking at health worker safety? Because keeping health workers safe helps keep patients safe.
Just as health workers have adapted to new ways of working, new guidelines and extra PPE to wear, so patients have helped keep workers safe by wearing a face covering in hospitals, avoiding bringing in extra people to hospital appointments and limiting face-to-face interaction.
However, it remains really important to your health and wellbeing to speak to your GP practice if you have any health concerns.
Don’t put anything off. Patients who need face-to-face treatment for an ‘everyday’ illness or injury which is not related to coronavirus are being treated completely separately from those with coronavirus symptoms.
Follow us on Twitter @ENHertsCCG for more information on how to keep patients and health workers safe, as well as details on flu vaccinations.
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Your chance to join Cancel Out Cancer sessions
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Would you like to learn more about cancer screening, symptoms and prevention?
The Cancel Out Cancer volunteer team are starting to hold the first ever sessions online and want to talk to you!
The aim of these sessions is to provide information and signposting for people about cancer and the lifestyle factors that can increase their chances of getting cancer.
They are free, and are open to anyone to attend; they are especially appropriate for those who are worried about cancer and what they can do to reduce their chances of getting the disease.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, these sessions were held face-to-face; however, meetings are not currently being held in person and the volunteers have instead been working hard to move to an online video call format of Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
If you are part of a group or network who would benefit from a session, or just want to learn more about the campaign, please email enhertsccg.engagement@nhs.net
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Advice on coping with death and grief
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Are you currently coping with death and grief?
If so, help is at hand through an information guide that provides advice on understanding grief and methods to show support to others in a similar situation.
The guide offers lots of support:
- Understanding grief - learning about the five common stages of loss and grief how this can help a person be better prepared when the time comes that a loved one passes away.
- Advice on how to take care of yourself during loss and grief - knowing the significant but short-term effect of grief on the body and how staying active, eating well, and maintaining a regular lifestyle can help you stay healthy.
- Methods to show support in helping others grieve - how you can play a large part in helping children, a partner, friend, or family members cope with the death of a loved one.
- Other useful resources and information such as helplines and support communities that can be very helpful in times of loss.
To access the guide, visit https://www.churchill.com/life-insurance/coping-with-death-grief
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