The final of our four new Mental Health and Wellbeing projects is “Coping with the New Normal”
The 6 week course will help to manage your wellbeing and recognise stress and anxiety as we begin to adapt to the changes we are seeing in the world
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LEADING UK meningitis charity Meningitis Now has launched a new Signs and Symptoms video to help raise awareness of the deadly disease to mark World Meningitis Day on Saturday 24 April.
The charity is also calling on local supporters to raise awareness with friends, family and in their community and help #DefeatMeningitis.
In a second video released for the annual day, an initiative of the worldwide Confederation of Meningitis Organisations, charity supporters Holly and Lewis Andrews, from Worcester, are also helping to spread the word by telling their story.
In the video Holly and Lewis talk about how they had already watched their son Theo battle bacterial meningitis in 2018. Fortunately, he recovered. When his baby brother Jasper became unwell in March 2020 they couldn’t believe that history seemed to be repeating itself.
“Meningitis can wreck lives and it’s vital that everybody understands how serious it can be for individuals and families. That’s why we’re supporting World Meningitis Day.
“By telling our story, raising awareness of the signs and symptoms and increasing vaccine knowledge, we hope to raise the profile of this devastating disease,” they said.
Thankfully, Jasper, who was diagnosed with viral meningitis, also went on to make a good recovery.
Holly added: “I couldn’t get my head around the fact that both our babies had contracted meningitis. I had so many questions, so many whys? What ifs? How could this have happened again? What did we do wrong?
“I reached out to Meningitis Now again, and shared all my concerns and all my questions, and they were great. They told me about a Facebook support group, which has been a huge help for me.
“Both boys are doing fantastic, they’re both so happy, so content and are already the best of friends, they love each other so much.
“We still can’t quite believe that in the last three years meningitis has hit our little family twice and I don’t think you can ever get over the constant worrying and panicking, but I think it’s just something you learn to live with.”
The family’s full story is on the charity’s website at www.meningitisnow.org/support-us/news-centre/meningitis-stories/jaspers-story
Meningitis Now Chief Executive, Dr Tom Nutt, said: “We want to use World Meningitis Day to help spread the word and raise awareness of the signs and symptoms and reinforce that, on World Meningitis Day, as on every other day, we are here to help and support those who need us.
“With the impact of Covid-19 leading to some people missing their immunisations and the number of meningitis cases expected to rise when people start to gather again it’s important that we keep meningitis awareness on everybody’s radar.
“Please join us on 24 April for World Meningitis Day, take action and #DefeatMeningitis.”
Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord, usually caused by bacteria or viruses.Early signs and symptoms can be similar to ‘flu, tummy bug or a hangover and include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pain and stomach cramps.
More specific signs and symptoms include fever with cold hands and feet, drowsiness, confusion, pale blotchy skin, stiff neck, dislike of bright lights and a rash, which doesn’t fade under pressure. Symptoms can occur in any order and some may not appear at all.
If someone is ill and getting worse seek urgent medical attention.
Of those who contract bacterial meningitis one in ten will die and one in three survivors will be left with life-changing after-effects.
The awareness day takes place as Meningitis Now launches its new five-year strategy aiming to defeat meningitis in the UK within a generation.
The charity is working towards a future where no one in the UK loses their life to meningitis and everyone affected gets the support they need.
It does this by funding research into vaccines and prevention, raising awareness so people know what to look for and what action to take if they suspect meningitis and rebuilding futures by providing dedicated support to people living with the impact of the disease.
For more information visit www.meningitisnow.org
All staff at Breast Cancer Haven are at risk of redundancy after trustees announced its services would be suspended because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement published on its website on Friday, the charity said it had taken the decision to suspend operations “for the time being”, putting all of its staff – believed to be 26 people – at risk of redundancy.
According to the charity’s latest accounts, for the year to the end of May 2020, it employed 67 staff and reported a total income of £3.8m. Total spending was nearly £4m.
But the charity said it had already made about 40 staff redundant since the pandemic began, and had been forced to close its five centres and other in-hospital face-to-face services.
The charity’s healthcare professionals will still provide individual support as well as online groups and classes up until the end of June, Breast Cancer Haven said, and it will honour all existing individual therapy appointments, while endeavouring to honour existing visitors’ full treatment plans if possible.
In addition, visitors with first consultations booked before 23 April will still be able to access a maximum of four hours of individual therapy time, the charity said.
Breast Cancer Haven still has to raise a further £100,000 to deliver these services up until the end of June, and the charity said it welcomed any continued donations its supporters can give.
The statement said: “It is with huge sadness that Breast Cancer Haven’s board of trustees has made the extremely difficult decision to suspend operations for the time being.
“This means we will be pausing the delivery of our live online service and, with great regret, putting all our staff at risk of redundancy.
“Despite a series of cost-cutting measures, including saying goodbye to valued colleagues, we are not able to continue normal operations at this time.
“This means that we will be pausing the delivery of our live online services that have helped around 1,800 people by providing over 10,000 appointments since lockdown began in March 2020.”
The charity thanked its staff, volunteers and therapists and said it would make further announcements regarding its future as soon as possible.
The COVID-19 pandemic is feared to have had a detrimental impact on Scottish workers’ mental health, with 65% of managers saying their staff’s mental health worsened over the pandemic, according to new research by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
This compares to only just over half (54%) of managers saying their staff’s mental health worsened over the pandemic in Yorkshire and Humber, and 56% in London.
A survey of 1,274 managers across England and Scotland which looked into the impact of mental health in the pandemic and employer mental health support found that the North West ranked highest overall in terms of the impact of the pandemic on workers mental health and employer support for mental health in the workplace.
The final ranking is as follows:
The research also found that employers across the regions are on the whole fairing well in relation to the provision of mental health support – with the highest satisfaction with services being 8.2 out of 10 in the South East, compared to the lowest being 7.6 in the East of England.
However across the regions over at least a fifth of all managers are apprehensive about using their employers Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
Commenting on the regional statistics of CMI’s research, Niamh Mulholland, Executive Director of External Affairs said: “Coming back to the workplace is going to be stressful for a lot of people, who may worry about if it’s safe for them to return, what will the office be like and the commute amongst other things.
“As a result, people may need extra support from their employer and although employers are doing well overall, they may need to look at the support they currently have, in case there’s anything additional that their teams may need.
“In Stress Awareness Month, we are partnering with Kooth to ensure that these needs are highlighted and that all managers know that CMI can support them if they are worried or don’t feel able to access their Employee Assistance Programme.
“Simply visit our website managers.org.uk/StressAwareness.”
Over the past decade and particularly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen increasing use of digital technology in service provision by third and public sector organisations.
But with this increasing use comes challenges. The development and use of these technologies often outpace the organisational structures put in place to improve delivery and protect both individuals and organisations.
Digitally Kind is devised to help bridge the gaps between digital policy, process and practice to improve outcomes, and introducing kindness as a value to underpin an organisational approach.
Based on workshops with over 40 practitioners and frontline staff, the report has been designed as a starting point to support organisations open up conversations around their use of digital in delivering services.
Digitally Kind explores a range of technical, social and cultural considerations around the use of tech when working with individuals covering values and governance; access; safety and wellbeing; knowledge and skills; and participation.
While the project predominantly focused on the experiences of practitioners and organisations working with young people, many of the principles hold true for other sectors.
The research also highlights a short set of considerations for funders, policymakers (including regulators) and online platforms.
A plain text version of this report is also available here.
Dear Editor,
I hope parents will encourage their children to take part in Royal Mail’s stamp design competition, to honour the heroes of the pandemic. The competition is open to children, aged 4 to 14. Eight designs will be chosen to become stamps which will be on sale across the UK.
Children may choose to illustrate frontline workers in health or social care.
They may want to celebrate other key workers who have kept the country going, such as refuse collectors, cleaners, teachers, supermarket workers, public transport staff, delivery drivers or, indeed, postmen and postwomen.
Or they might highlight the volunteers who have helped in their local communities or raised money for charity, such as Captain Sir Tom Moore.
The competition is open until Friday 28 May. A special panel of judges will select the winners.
As with all Special Stamps, the final eight designs will be sent to The Queen before they can be printed and issued as stamps. The winners will be announced in the Autumn.
We cannot wait to see who children choose to honour on their stamp. The past year has been very difficult for everyone, so let’s show the heroes of the pandemic just how much we appreciate what they have done for us.
Full details can be found at www.royalmail.com/stampcompetition
Yours faithfully,
David Gold
Royal Mail
Director of External Affairs & Policy
We’re continuing to get calls about wheelie bin fires. If your wheelie bin is easily accessible, please take a few minutes to move it to a safe & secure location where it cannot be taken. Don’t let your wheelie bin become a target for deliberate fires.
EMMS International and VOCAL (Voice of Carers across Lothian) have announced an exciting new partnership to support Edinburgh families to access much-needed breaks from caring routines.
EMMS International is donating its Hawthorn Brae Fund to VOCAL to purchase a property to provide short breaks for unpaid carers and people with life-limiting conditions, and of limited means, living in Edinburgh.
Funding for the Hawthorn Brae breaks project originally came from Margaret Sanson (nee Laing), who left her house – Hawthorn Brae in Duddingston – in her will to the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society (later to become EMMS International).
After the house was donated it became a place of care and respite. After selling it in 1998, EMMS International used income from the fund to provide respite holidays for people with life limiting conditions living in Edinburgh.
By donating this fund to VOCAL, EMMS International will double the number of people benefiting and ensure carers and those they care for can enjoy a high-quality short break in Scotland. The donation enhances VOCAL’s existing short breaks offer to carers which includes support to create, fund and take regular short breaks.
Sebastian Fischer, Chief Executive of VOCAL said: “EMMS International and VOCAL share a vision to work globally and locally for better health and wellbeing for people with care needs and their carers. This is a great partnership to help those in greatest need and builds on the best of our traditions in Scotland.
“A big thank you to EMMS International for their generous investment which will provide more families with an opportunity to take time out, recharge their energy and support their physical and mental wellbeing.”
Dr Cathy Ratcliff, CEO of EMMS said: “We’re delighted to gift this historic Hawthorn Brae fund to VOCAL as we embark on a new partnership which will double the number of people who will benefit from much needed short breaks.”
To celebrate 5 years of Invisible Cities, the team are inviting all supporters, friends, partners and customers to take part in a virtual mile-covering challenge, whilst raising vital funds for their social enterprise
Invisible Cities, the social enterprise operating in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and York, trains people who have previously experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city.
The social enterprise is now inviting supporters, friends, customers and partners to take part in a virtual mile-covering challenge, to celebrate Invisible Cities turning 5.
From April – July there are 4 legs (one per month) that collectively make-up 500 miles as participants virtually move between Invisible Cities locations. Participants are invited to sign up for one leg, or all 4 and the challenge is to complete the number of miles required for that leg, within the month.
Each leg varies in distance, so there’s something for everyone, from absolute beginners to fitness enthusiasts alike. The challenge can also be enjoyed as individual or in teams of up to 6, to reach the target miles. People can also choose between walking, running, cycling and swimming when it comes to how they decide to cover the mile target.
The purpose of Invisible Cities’ virtual fundraiser is to connect individuals with other like-minded people all over the UK to raise money for those affected by homelessness.
Zakia Moulaoui Guery, Founder & CEO of Invisible Cities said: “After a full year of being stuck indoors, getting outside to exercise is more important for our mental health than ever before.
“As COVID-19 has had a huge impact on homelessness, we thought we’d combine the benefits of outdoor activity with the effort to help support those experiencing homelessness through the pandemic. We really don’t think we could have found a better way to celebrate our 5th birthday!”
To be part of the latest Invisible Cities initiative participants simply need to fill the form which can be found on the social enterprise’s official website, pay the £10 entry (100% of which will support their work to help combat homelessness) and all details for the challenge will then be emailed directly to them.
As part of the initiative, Invisible Cities will also set up a personal Go Fund Me account for all ‘challengers’ to share and collect sponsorship and much-needed encouragement from friends and family, and the team will share fun updates about history and homelessness organisations depending on the point reached on the virtual journey.
They will also receive access to the official Invisible Cities Strava group to track miles and become part of their community as well as receiving virtual updates showing where they are on their journey.
For more information and to register for the virtual miles-covering challenge visit:
https://invisible-cities.org/news/2021/500-miles-5-cities-celebrating-5-years-of-invisible-cities
– Part of the Nutmeg range, the bars are plastic-free and the packaging is fully recyclable –
– They last for 30 washes and cost £3 each, five times cheaper than similar branded options –
Morrisons has become the first UK supermarket to launch an own-brand range of shampoo and conditioner bars into its permanent haircare range.
The Morrisons bars, which are part of the Nutmeg range, can last up to 30 washes and cost a pocket-friendly £3 – making them five times cheaper than some other branded options available, which can cost over £15.
They are also vegan, 100% plastic-free and packaged in fully recyclable cardboard cartons.
Shampoo bars use less water to manufacture than traditional haircare products and are lighter to transport, so have a smaller carbon footprint than a standard shampoo bottle. An average family can use multiple shampoo and conditioner plastic bottles per month – making the shampoo bars a more eco-friendly option.
Celebrities including Holly Willoughby, Davina McCall, Lily James and Kirsten Scott Thomas are all fans of shampoo bars.
The Nutmeg Shampoo and Conditioner Bars are formulated with a high natural origin content and include ingredients such as Organic Argan Oil, Wheat Germ Oil and Coconut Oil – renowned for their ability to cleanse and nourish, restore damaged hair and tame frizz.
Karena Hung, Health & Beauty Development Manager at Morrisons, said: “Our customers are telling us they want more sustainable options, not only for their groceries, but for their beauty products too.
“We’re excited to launch these new shampoo and conditioner bars under our own brand, so customers can pick them up as easily as they would regular bottles of shampoo and conditioner, with their weekly shop.”
Made in Scotland, Morrisons Nutmeg Shampoo & Conditioner Bars are available in-store now for £3 each.
A number of sustainable healthcare products are available in Morrisons Nutmeg range including organic sustainable sanitary protection, cotton buds in paper boxes, along with wooden nail and bath brushes.
