Tag: health

Be healthwise this Easter

Scots are being offered a final reminder to plan ahead as part of this year’s Be Health-Wise This Easter campaign …

HealthWiseForEaster10With coughs and colds still common during Easter, NHS Scotland’s wise Dr Owl is urging people to take a few simple steps to look after their health.

By knowing when their GP surgery is open, re-stocking their medicine cabinet and ordering and collecting repeat prescriptions in plenty of time for Easter, people can ensure they make the most of the holiday weekend.

NHS 24 Medical Director Professor George Crooks, said: “With many GP surgeries across Scotland closed for up to four days over the Easter holiday weekend, it’s vital to plan ahead and ensure you and your family stay well this spring. Although we are seeing some signs of spring, there are still many coughs, colds and seasonal illnesses circulating within communities across Scotland.

“We are therefore advising people to keep remedies for common ailments available, especially for families with young children. If you take regular repeat medication, it is also important to make sure you have enough to last over the Easter holiday weekend.

“By following these simple steps, you can help keep yourself and your family well and make the most of the Easter holiday weekend.”

This year many GP surgeries across Scotland will close for four days from Good Friday (April 3th) to Easter Monday (April 6th), before re-opening on Tuesday 7th April.

General advice and information on how to stay healthy this Easter can be found at  www.nhsinform.co.uk 

or contact NHS inform on 0800 22 44 88.

Babies will receive Meningitis B vaccine ‘as quickly as possible’

Vaccine to be part of Scottish childhood immunisation programme

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All infants in the UK are to be offered a vaccination against meningitis B following a deal struck between the Westminster government and drug manufacturing giant GlaxoSmithKline. The agreement was also reached on behalf of the Scottish Government and Scotland’s health secretary Shona Robison  said the vaccine will be offered here ‘as quickly as possible’.

The NHS will now introduce the vaccine, Bexsero, to the immunisation programme for infants. Vaccination will prevent the life-threatening strain of meningitis to all infants – around 1,200 people, mainly babies and children, get meningitis caused by the meningococcal group B bacteria each year in the UK, with around one in 10 dying from the infection.

The vaccination will be given in three doses at two, four and 12 months, with all babies in Scotland aged two months at the point of introduction being eligible. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has also advised that when the programme starts there should be a one-off, catch-up programme for babies aged three and four months of age.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “The Scottish Government has been consistent in its support for the introduction of the Meningitis B vaccine, Bexsero. We will now work to roll out the vaccination programme as quickly as possible.

“The Meningitis B vaccine will now form part of the routine childhood immunisation programme in Scotland, underlining our commitment to ensuring the health and wellbeing of our children.

“Meningitis B is life-threatening and can affect people of any age, but is most common in babies and young children. By offering this vaccine as part of the routine programme we will be able prevent this and save lives. This disease can be devastating for children and their families and I’m very pleased we can now take the necessary steps to tackle its effects.”

Scotland leads the world with lifesaving strategy

Strategy aims to save 1,000 lives from cardiac arrest by 2020

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A new strategy has been launched which aims to save 1,000 lives from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) over the next five years. Scotland’s Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy is the first such comprehensive document produced on a national scale anywhere in the world.

Maureen Watt, Minister for Public Health, introduced the strategy at the Scottish Cardiac Arrest Symposium, an international gathering of leading experts, in Edinburgh yesterday. She also confirmed that £100,000 of health consequential spending resulting from last week’s budget will be used to support delivery of the strategy and improve access to defibrillators.

The strategy sets a goal of increasing survival rates from OHCA by 10 per cent at the end of the five year strategy. This would mean around 1,000 lives being saved by 2020.

Some of the aims include:

• Equipping a further 500,000 people with CPR skills by 2020
• Improved mapping of defibrillators so that emergency call handlers can quickly direct members of the public to them
• Ensure that patients are always taken to a place with appropriate post cardiac arrest care
• To provide better support to survivors and their families and ensure that any any bystanders and others impacted by OHCA are given support after the event
• To reduce inequalities in survival
• To increase people’s confidence to attempt CPR if they witness a cardiac arrest

When a person goes into cardiac arrest their heart and breathing stops, meaning they will die in minutes. Prompt resuscitation, by CPR or if needed, a defibrillator, is essential to improve chances of survival. CPR delivered quickly can increase chances of survival threefold.

The strategy has been jointly produced by a range of stakeholders including the Scottish Government, British Heart Foundation, Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, Scottish Ambulance Service, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland

A key element of the strategy is for all these stakeholders to work together to improve the crucial ‘chain of survival’ from the moment of cardiac arrest, through to hospital admission and into aftercare.

Maureen Watt, Minister for Public Health, said: “Currently around one in 20 people survive cardiac arrest. We want to greatly increase that number, and that is what this strategy is all about.

“The best way to ensure that more people survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is to increase the number of people who have CPR skills, and crucially, to make sure they are confident enough to attempt resuscitation if the need arises.

“If we succeed in our aims, there will be 1,000 lives saved by 2020. That is an ambitious target, but it is one that we believe is achievable and well worth aiming for. I am also pleased to be able to confirm that a further £100,000 of investment to support this strategy.”

Simon Gillespie, British Heart Foundation Chief Executive, said: “Scotland has already embraced the concept of creating a nation of lifesavers, and we’re now supporting around three quarters of secondary schools in teaching their pupils vital CPR skills.

“And today, we’re delighted to see the launch of the Scottish Government’s Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest strategy. This is a real commitment to ensuring Scotland leads the way in creating a nation of lifesavers, and improving outcomes for people who suffer a cardiac arrest.”

Jim Ward, Medical Director, Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “Ambulance staff play a pivotal role in saving lives and the focus on continuously developing and improving resuscitation efforts is key to this.

“Our 3RU initiative that specifically targets cardiac arrests with the most appropriate paramedic response has increased survival rates. Our ambulance teams provide bystander CPR advice and our community resilience teams deliver a wide range of initiatives around the country, including First Responder programmes, community CPR training and provision of public access defibrillators.

“The Scottish Ambulance Service will continue to develop partnerships with allied organisations and communities, saving lives across Scotland.”

Wendy Armitage, Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland Cardiac Manager, said: “We know that there is much more to be done for people who survive cardiac arrest. Survivors often have specific needs such as social and psychological, however these needs are not being identified and addressed. Family and peer support is crucial for these patients, so the charity supports a network of affiliated heart groups across Scotland where people can speak to other people in similar circumstances.”

Fred Lippet, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Chief Executive of the Ambulance Service in Denmark, and one of the world’s leading experts in OHCA, said: “This is a fantastic strategy and, although it is stretching, I believe Scotland will achieve its goals due to the commitments made in the strategy.”

Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Strategy for Scotland can be found here:

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/03/7484

Don’t let DIY = Don’t Injure Yourself this Easter

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As many Scots prepare to make the most of the Easter holidays and the onset of spring by reaching for the tools or lawnmower, a major health campaign is urging DIY and gardening enthusiasts to be prepared. 

As part of the NHS Scotland Be Health-Wise This Easter campaign – which features the wise Dr Owl – DIY and gardening enthusiasts are being urged to take care and be prepared to deal with any minor accidents before tackling those all-important home and garden improvements.

By taking a few simple steps and knowing when their GP surgery is open, re-stocking their medicine cabinet and first aid box if needed, and using local pharmacies to seek advice and to treat any minor cuts, bumps, bruises and scrapes, any enthusiastic painters, builders and gardeners can help ensure they stay healthy this Easter weekend.

Sheena Wright, Executive Director of Nursing and Care at NHS 24, said: “Every Easter we see an increase in calls resulting from DIY accidents and we would encourage Scots to be prepared before they open the toolbox or garden shed.

“With the onset of spring this weekend and the clocks going forward, many people will be taking advantage of the extra hour of daylight to catch up with those jobs in the house and garden.

“We are encouraging DIY enthusiasts to keep treatments for minor injuries, such as plasters and antiseptic, in the first aid box, visit their pharmacist for health advice and know when they can get an appointment at their GP surgery.”

“With many GP surgeries closed for four days over the Easter weekend, these are a few simple steps people can take to stay healthy.”

Although many GP surgeries will be closed at Easter, hundreds of GPs will be working throughout this period supporting out of hours services across Scotland.

General advice and information on how to stay healthy this Easter can be found at www.nhsinform.co.uk or contact NHS inform on 0800 22 44 88.

The four key steps recommended by Be Ready for Easter are:

Check you have cold and flu remedies

Common ailments such as colds can often be effectively treated at home with readily available medicine such as pain relief, cough mixture and cold remedies. Parents are reminded to restock their medicine cabinet with child-friendly remedies.

Use your local pharmacy

Your pharmacist can offer advice or help if you need over-the-counter remedies or have run out of any prescribed medication. You can also pick up plasters and antiseptic creams to prepare for any minor accidents.

Make sure you have enough repeat prescription.

If you or someone you care for requires medicines regularly, make sure you order and collect repeat prescriptions in good time to ensure you have enough medicine to last over the holiday period. Only order what you need.

Know when your GP surgery will be open

Your local doctor’s surgery may be closed for four days during the Easter weekend from Good Friday to Easter Monday (April 4 – April 7).

 

A King’s ransom: joy for the Junction

Junction

Leith-based The Junction youth project has been awarded £30,000 from The King’s Fund. The Junction is the only Scottish project among ten recipients of a GSK IMPACT Award, which recognises excellence in health and wellbeing – and The Junction is one of a very select few to have won the award TWICE!

The GSK community investment programme has been running for 18 years, during which time it has awarded more than £5 million in unrestricted funding to charities across the UK.  This year’s winning organisations were selected from more than 350 charities who applied for the GSK IMPACT Awards, which are run in partnership with The King’s Fund.

Winning charities are also given access to a free training and development programme and are invited to join the GSK IMPACT Awards Network. This Network offers previous winners the opportunity to develop their staff and provides a forum to share and learn from each other’s experiences and expertise.

This year’s winners will join more than 60 previous winning organisations from across the UK, who have committed to ongoing professional development, collaboration and delivering outstanding services to patients and communities.

An overall winner, who will receive an additional £10,000 in funding, will be announced at an award ceremony recognising all winners to be held at the Science Museum in London on Thursday 14 May 2015.

The winners were selected by a judging panel of health and charity experts including broadcast journalist Fiona Phillips; Gilly Green, Head of UK Grants at Comic Relief; Sir Christopher Gent, Chair of GSK; and Sir Chris Kelly, Chair of The King’s Fund.

Katie Pinnock, Director, UK & Ireland Charitable Partnerships at GSK, said: ‘These awards recognise charities that make an incredible difference to many people’s lives right across the country. The programme has grown immensely since we started in 1997, and we are extremely proud of the way it has brought people together, enabling them to share knowledge and learn from each other. Each year we are impressed, inspired and moved, not only by the innovation and talent in the work our winning charities undertake, but by the commitment and dedication of everyone involved.’

Sam Anderson, director at The Junction, said: “We are delighted at being a 2015 GSK Impact Award winner. Being a GSK Impact Award winner in 2009 provided the Junction with the platform to celebrate our strengths, develop and deepen. The 2015 GSK Impact Award offers fantastic recognition of all we have achieved in the six years since and provides us with both significant funding and development opportunities which will ensure we are able to continue to flourish.”

Lisa Weaks, Third Sector Programme Manager at The King’s Fund, said: ‘Charities provide important services and support in our health and social care system. These winners show just how much can be achieved with relatively limited funds, through the passion and dedication of the organisations and their volunteers. Their work spans the whole of our lives – they can help prevent young people from making detrimental decisions like taking up smoking, or provide support for people at the end of their lives so they can make the right decisions for them and their family. Their energy and commitment is inspirational.’

A Junction spokesperson added: “We have been named a winner of the GSK IMPACT Awards, and in fact we’re one of the rare organisations that have won twice! Not only is this a huge honour but it is a great way to recognise how The Junction has continued to strive for excellence year after year.”

The ten winners are:

  • Alzheimer’s Support – a charity  improving diagnosis and support for people with dementia in Wiltshire
  • CoolTan Arts – based in Southwark, helps improve the lives of people in mental distress through creativity, self-advocacy and volunteer opportunities
  • Cut Films Project/Deborah Hutton Campaign  – based in Islington, helps prevent smoking among young people through peer-to-peer education and campaigns
  • Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust – based in Islington, is the only UK charity supporting women affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities  and focuses activity on raising the profile and understanding of the disease and ways to prevent it
  • National Council for Palliative Care – a members’ organisation campaigning to help everyone approaching the end of life have the right to the highest quality care and support
  • Neuromuscular Centre – a Cheshire-based charity that provides physiotherapy, training and employment opportunities for those with degenerative neuromuscular conditions, as well as assistance for their carers
  • Off the Record – a Bristol-based charity helping young people to improve their mental health and wellbeing
  • RESTORE – an Oxford-based charity supporting people with mental health problems to gain or maintain employment
  • The Junction – this is the second award for this Leith-based charity, which helps children and young people make positive choices that promote their health and wellbeing and reduce harmful behaviour
  • Wave Trauma Centre – a Belfast-based charity offering care and support to anyone bereaved, injured or traumatised through the violence in Northern Ireland.

Lazarowicz: justice for Thalidomide victims plea

‘The German government surely owes a moral debt to those who have suffered’ – Mark Lazarowicz MP

thalidomide

Mark Lazarowicz MP is among a number of Labour MPs to have written to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, calling for the German Government to engage in dialogue with representatives from the Thalidomide Trust and to look to compensate victims who are now in their 50s so that their increasing health needs can be met. 

The drug was manufactured by a German company, Grünenthal, and was prescribed in the UK mainly for use by pregnant women to treat morning sickness between 1958 and 1961 but was then withdrawn after concern over side-effects.

It is now clear that the manufacturer had prior knowledge of the dangers of Thalidomide which were ignored – and those people affected and their families should have been entitled to a much larger settlement than they agreed to at the time.

The North and Leith MP said: “I am regularly contacted by people here in Edinburgh whose lives have been affected by Thalidomide – the compensation paid to Thalidomide victims in the UK remains inadequate, yet their health needs are complex and increasing as they and their families age.

“The German government surely owes a moral debt to those who have suffered as a result – if families had known of the prior knowledge that existed they could have pressed for much higher compensation.

“I call on the German government to sit down with the Thalidomide Trust and agree to compensation that will allow victims’ health needs to be met as they get older and bring them justice at last.”

Around 40% of babies affected died at or shortly after birth whilst over 10,000 people worldwide were born with a disability as a result. The Thalidomide Trust currently supports 468 survivors in the UK, over 50 of whom are in Scotland.

 

Dr Owl’s eggstra-special holiday health tips

Eggstra special seasonal health advice (sorry!) …

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Dr Owl – the memorable and wise character from a national health campaign – takes to the skies across Scotland again today urging people to take a few simple steps to look after their health this Easter. 

Dr Owl was joined by five-year-old Freya Cowie from Dunblane and seven-year-old Jack Ozen from South Queensferry at the New Hopetoun Garden Centre to launch this year’s Be Health-Wise This Easter campaign. The campaign, which is run by NHS 24 on behalf of NHS Scotland, is reminding people that by making sure they have a supply of over the counter medicines, knowing when their GP surgery is open and checking their repeat prescriptions, they can ensure they make the most of the Easter holiday weekend.

This year many GP surgeries across Scotland will close for four days from Good Friday (3 April) to Easter Monday (6 April), before re-opening on Tuesday 7 April. 

After winter, Easter is the busiest time of year for Scotland’s health services. NHS 24 Medical Director Professor George Crooks said: “Easter falls slightly earlier this year and as such, there are still many common illnesses circulating within communities. The Be Health-Wise This Easter campaign wants to remind people of the small steps they can take to ensure illness doesn’t ruin their Easter.

“Being prepared by having enough repeat medication to cover you and having some simple home remedies available can make all the difference if illness strikes. It is also important to plan ahead for any required repeat prescriptions over the Easter break, so please order and collect in good time. We would also remind people of the wide range of health information available at NHS inform.”

Although many GP surgeries will be closed at Easter, hundreds of GPs and nurses are working throughout this period supporting out of hours services across Scotland to see patients with conditions that need urgent attention over the holiday period and cannot wait until the surgeries reopen on Tuesday.

General advice and information on how to stay healthy this Easter can be found at www.nhsinform.co.uk or contact NHS inform on 0800 22 44 88.

More funding for mental health services

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A new £15 million fund for mental health will help to fund innovation and improve services over the next three years.

Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health announced details of the scheme in parliament yesterday. The funding will be spread out over the next three years and will be made up of four key elements:

• An allocation to NHS boards to support increased access to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), and to develop new and innovative approaches to treatment
• Funding to NHS Education Scotland to further develop the quality of CAMHS through improved training
• Work with partners and boards to develop better ways of helping people in distress – including those who are at risk of self harm or suicide
• Money to work with boards and partners to develop new ways of working with people with mental health problems in primary care settings

The £15 million innovation fund was first announced in November last year and the details have now been confirmed.

Mr Hepburn announced the details during a parliamentary debate of the Mental Health Bill. This bill, which successfully passed its stage one process yesterday, looks to amend legislation so that is works as well as possible for service users. It also introduces a Victim Notification Scheme for victims of mentally disordered offenders in a way that respects the rights of both victims and vulnerable offenders.

Jamie Hepburn said: “Expenditure on mental health is around £896 million in Scotland, but this additional funding will allow us to do more. It will enable us to find more creative and innovative ways to help people with mental health problems, whether they are going to their GP for the first time, or experiencing severe distress.

“I am particularly pleased to be able to announce that some of this funding will be used to improve access to child and adolescent mental health services, and to improve training in this area.

“We’ve made significant progress in this area in recent years, with a substantial improvement in waiting times and a record number of people working in the field. But there is an increasing number of referalls as more young people feel able to ask for help. That is a good thing, but also brings challenges. Through the innovation fund we will be able to find better ways of helping these vulnerable young people.”

Edinburgh leads the world on family nurse partnership

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Edinburgh has become the first city in the world to offer the family nurse partnership programme to all eligible women after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that the service will continue on a sustained basis.

Speaking at a reception to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the scheme for first-time mothers, the First Minister said since its launch the programme had provided support and advice to 660 young women across NHS Lothian, with an average take-up rate of 81 per cent among the eligible group.

Addressing the event at Edinburgh Castle, the First Minister – who launched the pilot programme in NHS Lothian in 2010 – confirmed that the resources and staffing were now in place for every eligible young mother in the city to be offered a place on the programme.

Ms Sturgeon said the positive experience in NHS Lothian was now being replicated across Scotland with teams already in place across eight health board areas – Lothian, Tayside, Fife, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Ayrshire and Arran, Forth Valley and Lanarkshire – and plans for expansion into Borders and Grampian later this year.

The First Minister said: “It’s now five years since the Family Nurse Partnership pilot project was established in Lothian. In that time it has been such a success that it now operates in seven other health board areas across the country. It will be established in two more – Grampian and Borders – over the course of the summer.

“In total, more than 2,000 mothers have already benefited from the programme – more than 600 of them here in Lothian.

“It’s one of the best investments we can make as a society – we give young mothers the support they need, we help children to get the best possible start in life, and we reduce public spending further down the line, because we have better health, education and employment outcomes.

“That’s why I’m delighted to announce today that Edinburgh has become the first city anywhere in the world, to offer the family nurse partnership to every first-time mother aged 19 and under. That will make a huge difference to mothers and children across the city, and it’s a testament to the success of the partnership so far.”

Kate Billingham, Senior Adviser at Nurse Family Partnership International said:
“On behalf of the programme’s founder, Prof David Olds I congratulate Scotland and all they have achieved for young parents and their children.

“To have the first city in the world to reach 100 per cent coverage for teenage mums – along with high levels of quality – is an amazing achievement. Today we are recognising the leadership in Scotland, the skilled and dedicated nurses and the parents who have worked hard for their children and their own futures.”

Melanie Johnson, Executive Nurse Director, NHS Lothian, said: “We are particularly pleased and proud in NHS Lothian that Edinburgh has become the first city in the world to be able to offer care to every client who requires it under the Family Nurse Partnership.

“The service first began as a pilot project in January 2010 in Edinburgh and since then it has gone from strength to strength. It has also made a real and lasting impact after it was rolled out across the rest of Lothian and also Scotland.

“We are honoured that the First Minister attended our event because she was at the first launch event in 2010 and was able to meet some of the original parents, who were the first to graduate from the service, and their children, most of whom will start school in the summer.”

Edinburgh Western MSP Colin Keir has welcomed the news that the pioneering family nurse partnership is to be continued and replicated across Scotland.

Mr Keir said:  ‘This is great news for first-time mums in NHS Lothian, giving them the support they need and helping to give children the best possible start in life. I’m delighted that Edinburgh has become the first city in the world to offer this service to every first-time mum aged 19 and under. I welcome the news that this pioneering initiative has been such a success that it is being replicated and rolled out across Scotland.’

Getting it right for children affected by parental substance misuse

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There’s still time to book your place on the CAPSM training course running on Tuesday 31 March at Spartans Community Football Academy.

This course is suitable for anyone working with parents with problem substance use, or their children. This will include Early Years Practitioners, schools staff, voluntary sector, adult treatment services, social work, youth and community workers.

See above for more details.