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Drowning Prevention Week aims to help ensure everybody across the UK and Ireland, has the opportunity to enjoy water safely.
Now in its tenth year, Drowning Prevention Week 2023 is a crucial campaign that has proven to have a real impact. Due to the pandemic, close to 2 million young people missed out on the vital opportunity to swim, leaving a dramatic gap in school swimming and water safety education. -
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Love Your Lungs Week 2023 aims to raise Awareness of Lung Conditions.
Formerly Breathe Easy Week, Love Your Lungs Week is an initiative started by the British Lung Foundation, now Asthma and Lung UK, to raise awareness and focus on lung health and takes place between the 21st and 27th June this year. -
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Junior Doctors are to hold a five-day strike in mid-July in what would be the longest period of industrial action in the history of the health service. The British Medical Association (BMA) confirmed that the five-day walkout would run from 7am, Thursday 13 July, until 7am Tuesday 18th July. This will be the fourth round of strikes by Junior Doctors since the start of the year. -
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HRB Diabetes Collaborative Clinical Trial Network is looking to contact a broad range of healthcare professionals, carers and most importantly people living with type 1 diabetes, to get their perspectives on what are the most important unanswered questions in type 1 diabetes. They have designed a survey to gather questions and opinions on type 1 diabetes. -
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Alcohol Change UK wants to see a Britain with alcohol but without serious alcohol harm. The average drinker in the UK spends £62,899 on alcohol in a lifetime based on a new estimate from Alcohol Change UK. We might expect that, for this amount of money, the benefits would be huge. But this brings with it many additional personal costs. -
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The Alzheimer’s Society provides post diagnostic support to people with a diagnosis of dementia and their families in both Halton and Warrington. Their Dementia Adviser Service offers a personalised one-to-one service, providing information, signposting and support to anyone affected by dementia. -
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You could save a life in your community. St. John Ambulance want to ensure that no one dies through lack of first aid provision. That’s why they have set up the CPR Community Network to ensure that everyone has access to basic life support training in person, online or by using their Resource Hub to give you the confidence to respond in an emergency. -
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We continue to receive a lot of enquiries from people in Halton having difficulty finding an NHS dentist that is taking on new patients. Unfortunately, this is an issue both locally and nationally, at the moment.
The following information can support you if you are currently in need of an NHS dentist. -
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People across Halton will be offered a free lung health check to catch cancer early, when it is treatable. After a successful phase 1, which including certain areas of the borough, more people are now being offered the potentially life saving lung health checks through the Targeted Lung Health Programme.
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Healthwatch England research on GP referrals highlighted the frustration patients experience due to long waits and a lack of support. This latest analysis by Healthwatch England looks at people’s experience of getting a cancer referral. -
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RESTART is a research priority setting exercise.
They are a group of people with severe mental health conditions, their carers, clinicians and other partners.
They want to prioritise 10 ‘unanswered questions’ from a list of 60 about dental care for people with severe mental conditions.
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A lasting power of attorney (LPA) gives you a voice and protects your decisions. They are helpful for everyone over the age of 18.
This legal document makes it easier for the people you trust to support you when you need it most. -
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If you're referred to hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostic tests by a doctor, dentist or another primary care health professional, you may be able to claim a refund of reasonable travel costs under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS). -
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Millions of children in England will be offered a flu vaccine from September, as the NHS steps up its life-saving vaccination programme to protect the country against deadly viruses ahead of winter.
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Healthwatch Halton & Healthwatch Warrington are currently working with the NHS and want to hear from anyone who has been discharged from hospital, following an admission, in the last year.
This is your opportunity to share your experience. What worked well? What could have been better? -
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STAMMA, the British Stammering Association, recommends changes in GP appointment booking systems nationwide after a survey showed that phone-only systems and lack of staff training cause people who stammer to face physical and mental distress, delayed appointments, and late diagnoses.
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1 in 7 people live with migraine.
Migraine has been dismissed for too long as ‘just a headache’, despite it being a complex and debilitating neurological disorder. We know that for those living with migraine it has a significant impact on their quality of life, impacting their mental health, relationships, education and their ability to work. -
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New research from Healthwatch England shows worryingly low public confidence in being able to access NHS services. A third of adults in England lack confidence that they can access timely care, including GP services, mental health support and hospital care. Read the findings and the calls for action. -
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Just in time for this year’s 'Sober October’, a new health initiative designed in consultation with the public is being launched in Cheshire and Merseyside to help people cut down on the amount of alcohol they drink. -
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There are approximately 3,200 new cases of cervical cancer in the UK every year, which works out at nearly 9 new cases a day. But statistics don’t tell the full story, don’t show the impact that cervical cancer can have on real lives. We’re supporting Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust because we want to raise awareness and the voices of those affected by cervical cancer. -
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National Eye Health Week 2023 is promoting the importance of good eye health and the need for regular eye tests for all.
Did you know 50% of sight loss is avoidable? 2 million people in the UK are living with sight loss, that is severe enough to have a significant impact on their daily lives. Problems with sight can also cause headaches, migraines, lack of concentration and many other issues.
It is so important we all do the simple things to keep our eyes healthy.
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Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is looking for highly motivated and enthusiastic volunteers who are committed to helping improve patient safety as a Patient Safety Partner (PSP). -
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With the NHS under immense pressure, Healthwatch look at the impact that waiting for a diagnosis, test, or treatment can have on individuals and some of the potential solutions that might help. -
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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression triggered by seasonal changes. One in twenty people in the UK are diagnosed with the condition, with men more likely to be diagnosed with SAD than women. -
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75% of children and young people who experience mental health problems aren't getting the help they need. -
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Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has released a statement on the national ADHD medication shortage: You may have heard, either from your pharmacist or in the media, that there is a global shortage of some types of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines.
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October is ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) awareness month. The 2023 ADHD Awareness Month theme is “Moving Forward with ADHD.”
ADHD isn’t just a childhood condition – it affects young people and adults as well. ADHD can affect all aspects of life, including home, school or workplace and relationships. -
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Understanding the symptoms of flu and what the flu vaccine is helps you make informed decisions about your health. -
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Take a look at what you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccination programme, including where to go and why it's important. -
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A new NHS England campaign aims to raise awareness of prescription saving schemes. -
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Find out what a ‘fit note’ is, when you might need one and how to go about getting one. -
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October is World Menopause Month, and October 18th celebrated as World Menopause Awareness Day, with the focus this year on cardiovascular health. -
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Safeguarding Adults Week 2023 takes place from Monday 20 – Friday 24 November 2023.
It’s an opportunity for organisations to come together to raise awareness of important safeguarding issues. The aim is to highlight key safeguarding key issues, start conversations and raise awareness of safeguarding best practice. -
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Around one in five GP visits are for non-medical problems. Many things that affect our health can’t be treated by doctors or medicine alone. This includes loneliness, money problems, housing, education or employment status. NHS social prescribing link workers can connect you to the right community groups and services to help support you. -
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The wait for planned medical care or surgery can be frustrating. That’s why you must get regular and accessible updates while you wa -
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Doctors across Cheshire and Merseyside are encouraging patients to make the most of the options available to them when managing their outpatient appointments. -
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The Government is calling on UK veterans and organisations to share their views and experiences in a consultation to help shape the future of veteran policies. -
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North West Ambulance Service Trust have been trialing a translation service app called Insight app following an extensive review of translation services at the trust and have now successfully rolled out the app across both their Paramedic Emergency Service (PES) and Patient Transport Service (PTS). -
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Self Care Week runs from 13-19 November this year. It's the annual, UK-wide awareness week run by the Self Care Forum charity. The aim is to encourage self care and make it an everyday habit and culture. -
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Engaging Communities Solutions (ECS) is an organisation that focuses on involving patients and the public in healthcare research and decision-making processes including the delivery of local Healthwatch. -
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Men will die on average 4.5 years earlier than women and for reasons that are largely preventable, which means that it doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s five ways you can give yourself the best chance at living a healthy and long life. -
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With the colder weather approaching it is important that everyone stays warm and well, this winter.
Vulnerable and older people can find it particularly difficult to get out to the shops or to keep their house adequately heated during the cold weather, putting them at risk. -
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World AIDS Day is a global movement to unite people in the fight against HIV and AIDS, that takes place annual on the 1st December.
In the UK, more than 105,000 people are living with HIV. Globally, an estimated 38 million people live with the virus. -
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Diabetes UK estimates that five million people in the UK are living with diabetes, with 850,000 of them not yet diagnosed. -
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With more than thirty recognised symptoms of menopause and growing awareness of the impact on day-to-day life, it can help to know what to look out for and what support is available. -
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Did you know Volunteer Responders can help you access support and services such as collecting prescriptions and shopping delivery? -
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Lydia Hughes has been appointed as the new Chair of Healthwatch Halton, the independent patient champion for people who use health and social care. -
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A new Healthwatch report, looking at health and social care from the patients' perspective, has warned that we risk "a two-tier health and care system" unless the NHS takes faster action to tackle access issues. -
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The Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group need a Patient and Public Voice (PPV) Partner to join their Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group. NHS England is committed to ensuring that public and patient voices are at the centre of shaping healthcare services. Every level of the NHS commissioning system needs to be informed by insight from those who use and care about our services. -
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From 31 October 2023, GP surgeries must give patients online access to their new health record entries. Find out what information is in your record and how to access it.
