Posts Tagged ‘nhs news’
New website launched to support children and young people’s mental health
Published on Nov 6, 2018
A new website to support children and young people from North Yorkshire with their mental health and wellbeing has been launched, thanks to the local NHS.
Compass BUZZ, who are commissioned by the five North Yorkshire NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to provide mental health services for children and young people, has launched the site to build on the existing service which offers help and support around some of the most common mental health and wellbeing difficulties.
The new website, gives children and young people as well as parents, carers and professionals, direct access to videos and helpful tips on identifying and managing difficulties including anxiety, bullying, eating problems, loss, low mood and self-esteem as well as stress and self-harm.
Lisa Gale, Service Manager for Compass REACH and Compass BUZZ, North Yorkshire, said: “For young people aged 11-18, it can be hard growing up and they can face lots of different issues.
“We have designed the website for a wide audience; to appeal to children and young people and also provide details for parents and professionals on how to support them. It focusses on four key areas: Being Bullied, Being Angry, Being Worried and Being Sad.
“There are some amazing video clips which were filmed with the help of young people from Stokesley School and Harrogate Youth Council. For more brilliant clips you can also access the new Compass BUZZ YouTube channel.
“We will be keeping the website up to date with Compass BUZZ news and events, so please take a look.”
The website follows the earlier launch of a text messaging service ‘BUZZ US’ which is a confidential text messaging service for young people aged 11-18 across North Yorkshire. Named by children, BUZZ US can be contacted confidentially on 07520 631168 Monday – Thursday 9am-5pm and Friday 9am-4.30pm (excluding Bank Holidays).
On behalf of the five North Yorkshire CCGs, Janet Probert, Chief Officer of NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby CCG, said: “There’s some really fantastic work going on with services for children and young people and we’re increasingly grateful to Compass BUZZ for launching initiatives like these. We hope our health and social care professionals, schools and community groups will help spread the word so that more children and young people can continue to feel supported by this service.”
Read MoreOver 70s urged to take up shingles vaccine
Published on Oct 26, 2018
Over 70s in Scarborough and Ryedale are being urged to get vaccinated against shingles.
Eligibility depends on age and date of birth, but anyone born after 1 September 1942 is eligible on their 70th birthday and remains eligible up until they are 80. Patients born before this will become eligible on their 78th birthday and will also remain eligible up until they are 80.
There is a cohort of people aged 76 and 77 who are currently not eligible but who will become eligible on their 78th birthday.
An estimated 50,000 cases of shingles occur in people aged 70 years and above each year in England and Wales.
Eligible patients are being advised to contact their GP practice to make an appointment to have the vaccination. The NHS says it’s “safe and may be more convenient for you to have the shingles vaccine at the same time as your flu vaccine”.
Dr Greg Black, NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Governing Body member and clinical lead for medicines, said: “Shingles isn’t like other infectious diseases because you don’t catch it from someone else. It can be very painful and tends to affect people more commonly as they get older.
“For some, the pain caused by shingles can last for many years. Shingles can really affect your life, stopping you from doing all the things you usually enjoy.
“By having the vaccination you will significantly reduce your chance of developing shingles, and unlike the annual flu jab, you will only have the vaccination once.
“Side effects are usually quite mild and don’t last very long and, if you do go on to have shingles after the vaccine, the symptoms are likely to be milder and the illness shorter, than if you had not had it.”
Approximately 20 per cent of shingles cases develop into a painful and long lasting condition with two per cent of cases resulting in hospitalisation. One in 1,000 cases of shingles are estimated to result in death.
There’s more information about shingles on the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/shingles/
Read MoreServices to be shared between Peasholm and Prospect Road Surgeries
Published on Oct 19, 2018
From Monday 12 November some services for Peasholm patients will be relocated to Prospect Road branch. The changes will not amount to any reduction in services.
The two surgeries are part of the Central Healthcare group which formed in July.
Peasholm branch will be open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and will be providing pre-bookable appointments with nurses and GPs, while Prospect Road branch host on-the-day the day appointments as well as a late opening service until 8pm.
Development Manager at Central Healthcare, Lesley Clemmet, said: “It is important to stress to patients that there is not a reduction in any of the services they usually access, but we will be delivering them differently across the two sites.
“It is hoped that joining the services across both branches will enable us to deliver a better overall service to our patients. We have recently recruited six new nursing staff to help with appointment access.”
With a bigger team of GPs and nurses located at Prospect Road delivering on-the-day care, it will increase staff peer support and training opportunities.
Prospect Road surgery also offers level access for all patients; the overall plan is to change the Peasholm branch to a pre-planned care centre due to the less than ideal accessibility for patients at this site.
The current Peasholm team will be working across both sites so patients will still see familiar faces when they go for appointments.
For further information on these shared services, you can still contact the surgeries on their usual numbers: Peasholm (01723) 361268 and Prospect Road (01723) 360178.
Read MoreAssurances over Scarborough Hospital future
Published on Oct 15, 2018
You may have seen recent social media posts or heard rumours about the future of Scarborough Hospital.
York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Scarborough and Ryedale CCG and East Riding CCG, working under the auspices of the Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership, are undertaking an independent review of the configuration of Scarborough acute services.
This review is at a very early stage, and contrary to what has been reported in the media and on social media, we are not in formal consultation and there are no proposals for what any of our services might look like in the future.
The review is looking at the services that are currently provided and through detailed analysis will seek to understand the health needs of our population now, what they might look like in the future, and how these might be met.
We have been as open as possible and involved as many clinicians as we can in the early stage of this review. This work is likely to take many months and there will be opportunities for staff and the public to get involved.
The events that are taking place this week (Monday 15 October in Scarborough and Tuesday 16 October in Bridlington) are not to consult on proposals, as no proposals have been developed.
The meetings, aimed at people who are members of various local health networks and groups, are to seek input into the development of evaluation criteria on options for sustainable services in Scarborough.
Healthcare is changing, people are living longer and there is a growing need for different types of health and care services, which are often provided outside of hospitals. This should mean that, with increased out-of-hospital care, fewer people will require the types of services that acute hospitals currently provide. Whilst this is good news for patients, it puts pressure on hospitals such as Scarborough where we are already seeing challenges in recruiting enough specialist staff or seeing enough patients to make services sustainable. We need to think about how we can do things differently to provide the best services for local people, not just finding a ‘quick fix’ for the problems we face now, but finding longer term solutions that meet local needs.
We have committed to retaining an emergency department in Scarborough, and to do anything else would be unthinkable not least due to the impact on other hospitals and the local population. Our efforts are focussed on what we have to have at Scarborough and what innovative staffing models we can develop to safely deliver them if traditional staffing is not possible.
Read MoreWork starts on improvements to specialist community mental health services for new and expectant mums
Published on Oct 1, 2018
Mental health services for new and expectant mums in the Humber region and parts of Yorkshire are expanding this autumn using an NHS cash injection worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Having secured part of a £23 million NHS England grant earlier this year, the Humber Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership – an alliance of more than 20 healthcare organisations, Local Authorities and Voluntary Sector organisations – will work together to deliver perinatal mental health services across Hull, East Riding, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, Scarborough and Ryedale, and York.
From 1 October, the services will extend to ensure women who experience complex mental health needs, as well as their families receive the support they need and have access to treatments at the earliest possible stage.
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust is strengthening its specialist community perinatal mental health services in Hull and East Riding, whilst working collaboratively with NAViGO and Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust to implement a new service for the North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire areas.
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust will provide new, much needed community perinatal mental health services across the Vale of York and Scarborough.
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive and the Mental Health Partnership Lead, Michele Moran said: “We are delighted to have started work on improvements to a much needed service to the Yorkshire, Humber and North Lincolnshire regions.
“So many new and expectant mothers experience mental health problems and we’re proud to work with our partners to extend the perinatal service into underserved areas and hopefully help hundreds of women and their families.”
The funding granted is part of a £365 million plan to ensure 30,000 more women can access specialist perinatal services by 2021.
Michelle Thompson, Assistant Director for Women’s and Children’s services for North East Lincolnshire CCG and the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership Lead said: “Having a baby is a major life event for mums and dads, and it’s natural to experience a whole range of emotions and reactions during and after pregnancy.
“But if these problems start to have a big impact on day to day life, it might be a sign of a mental health problem and this service will provide some much needed specialist support for local families who are experiencing difficulties during or after the birth of their child.”
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