Category: healthcare

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NHS Declares Major Incident

Major Incident declared by NHS

NHS logo - NHS is declaring a major incident

The NHS has declared a major incident in relation to the administration of the COVID 19 booster vaccine. They will use a number of venues to ramp-up vaccinations, including

  • vaccination centres (existing and new);
  • local pharmacies;
  • PCNs (GPs);
  • Hospital Hubs,
  • Pop up centres,
  • drive-thru facilities (probably in unused retail parks e.g. B&Q Hythe), and
  • an outreach programme to large business premises.

However, the NHS desperately needs volunteers to help ensure the smooth running of the new and old vaccination clinics.   Please contact Community360, who will be supporting this aspect of the vaccination roll out, if you are interested. Telephone 01206 505250 or email [email protected].

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Day 86 of (stairway to) Lockdown – the ‘MC Escher’ edition

Family cycling

Escher impossible staircaseDay 86 of (stairway to) Lockdown

Day 86 starts off with an update from the Parish Council.  It is also MC Escher‘s birthday who was famous mostly for his ‘Impossible Stairs’ – navigating the pandemic sometimes seems a bit like this!

A couple of mini-snippets:

  • Recycling back to normal apart from textiles on 22nd June,
  • Colchester Zoo opens tomorrow pre-booked entrance only,
  • If you are going into town, remember to keep left on pavements.

After all that we have:

Quality Local Council AwardParish Council Work Continues During the Pandemic

Continue reading “Day 86 of (stairway to) Lockdown – the ‘MC Escher’ edition”

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Day 38 of Lockdown – the Letters to Loved Ones edition

Letters to Loved OnesDay 38 of Lockdown

Day 38, does it seem shorter if I say about 5½ weeks?  Anyway, today’s update starts with a new service being offered by our local hospitals for those with loved ones unable to be visited.  It then continues with:

Letters to Loved Ones

Keeping in touch with loved ones in hospitals run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) is being made easier thanks to a new email and message service.  While visiting is restricted at the Trust, messages can now be sent to friends or relatives in hospital through the Letters to Loved Ones service.  You can either email or leave a voicemail to your loved one for the team to deliver. Continue reading “Day 38 of Lockdown – the Letters to Loved Ones edition”

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Day 3 of Lockdown – the Bohemian Rhapsody Edition

Day 3 launches enhanced Care NetworkDay 3 of Lockdown

The big news of day 3 of lockdown is the launch of the new enhanced Care Network for those self-isolating and in need of support.  Other items today include:

Launch of Enhanced Care Network for Pandemic

Great news today as we can now officially launch the scheme which aims to help those self-isolating or in need of a range of help from shopping to a chat.  The well-known and established West Bergholt Care Network has joined Continue reading “Day 3 of Lockdown – the Bohemian Rhapsody Edition”

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Hospital Merger Update

NHS Logo - Hospital Merger UpdateHospital Merger Update

The following announcement has been sent from Colchester & Ipswich hospitals’ Chief Executive, Nick Hulme.

Announcement

The two NHS trusts that run Colchester and Ipswich hospitals are planning to come together as a single organisation this summer. As the chief executive of both hospitals, I want to share the reasons for this with you as I know how important our services are to local residents. Continue reading “Hospital Merger Update”

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History of Essex County Hospital

Essex County Hospital

Essex County HospitalHistory of Essex County Hospital

Essex County Hospital is the subject of the Local History Group‘s next meeting in the Orpen Hall on October 11th.  The Group is hoping for another large audience for the meeting which starts at 7.30 pm.  Dr. Fabrizio Casale, a retired consultant, will be talking about “The History of the Essex County Hospital”.  Over recent years the facilities Continue reading “History of Essex County Hospital”

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Something to say about NHS Care?

Care Quality Commission visiting Colchester

tell us about your care

Something to say about NHS Care?

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of all health and social care in England.  They have powers to register, monitor and inspect all health & care services and, in September, they are visiting Colchester to find out what you have to say about local services, in particular those provided by the Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust. Taking place on Monday 7th September between 6pm – 7:30pm, at Colchester Town Hall (in the Grand Jury & West Committee rooms), you are invited to meet with the CQC’s inspectors and share your experiences with them.  Of course, if you can’t wait until then, you are able to share your experiences anonymously at any time by contacting the CQC on:

The CQC’s inspection method when reviewing a hospital or other service is focussed around 5 key questions:

  1. Are they safe? Are you protected from abuse and avoidable harm?
  2. Are they effective?  Do they provide your care, treatment and support achieving good outcomes, helping you to maintain quality of life and based on the best available evidence?
  3. Are they caring? Do staff involve and treat you with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
  4. Are they responsive to people’s needs?  Are  services organised so that they meet your needs?
  5. Are they well-led? Does the leadership, management and governance of the organisation make sure it’s providing high-quality care that’s based around your individual needs, that it encourages learning and innovation, and that it promotes an open and fair culture?

 

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Who will care? Swap Shop

who will care swap shopWho will care? Swap Shop

This ‘Who will care?’ summit is for community and voluntary organisations, health organisations and the public sector to debate the power of social action, exchange information and generate great ideas for health and wellbeing.  It takes place on 23rd March, 9:30am – 2:00pm, at the firstsite Gallery, Lewis Gardens, High Street, Colchester CO1 1JH.

Who will Care? is an independent commission led by Sir Tom Hughes-Hallett that sets out a number of high impact solutions to prevent future crisis in health and social care in Essex. It called for a new approach to supporting communities and people where the Community and Voluntary Sector plays a greater role and works collaboratively with the public sector.

This Swap Shop is intended to bring different sectors together to spark new ideas that can bring better quality solutions for citizens.

  • Hear about successful projects using social action and volunteering,
  • Consider a new culture of collaboration,
  • Question what needs to change for better outcomes,
  • Think about how community based initiatives can best be supported,
  • Discuss the key issues for Essex communities.

There is more information at www.essexpartnershipportal.org, book a place through [email protected].

Agenda

09.30 Registration, Coffee and Networking

10.00 Welcome and Who Will Care Update and Future Direction

10.10 Who Will Care Schemes Update

Two test and learn programmes will share their progress

  • ‘Maldon Sheds’ – Sarah Laskar, CEO Maldon CVS
  • ‘My Social Prescription’ Louise Willsher, Engagement Officer, Colchester CVS

10.25 Keynote Speaker: The Future of the Voluntary Sector

Kevin Curley CBE, Voluntary Sector Adviser

  • The growing hardship in our society which the local voluntary sector must respond to
  • The tension between delivering services and campaigning on behalf of those in need
  • Our responsibility to exploit new opportunities for raising the funds we need to be sustainable
  • The unchanging values which underlie all our work

10.50 Swap Shop – Session 1

Round table discussions hosted by leaders that bring new and different solutions to health and
social care by using social action and volunteering. Hear about how they do it, the challenges
encountered and the benefits it can bring the people involved.

11.35 Key issues for Essex – A discussion

11:45 Swap Shop – Session 2

12:30 Networking Lunch

13:00 North East Clinical Commissioning Group: Supporting Voluntary Action, Shane Gordon, Chief Officer, North East CCG

13:10 Keynote Speaker: People Powered Public Services

Daniel Farag, Senior Programme Manager, Nesta Daniel will explore how Social Action and people helping people can make a difference. He will consider the role citizens can play in powering public services, and how Social Action can change the nature of public services to achieve better outcomes. Referencing models of innovative practice from across the UK he will provide insight in to the benefits of working closer with our communities across a number of care settings.

13:30 An Interactive Summary – Ask the audience with Paul Hill, ACFO, Essex Fire & Rescue Service

13:50 Closing Remarks – Cllr Anne Brown

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Local Health Forums – Get Involved

NE Essex CCG Health ForumThe Health Forum

The NEE Health Forum is a largely enthusiastic and committed body of people who are interested in health matters.  They are all people who have registered as public members of North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group.

The Health Forum is not formally part of the Clinical Commissioning Group, but members of the Health Forum Committee are invited to be part of all decision-making meetings within the CCG so that they can obtain and reflect the views of people from North East Essex to the group in a timely way.  The Clinical Commissioning Group wants the Health Forum to be as inclusive as possible, and so the criteria for eligibility are very broad.  There is more detail on the Join the Health Forum page of their website.

Members of the Health Forum are able to vote for the Health Forum Committee.  The Health Forum Committee has a number of sub-groups which are looking at specific health related issues.  The Health Forum does not have any legal powers, but has been given local powers by the CCG.  It works very closely with Essex HealthWatch, who do have legal powers.

Their important reports, including local Health Forum meeting dates, agendas and minutes and similar material relating to the Health Forum Committee can be found on their site in the Library.

The Health Forum issue monthly newsletters, Forum Focus, in which numerous local & national health issues are discussed – they can be accessed in the forum library.  The most recent edition can be downloaded from :

Get Involved at Local Health Forums

The Health Forum holds local meetings which any public member of the CCG  can attend, regardless of where they live.  The 3 local meetings are held at Colchester;Harwich; (rest of) Tendring – this is usually held in Clacton.

The next meetings are being held on 2nd, 3rd & 4th February (2pm – 4pm) respectively.  The agenda vary slightly both from meeting to meeting but also by location, but will typically include items such as those due to be discussed in the February meetings:

  • NE Essex Community Pharmacy Scheme
  • CHUFT Cancer Services (Clacton & Harwich only)
  • Borough GP Care Advisory Service (Colchester only)
  • Carer Strategy Consultation
  • General Q&A

These meetings give Health Forum members a chance to receive presentations and ask questions relating to key health care issues and services in their area.  They are also to raise concerns with the NEE CCG staff directly and Health Forum Committee members.

The Agendas for the local meetings are set by the Health Forum Committee who request speakers on the subjects they believe local people want to hear more about.  The CCG supports the Health Forum Committee by finding suitable speakers and health professionals that are in a position to answer relevant questions.

All three local meetings are usually held within a week of each other and they occur bi-monthly (every other month).  The dates of future meetings can be found on their events page.

The agendas and minutes of the Local Engagement forum are published in their Library under Health Forum.

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NHS seek local views at health forum

NHS North East Essex - Clinical Commissioning Group - Invitation to Health ForumHelp shape NHS decisions – all welcome to local health forums!

The NHS in North East Essex is inviting anyone interested to come to our local Health Forum meetings in Dovercourt (Harwich) 6th August,  Clacton 8th August,  and Colchester on 4th August.

The main themes for the August meetings include:

At all meetings:

  • 7 day working project, including the GP Services Survey, presented by Jo Hall project lead at the CCG.

The survey is online at:  http://tinyurl.com/lh5tuaq

At the Colchester meeting:

  • A review of progress in improving cancer services at Colchester Hospital by the Hospital’s Medical Director, Sean MacDonell.
  • Presentation about the Care At Home research project: how do older people feel about services delivering care in their own home, by Sue Hughes, doctoral researcher at Anglia Ruskin University.

At the Clacton and Harwich meetings:

  • A workshop about the new community phlebotomy (blood tests) service.

Attendance & Venues

People attending are welcome to raise their own issues and will have a chance to directly question senior managers from the CCG on their actions and plans. Meetings will be at:

Colchester area , Monday 4th August, 2pm to 4pm.  Please come to the 2nd floor at the Primary Care Centre (upstairs from the Walk-in Centre) in Turner Road, Colchester CO4 5JR.

Harwich area of Tendring, Wednesday 6th August, 2pm to 4pm. Dovercourt Central Church, 203 Main Road, Dovercourt, Harwich CO12 4ES .

Rest of Tendring (Clacton) area, Friday 8th August, 2pm to 4pm. Please come to the Tendring CVS hall in Rosemary Road, Clacton CO15 1NZ.

Any member of the local public can join the Health Forum. Join here to have your say as a member of NE Essex CCG public “Health Forum”:  http://tinyurl.com/qxss6oq

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