NHS North Yorkshire and NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Groups support World No Tobacco Day campaign

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, the NHS in North Yorkshire and York wants to raise awareness of the dangers and health risks of smoking tobacco. In England, around 60% of smokers want to quit, 10% of which intend to do so within three months. Currently, around half of all smokers in…

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CCGs support ‘Wake Up North Yorkshire’ campaign

North Yorkshire’s Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) have backed a North Yorkshire campaign aimed at changing drinking culture and the harm caused by alcohol.

Launched by North Yorkshire County Council, the Wake Up North Yorkshire campaign has been developed after research with residents found that more than 40 per cent of 1,000 people who responded to a survey said they drank more than the chief medical officer’s guideline amount for ‘safer’ drinking.

That’s regularly more than six glasses of wine or pints of beer a week, and/or regularly more than three glasses of wine/pints (for women) or four glasses of wine/pints (for men) on any single occasion.

Dr Charles Parker, Clinical Chair Designate for the new North Yorkshire CCG, said: “Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can lead to a number of medical conditions which require ongoing care and treatment and in some cases result in admission to hospital.

“The good news is that most of the North Yorkshire residents who said they drank more than the safer guidelines are already reducing their drinking, or thinking about doing so in the future.”

For patients in the county who want to reduce the amount of alcohol they consume, there’s lots of help available – search ‘alcohol support’ on the NHS website or go to www.wakeupnorthyorkshire.co.uk.

The Wake Up North Yorkshire campaign features short videos from North Yorkshire residents talking about how they cut down their alcohol intake, as well as posters, leaflets and social media graphics.

It will run until September this year.

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North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Groups support the ‘International Year of the Nurse and Midwife’ campaign

NHS Hambleton Richmondshire and Whitby, NHS Harrogate and Rural District and NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are backing a national initiative, hosted by NHS England and NHS Improvement, which aims to showcase and celebrate nursing and midwifery.

The ‘International Year of the Nurse and Midwife’ will run throughout 2020 and is a chance to recognise the incredible work nurses and midwives do across health and social care.

Throughout the year, the three North Yorkshire CCGs will be encouraging nurses and midwives across the county to share their stories highlighting how they have made a difference to people’s lives and celebrate their achievements.

Chief Nurse for the three North Yorkshire CCGs, Sue Peckitt, said: “We have an amazing and diverse nursing and midwifery workforce in North Yorkshire and having had the pleasure of working alongside nursing colleagues for a number of years, I appreciate how hard they work and know they do everything they can to get the best possible outcomes for patients.

“Being a nurse is a very rewarding and fulfilling career and I encourage all of our local nurses to share their experiences to showcase the brilliant work that they do for patients and the public.”

Any stories shared by nurses and midwives will be hosted on the NHS England and NHS Improvement website. For information on how to share a story, visit: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nursing-people-stories-template/

NHS England and NHS Improvement will also be hosting an event at York Racecourse on 29 April to showcase innovation in nursing across the country.

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is showing support by running a campaign featuring 20 nurses and 20 midwives – details can be found on the Trust’s website: https://www.yorkhospitals.nhs.uk/news-amp-media/international-year-of-the-nurse-and-midwife-2020/

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) and Harrogate and District NHS foundation Trust (HDFT) are planning Year of Nurse and Midwife activities and this information will be available on the North Yorkshire CCGs websites once finalised.

If you are interested in becoming a nurse, search ‘nursing careers’ today, there are hundreds of opportunities to start a career in the field.

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New community equipment ‘amnesty bin’

A new ‘amnesty bin’ to make it easier for people to return on loan community equipment like walking frames and crutches has been installed at a household waste recycling centre in Harrogate.

It follows talks between Medequip Assistive Technology Ltd – which issues community equipment to patients on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council and clinical commissioning groups in the county – and Yorwaste which manages the area’s household waste recycling centres.

In addition to the new amnesty bin at Harrogate’s Penny Pot Lane recycling centre and three amnesty bins at York Hospital and Friarage Hospital in Northallerton there are plans for a further depository at one of the household waste recycling centres in Scarborough.

Medequip’s North Yorkshire Operations Manager, Darren Clark, said: “It’s not as simple as knowing where the equipment is originally deployed – equipment may be lost, passed on to another family member or even put away in a loft.

“We realise we need to get the message across to people that it is important to return these items, but we also recognise that we have to make it easier for people to arrange collection or to return the equipment to an accessible location.”

Community equipment like walking frames, sticks, crutches and other daily living aids costs the NHS and local authorities millions of pounds every year. Unfortunately, a lot of this equipment never finds its way back to the issuing authority, where it can be cleaned and safely reused.

A Return, Reuse, Recycle campaign originally instigated by Medequip in partnership with West Suffolk NHS back in 2017 has been taken up by North Yorkshire County Council and clinical commissioning groups in York and North Yorkshire. The county council and local NHS are hoping to see recycling rates increase significantly as a result of this initiative.

Dr Charles Parker, the clinical chair elect for North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “Increasing the number of places where people can deposit unwanted equipment like crutches and walking frames is a huge positive.

“Much of the equipment that’s returned is in a good condition and can be cleaned, serviced then reissued to someone else in need. The objective is to continue to deliver cost-effective, efficient and safe community equipment solutions which help the NHS budget go further.”

Cllr Michael Harrison, North Yorkshire County Council’s Executive Member for Health and Adult Services, said: “The county council, in conjunction with our CCG partners, are always looking for opportunities to encourage and enable people who have been issued with equipment to be able to return this for recycling, repair or disposal.

“As such we have been keen to promote the ‘Return Recycle Reuse’ campaign in conjunction with CCG colleagues and our integrated equipment provider, Medequip, and prevent equipment being discarded or left unused.”

All equipment delivered by Medequip on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council and clinical commissioning groups in York and North Yorkshire is accompanied by a leaflet with full details on how to return the items once they are no longer required, and every item carries a barcode label which also features a collection telephone number and a unique identifying code.

In addition to the amnesty bins, equipment can be returned to Medequip’s drop off points at Dunslow Court in Eastfield, near Scarborough and Manse Lane in Knaresborough.

Alternatively, Medequip will pick up some loan items for free – call 01423 226240 or email north.yorks@medequip-uk.com

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North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Groups back World Antibiotics Awareness Week campaign

NHS Hambleton Richmondshire and Whitby, NHS Harrogate and Rural District and NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are backing a national campaign which aims to increase awareness of antibiotic resistance.

The campaign known as ‘World Antibiotics Awareness Week’ will run from 18 to 22 November targeting the general public, health workers and policy makers to improve awareness and understanding of antibiotic resistance through effective communications, education and training.

Speaking on behalf of the three clinical commissioning groups in North Yorkshire, Dr Tim Rider, GP Prescribing Lead, said: “Taking antibiotics inappropriately encourages harmful bacteria that live inside you to become resistant. That means that antibiotics may not work when you really need them. This puts you and your family at risk of a more severe or longer illness.

“If you or a family member has a cold or flu, antibiotics probably aren’t the answer, ask your pharmacist to recommend medicines to help with the symptoms or pain, they are experts in minor illnesses.

“Antibiotics are needed for serious bacterial infections such as sepsis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, meningococcal meningitis and sexually transmitted diseases. If you are worried you may have something more serious than a cold or flu, speak to your doctor who will be able to advise you on the best treatment option.”

With no new antibiotics developed in the last 30 years patients are encouraged only to take them if they need to. Taking them unnecessarily could make them less effective when fighting serious infections.

Without the effectiveness of antibiotics, routine operations like hip replacements, organ transplants and caesarean sections or chemotherapy treatments will become increasingly dangerous or impossible.

Patients can support the campaign by becoming an ‘Antibiotic Guardian’ at:  https://antibioticguardian.com/

More information on the campaign can be found on the World Health Organisation website: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-antibiotic-awareness-week

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