healthy times issue 9

Leading Leicestershire and Rutland to become the healthiest place in the UK

Inside this issue:

More than9500 members

Is your childdisabled?Share the experienceof our cover stars

Child safety Enter our competition to win a BlackBerry telephone

Stay healthyFind out how to reduce your chances of getting bowel cancer

Have fun in the sunBarbecue tips

Leicestershire County and Rutland

NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland membership

Healthy TimesSummer 11 Issue 9 Members’ newsletter

38374-Healthy Times Issue 9 v3_Layout 1 26/05/2011 09:28

Dear Members,

2 Healthy Times: Summer 11 Issue 9

Leading Leicestershire and Rutland to become the healthiest place in the UK

Summer makes us think of long sunny days,holidays and spending more time outside.Many of us will be spending time in thecountryside and at the seaside enjoying thegreat outdoors and Mother Nature. It’s a goodtime to think about protecting ourenvironment. We now have around 3,000members on email who opt to receive allcommunications from us including HealthyTimes online. This way of keeping up to date isnot right for all members, but if you can,please consider opting to receivecommunication by email. If you are able tochange, please email me at the address below.

A lot has been happening in the NHS overthe past few months, including the formingof GP ‘shadow’ consortia. For an update,turn to page 3 and read our ‘news in brief’.Members have been so helpful in giving ustheir feedback that in this edition, ‘Be heard…your feedback’ is a double page spread.Turn to pages 4 and 5 to find out howmembers are letting the decision makersknow what they think. On page 6 we arereminded of the importance of child safety.Test your child safety knowledge bycompleting the crossword on page 7 andtake the opportunity to win a BlackBerryCurve telephone donated by Incahoot.

Meet cover star Ashma Sabat and herdelightful daughter Fatima. On pages 8 and 9,member Ashma shares her experience ofliving with a disabled child, the highs and thelows, and tells of what has helped her and herfamily. Please pass this article on to anyoneyou know who has a disabled child. They mayfind the organisations listed a great help andenjoy sharing someone else’s experience.

How to keep healthy at work? Page 10 hasthe answers. Do you or someone you knowhave a long term condition that emergencyservices should know about? Then the‘message in a bottle’ scheme on page 11could be for you. Have fun making a healthypizza on page 12 and make sure you knowhow to barbecue safely, page 15.

Helping you ‘be healthy’ our article on bowelcancer (page 14) explains how to reduce ourchances of getting bowel cancer. Also, don’tforget to check out the ‘Let’s talk abouthealth’ programme on page 11.

Enjoy the issue.

Wishing you good health and happiness

Andrea ClarkHead of EngagementNHS Leicestershire County [email protected]

Email: [email protected]

Post: Please send all correspondence to: NHS Leicestershire County and RutlandMembershipFreepost Admail ADM4149Loughborough LE11 1YW

Telephone: The membership helpline is open between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm Monday to Friday.

Please call us on 0300 555 5345

Published by: NHS Leicestershire Countyand Rutland, Lakeside House, 4 Smith Way,Grove Park, Enderby, Leicestershire LE19 1SS

NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland is theoperating name for Leicestershire County andRutland PCT

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Contents

Welcome to thesummer issue

News in brief

Be heard – yourfeedback

Child safety week and competition

Living with a disabled child

Ten top tips for health at work

Let’s talk about healthand how your fridgecan help you

Family pizza recipe

Update onLeicestershire andRutland LINks

Be clear on bowel cancer

Safe barbecues

Access for all

Contact us:If you have a practical tip, healthsuggestion, idea for a ‘Let’s TalkAbout Health’ topic or aninteresting story, please send itfor inclusion in the next issueusing these contact details.

We are also still looking for coverstars – send us your picture andhealth story if you would like toappear on our cover.


Healthy Times: Summer 11 Issue 9 3

GP ConsortiaOur local GPs are continuing to develop theconsortia which in 2013 will take over from NHSLeicestershire County and Rutland (NHS LCR)commissioning health services.

The two consortia for Leicestershire and Rutland are theCrescent, which covers the south and east, includingMelton, Rutland, Market Harborough, Oadby andWigston and Blaby and Lutterworth, and the WestLeicestershire Consortium, which covers Charnwood,North West Leicestershire and Hinckley and Bosworth.

The GPs have now appointed their board members andare established in ‘shadow’ form. They will continue towork with NHS LCR making commissioning plans anddecisions in the run up to the full handover. Moreinformation is available on the website www.lcr.nhs.uk

News in brief

Early news of September Older Persons’ Month 2011 Following the success of previous years,Leicestershire will again play host to SeptemberOlder Persons’ month in 2011 with events andactivities across the county. A directory of allevents and information will be distributedthroughout August. The deadline for inclusionis 15 July 2011.

More information and copies of the directory can beobtained from Liz McGregor on 0116 2334243, [email protected] or visitwww.communitiesinpartnership.org.uk/olderpeople

Health and Wellbeing BoardA new group to make public health servicesmore effective, joined-up and accountable isbeing launched in Leicestershire.

Leicestershire County Council is one of the first authoritiesin the country to set up a Health and Wellbeing Board,made up of councillors, GPs and health and care officials.

Dr Peter Marks, Director of Public Health, said: ‘Thehealth and wellbeing board will enable us to improve thehealth of the population, through one joined-up system.’

Listening Exercise At the time of going to press, the governmentis running its ‘listening exercise’ to understandwhat people think about their plans forhealthcare.

The feedback they receive may mean they change someof their plans. We should have a further update for youin the next edition of Healthy Times.

Transforming CommunityServices

Community Health Services in Leicester,Leicestershire and Rutland have now completedtheir transfer to management by other providers.

Community health services cover, for example, communityhospitals, including day cases, outpatients and diagnostictests, health visitors, GP out of hours services, schoolnursing, and the Walk-In Centre in Loughborough andUrgent Care Centre at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, DerbyshireCommunity Health Services, and University Hospitals ofLeicester NHS Trust, will manage the bulk of the servicesbetween them. Out of hours services will be provided byCentral Nottinghamshire Clinical Services (CNCS). A smallnumber of services have gone out to open procurement.

These are changes of management, and will not affectpatient care. Services previously provided in communityhospitals continue to be provided there.



Be heard…your feedback

A big thank you to all members who have takenpart in the consultation on rural pharmacy services.

NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland must make surethat people can collect their prescribed medicines froma dispenser within reasonable access of where they live.In rural areas this means making sure that there areenough community pharmacies to meet local needs orallowing some rural GP practices to dispenseprescription medicines themselves. We are asking you tolook at our suggestions for what is rural and what isnot, and say whether you agree. By looking at what youhave told us we can be sure that we have got it right ornot. More than 100 people attended the events held inHathern, Ibstock, Measham, Newbould Verdon and

Stoke Golding to look at maps and discuss with NHSLeicestershire County and Rutland staff members whichareas have been deemed rural and non rural and howthose decisions have been made.

The consultation was suspended during the campaignfor local elections, and now continues until 18 June. Itcan be completed online by visiting:

http://www.lcr.nhs.uk/_Gettinginvolved-Consultationsandquestionnaires-2011-Pharmacyservicesoutoftown.aspx or by requesting a hardcopy from Tom Pitchers on 0116 295 7686 or [email protected]

Final decisions will be made following the close of the consultation.

Pharmacy services out of town – what is rural and what is not

Green SpacesAs part of our partnership working with LeicestershireCounty Council, we asked for feedback from membersabout green spaces. We asked members who we cancontact by email to tell us about the green spaces youvalue, by using an interactive online map of the county,or attending a community forum.

So far, 1,200 people have attended the forums and morethan 1,000 nominations of green spaces made on-line.

These views will be taken into account when developingfuture policy affecting green spaces, and makingdecisions about landholdings.

A new Sustainable Community Strategy priority forgreen spaces valued by local communities will bedeveloped for consideration by Leicestershire Together,the group of local agencies which service Leicestershire.Opportunities to comment on emerging Governmentpolicy on green spaces will also be taken.

Finally, the feedback can also inform programmes aimedat enhancing and improving access to and quality ofgreen spaces for people and wildlife.

Your views on‘fostering fortnight’Leicestershire County Council celebratedFostering Fortnight in May, promoting fosteringthrough bus adverts, supermarkets, billboardsand radio advertising, before their planned newlook campaign in the autumn.

They would be interested to get your feedback on thecurrent campaign 'Fostering can change lives' so if youheard or noticed any promotional activities in your localarea contact [email protected] with your opinionsand where you saw the advertising.

More details about the new look campaign for Adoption& Fostering will be launched in the autumn and will be inthe next edition of Healthy Times. If you would like to beinvolved with us in deciding on the most appropriate andattractive messages please email us with your contactdetails to the above email address.

For more information visit: www.leics.gov.uk/fostering:email [email protected] or call 0800 587 7767


At the 31 January event, participants had the chance toanswer questions about priorities for health spending, anddebated these in round table sessions.

The workshop gave people the opportunity to understandmore fully the current cost pressures on the NHS, in spiteof the increase in funding, and the challenges of decidinghow to allocate funding. Their responses showed awillingness to grapple with these challenges, and anunderstanding that there is a limited, albeit large, pot ofmoney, and a huge spread of health needs to cover.

The votes and comments appeared to indicate that peoplefelt it was important to balance spending on preventionand cure, and that they understood that there wereefficiencies which could and should be achieved, such assaving money on generic drugs. There was also anawareness of personal responsibility.

These findings have been used to inform the planning forthe financial year 2011/12 and will also help public healthteams in their planning.

March eventA further event in March discussed a developingapproach to planned care, called ‘Right Care’.

NHS Leicester City and NHS LCR have worked inpartnership with clinicians, such as family doctors andhospital consultants, to focus on areas of care which they

believe will help them to address the challenges to NHSbudgets over the coming years.

Two local GPs explained ‘standardised referral’ for anumber of conditions. This means that if patients haveone of these conditions, there will be a standardised wayof deciding what treatment they have and when.

The conditions are the following:

The doctors talked in detail on how the decision on whento refer would be made and emphasised that this processwould be a fairer system of referral driven by betterclinical outcomes. A panel of doctors and managers thentook questions from the audience.

Following the question and answer session the audiencewas asked to complete a questionnaire with their viewson the proposed standardised referral for planned careservices. The questionnaire was also available on thewebsite should they prefer to complete it online. Allfeedback from the questionnaire was collated and putinto a report for consideration by the planned care team.

Thank you to our members who took the time to attendthese events and make their views known.

l hip replacement l knee replacementl hand entrapment l cataracts

l tonsillitisl hernia repairl fertility treatment


Working with Leicestershire County Council To give you further opportunities to ‘be heard’ weare now proposing to work more closely withLeicestershire County Council. This is in line withthe changes that are taking place in the NHS whichwill mean we are working more closely with thecouncil in the future (see News in Brief, page 3)

Like us, the council want to understand what localpeople think when they are developing services. Asyou can see on these pages, this gives you forexample opportunities to comment on issues such as‘green spaces’ and give feedback about fostering.

We know that you are keen to have your say, and soin the next few months we will be contacting you toask you to let us know what areas in addition tohealth you are interested in (for example, transport,the environment, education, children, adult socialcare). It will be your choice whether you wish towiden your opportunities for feedback in this way.

We hope to include articles about these wider issues inHealthy Times. We are also exploring whether we canoffer additional incentives on your membership card,in partnership with Leicestershire County Council.

Your thoughts on how the NHS spends its moneyMembers had the opportunity to attend events in January and Marchorganised jointly with NHS Leicester City, where they heard more abouthow the NHS locally spends its money, and the pressures on budgets.



‘Take a second look for safety’ isthe theme for this year’s ChildSafety Week on 20-26 June.

Accidents, the majority preventable,remain one of the biggest killers of

children in the UK, second onlyto cancer. Serious accidents notonly cause physical injuries thatcan take months or years to

heal but the long-termpsychological impact to children

and their families can last a lifetime.

Yet many of these accidents can be prevented by taking asecond look to make sure that hot drinks are out of reachof small hands, the smoke alarms are working, the safetygate on the stairs is closed properly, or by a secondglance at the speedometer.

Child Safety Week is run by the Child AccidentPrevention Trust, and they have developed a host of ideasfor activities and useful information and safety tips forthis year’s focus.

The themes for ‘taking a second look for safety’ are:l Take a second look to help prevent serious falls – for

example, be careful not to put furniture in front ofwindows, and remember to fasten your child intotheir highchair every time

l Take a second look to help prevent poisoning – forexample, don’t pretend to young children that theirmedicine is a sweet, look for child-resistant topswhen buying cleaning products and detergents, andmake sure you get your gas appliances checkedevery year

l Take a second look to help prevent road accidents –for example, use walking reins when out withyoung children or make sure they hold your hand,teach your child the Green Cross Code, and makesure your child always wears a cycle helmet whenout on their bike

l Take a second look to prevent choking andstrangulation – for example don’t be tempted tosave time by propping your baby up to feed itself,tidy plastic bags away out of reach of youngchildren, and move cots, beds and highchairs awayfrom blind or curtain cords

l Take a second look to help prevent accidentaldrowning – for example, don’t be tempted to leavethe paddling pool for the next day, always empty itafter use, and if you have a pond and youngchildren, fill it in, fence it off or cover it

l Take a second look to help prevent burns and scalds– for example, avoid passing hot drinks over ayoung child’s head, and switch your hairstraighteners off when you are finished with them,putting them out of children’s reach

l Take a second look to prevent fires in the home –for example, take just one minute every week totest your smoke alarm, and plan how you and yourfamily will escape if a fire breaks out, then practisethe escape together

On the website www.childsafetyweek.org.uk youcan find useful suggestions about how to ‘take a secondlook for safety’. Information and resources can bedownloaded free from the website, or toolkits areavailable by post at a cost of £2.99 per kit, with discountsfor larger numbers.

Child Safety Week 20-26 June



CompetitionAcross6. ------- (7) should be kept out of the reach

of children, as they could cause a fire ifplayed with.

9. Farms are work places - not -----------(11).

10. Children should be taught to 'stop, lookand listen' when crossing the ---- (4).

11. Most children who die in fires diebecause they breathe in ----- (5), not bybeing burnt by the fire.

13. ------ (6) shouldn't be left unattended onany raised surface. They could roll off.

Down1. Children should wear a ------ (6) when

riding their bike.2. Canals, rivers and flooded gravel pits are

not safe places for children to ---- (4).3. Fit your ------- (7) with safety locks to

prevent young children falling out.4. Window ----- (5) cords should be kept

well out of reach. Children and babiescan get caught in them and be strangled.

5. Teach children never to eat anything theypick in the countryside, as some plantsand berries are --------- (9).

7. Check the batteries in your smoke -----(5) regularly - it will be the first warningyou have of a fire.

8. Keep hot drinks out of reach of children -if knocked over, hot liquids could ----- (5).

12. ----- (5) the paddling pool after use, so itdoesn't become a drowning hazard -children can drown in shallow water too.

There is a Stay Safe ThisSummer poster competitionfor children to design a postershowing the dangers andtelling other children andyoung people how to staysafe. Entry details are availableon the Child Safety Weekwebsite. Further competitionswill also be promoted duringChild Safety Week.

Contact details forordering materials are:Child AccidentPrevention TrustCanterbury Court (1.09), 1-3 Brixton Road, London SW9 6DETel 020 7608 3828

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Complete our child safety crossword with achance to win a BlackBerry phone

Membership number:

Name:

Address:

Postcode:

Telephone no.

Send your completed entry with your name, address and a contacttelephone number (so that we can get in touch with you easily) to:NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland Membership, Freepost,Admail ADM4149, Loughborough, LE11 1YW.The closing date for entries is 31 July 2011. The first correct entry randomly drawn on 1 August 2011 will receive a BlackBerry Curve telephone which has been kindly donatedby Incahoot, who offer broadband deals and mobile phone offers. To find out more visit www.Incahoot.com No cash alternative will be offered.

Children’s PosterCOMPETITION

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8 Healthy Times: Summer 11 Issue 9 www.nhslcrmembership.org

Living with a disabled child – the joys and the sorrows

On a warm spring day, Andrea Clark, head of engagementat NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland went along tomeet member Ashma Sabat and her delightful daughterFatima, aged two and a half, to learn about the experienceof having a child with Down’s syndrome.

Down’s syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects ababy's normal physical development and causes mild tomoderate learning difficulties. Children who are bornwith Down’s syndrome also have a higher chance ofdeveloping other conditions, including heart disease,sight and hearing problems.

Ashma Sabat is determined to raise awareness aboutDown’s syndrome in order to improve the lives ofchildren with Down’s syndrome and to help their parents.For this reason she was more than happy to share herexperience with other members of the ‘be healthy beheard’ membership scheme:

What did it feel like when you first found outthat Fatima had Down’s syndrome?The paediatrician checked my baby. He said to myhusband and me that although he would need to do ablood test to confirm he believed that our baby hadDown’s syndrome. We were both still trying to recoverfrom the trauma of the birth and this statement by thedoctor left us feeling overwhelmed and in a state ofshock. We didn’t know what to do. We may have seenchildren with Down’s syndrome but didn’t really knowanything about it. Thoughts raced through my mind,was our baby going to be okay, what would this meanfor her in terms of physical and mental health? At thatpoint if someone could have given a brief explanation ofwhat Down’s syndrome was and answered some of ourquestions that would have made a really big difference

and lessened the helplessness my husband and I were feeling.

Then what happened?I found breast feeding difficult as Fatima was so sleepy.It was discovered that Fatima had a low oxygen leveldue to a heart defect. The doctors said that the heartdefect would right itself over time but that Fatima inthe meantime needed to be tube fed. I had brillianthelp from the nurses in the newborn baby unit. Thenurses taught me how to change the tube so that Icould feed Fatima this way. Fatima went home withoutthe feeding tube, as she appeared to be feeding well,five days following the birth. But when the communitymidwife visited and weighed Fatima she found that shehad lost a lot of weight. This meant that tube feedinghad to start again. Once again, the hospital nurseswere amazing, and I was soon able to replace the tubemyself and feed Fatima. This meant we could stay athome and Fatima began to gain weight. There havebeen other health problems for Fatima, but now, withthe help of specialists from Glenfield Hospital and GreatOrmond Street children’s hospital, Fatima is on trackagain and making good progress.

What was the hardest thing?The lack of support and information.

Do you think things are improving for parentsof disabled children?I believe things are getting better. I’ve been workingwith a project team led by a community paediatricianto create a pathway for children with Down’s syndromein Leicestershire (a pathway means connecting relevantservices to make sure that the needs of patients are metat various stages of their condition). I am also a

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Meet our cover star member Ashma Sabat and herdaughter Fatima. On these pages, Ashma shares herexperience of living with a disabled child, and gives afrank account of the ups and downs. We also askedother parents of disabled children to recommendorganisations they had found helpful for their disabledchildren – see the panel opposite.

Help for families with

Ashma and Fatima spend afew quiet moments together


Healthy Times: Summer 11 Issue 9 9members’ helpline: 0300 555 5345

disabled children.member of the patient experience group at theUniversity Hospitals of Leicester, which gives me theopportunity to feed back information on hospitalservices from the perspective of a parent with adisabled child. As a member of ‘be healthy, be heard’ Iam also able to feed back to the Primary Care Trust.

Where do you go for help?I have found the Leicestershire Down’s syndrome groupto be a great support. This group is associated with theDown’s Syndrome Association national charity. It wasfounded by a small group of mothers who met duringthe early days of their children’s lives.

I also benefit from being a member of Parent Participation.Parent Participation is a forum where the parents of adisabled child can talk about their experiences, raise issuesand find out where to go for further help and information.

What has been the easiest thing about havinga child with Down’s syndrome?The joy and happiness that Fatima brings. We allappreciate things so much more now.

What would you say to other parents?Some days are hard. It is a struggle and a fight butworth it. Do your best - that’s all you can do. Don’t giveup. All you do will benefit your child and your family.

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Usefulcontacts

Ashma’s story gives a perspective on oneparticular disability. We spoke to otherparents of disabled children who told usabout organisations they have found helpful.

Leicestershire County Council’s FamilyInformation Service (FIS)FIS is a free website and helpline that provide impartialinformation and assistance to all families who havechildren, including disabled children, aged 0-20 years.www.leics.gov.uk/family, Tel: 0116 305 6545

face2faceFace 2 Face offers emotional support to parents ofchildren with special needs. Every Face 2 Face befrienderis a parent too. If you would like to be matched with abefriender in your area, please contact:Fiona Burton - Leicestershire F2F Co-ordinatorTel: 07736 730978Email: [email protected]

Leicestershire Parent Partnership ServiceLeicestershire Parent Partnership Service is a confidentialand impartial service that supports families who havechildren aged 0 to 19 with Special Educational Needs orany educational issues.Leicestershire Parent Partnership Service, Bungalow 1,Blaby Stokes Primary School, Queens Road, Blaby,Leicestershire, LE8 4EG Tel: 0116 275 2097Email: [email protected]

Bliss – the special care baby charity, offers guidance and information at a critical time in families' lives. http:// .bliss.org.uk/

Leicestershire Down’s Syndrome AssociationSee article for more information.Local helpline: 07757 800312http://www.leicesterdownsgroup.co.uk/

Parent Participation See article for more informationTel: Kirsty Baylis on 0116 288 5353 Email [email protected]

Menphys SOSMenphys SOS provides support to children and youngpeople aged 0-19 with complex health needs, disabilitiesor special educational needs and their parents/carers.Hinckley Office 01455 899111; Wigston Office 0116 2885353; Melton Office 01664 483315; Leicester City Office0116 282 3659www.menphys.org.uk

Take a BreakThe Take a Break scheme provides a one off payment toparent/carers living in Leicestershire. For an applicationform email [email protected] or leaveyour full name and postcode at 07968 857 598 or 07870 688 973 and a form will be sent to you.

More contactsThe Leicestershire Branch of the National Autistic Society hasa useful list of organisations that provide support to parentsof disabled children. www.leicestershireautism.org.uk



Ten Top Tips for Wellbeing at Workby Meeta Madhani, NHS Health Improvement Specialist

Being in work is good for our physical andmental health as it gives us an identity and socialstatus. We can interact with our colleagues whomay also become our friends. But what can youdo to stay healthy at work, especially in thesedifficult times of cutbacks, job uncertainty, andthe consequent risk of experiencing ill health asa result of coping with such problems?

The first thing is to talk to your immediate managerabout any ill health or symptoms you may be having.These could be insomnia, stress, fatigue or anythingthat affects your ability to do your job. Managers canrefer you to occupational health if necessary. But thereare some things we can all do to try and keepourselves healthy and well at work:

1. Try to minimise stress.Stress and anxiety can lead to otherdifficulties such as excessive drinking,reliance on prescription medicines orregularly eating unhealthy food, soaddressing the problem and gettingthe right sort of help is the best thingto stop it from escalating further.

2. Back off from pain!

To avoid back pain when sitting atyour desk, adjust your posture, place your feet on thefloor and sit at eye level from your computer.

3. Eat healthily.

Pre-plan your snacks or lunches by sticking to ashopping list or menu plan, or using up leftovers,having healthy packed lunches and your 5 a daywhen you can. Try to drink 6-8 glasses of water a dayas too much tea or coffee can be dehydrating andleave you feeling unable to concentrate.

4. Take computer breaks.

A lot of us sit at our computers and desks for hourson end without taking breaks. Get up at least onceevery hour, go and talk to people, go for a walk inthe building, do anything to get your musclesmoving, prevent repetitive strain injury (RSI) and giveyour eyes (and your back) a break from the screenand desk. A good time to have a natter by the watercooler and follow up any email discussions verbally.

5. Take the stairs, not the lift

(if you are not carrying anything too heavy).Any form of physical activity is good e.g. alunch-time walk, as it can make us feelbetter as long as we do it regularly. (Followappropriate advice if you have a disability.)

6. Avoid or minimise infections.

Follow standard hygiene protocol and washyour hands regularly, especially if you haveany coughs or colds. Remember: Catch it

(with a tissue), Bin it, Kill it!

7. Ask for help if you want to quit smoking.

Contact the stop smoking service on 0845 045 2828 ifyou live in Leicestershire or Rutland and want to quit.

8. Avoid over-lap.

If you use a laptop instead of a desk top computer,try to ensure you have a hard surface for the laptopand mouse, not your lap, as it will tend to overheat.Follow tip 4 too (take breaks).

9. Take care moving and handling.

Make sure you follow appropriate guidance, keep upto date with training, and report any problems torelevant staff.

10. Side-step bullying.

No-one should have to be a victim. Report any formof bullying or harassment immediately to a trustedfriend or colleague and seek help from HumanResources too.

10TOP TIPS



Message in a Bottle Loughborough Lions run a simple schemethat can save lives, simply through a‘message in a bottle’ kept in your fridge.

The bottle pack consists of:l A bottle l A basic medical information form l Green and white emergency data link stickers,

which are unique to the scheme

The idea is to fill in the form found inside the bottleincluding information such as your doctor’s address, anddetails of your next of kin, indeed anything you wouldwant the emergency services to be aware of if you wereunable to communicate with them directly.

The bottle is then stored in the fridge. The fridge hasbeen chosen as 95% of all households have one and it isgenerally easy to find. Also, the insulation properties andconstruction of a fridge mean that in the event of a fire,the contents of the fridge usually survive.

One of the stickers needs to be placed just inside yourfront door or on the window, so that it’s clearly visible toany of the emergency services, and one of the stickersgoes on your fridge. The green and white stickers arerecognised by the emergency services.

Loughborough Lions Club, a charity organisation whosemotto is “We Serve”, launched the ‘message in a bottle’scheme a few years ago and has been instrumental in thedistribution of 7000 bottles. Other Lions Clubs who support

the scheme include Ashby de la Zouch andCoalville, Rothley and Soar Valley, andShepshed.

Robin Duke, Message in a Bottle Officer forLoughborough Lions Club, said of the scheme:

‘Whilst it is focused on the more vulnerable people in ourcommunity, anyone can have an accident at home, sothis scheme can benefit anyone. All Emergency Servicesare aware of the Lions Message in a Bottle scheme, andwill in an emergency, locate the bottle, use and then passon the information to medical personnel.’

Louise De Groot, East Midlands Ambulance ServiceClinical Quality Manager and Paramedic, said: ‘The Message in a Bottle scheme can save lives. Anythingthat can speed up the treatment we give to a patient is areal help. The bottle helps us find out if the patientalready has a medical condition and what treatment theyare on, so we can quickly identify what might be wrongand which drugs to give so they don’t react badly toanything the patient is already taking. The form alsoallows us to identify the next-of-kin or who to call in anemergency. I urge people to get these containers andkeep them up-to-date and in their fridge.’

The cost of the message in a bottle kit is covered by theLoughborough Lions so is free to anyone who wants one.Please contact: [email protected], or call 07766715104.

Join us for a series of talks throughout the yearorganised by NHS Leicestershire County andRutland, NHS Leicester City, UniversityHospitals Leicester NHS Trust, andLeicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.

Please call the membership helpline or email (asbelow) to book a place for the talk/talks you wouldlike to attend. This is really important as the dates andspeakers for some of the events are not yet confirmed.

Therefore, if we are not able to secure speakers wewill be able to let you know of any cancellations.

Once we have more details of the events belowmembers will be emailed and the website updated.

Contact details for enquiries and booking:Website: www.nhslcrmembership.orgMembers helpline – 0300 555 5345Email [email protected]

Table of events continues overleaf . . .


The school holidays are around the corner so why not trypizza making as an activity for all the family to enjoy. This recipe for a healthy pizza has been given to us byLeicestershire Nutrition and Dietetic Service. The childrenwill enjoy decorating the pizza, maybe by making a face,

and it is also a fun way to make sure they get their five aday. Let us know how you get on, send us a picture ofyour home made pizza and we will choose a selectionfor the next issue of Healthy Times. Email your picturesor send them to Andrea Clark at the address on page 2.

A healthy pizza which yourchildren will enjoy making


MethodPre heat the oven 200c/400f or gas mark 6

1. Mix all of the base ingredients together to form soft dough.

2. Turn out onto a lightly floured worktop and roll out into the shape of a pizza base.

3. Spread the tomato passata over the base.

4. Arrange all the other ingredients on the top of the pizza and bake in the preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes, until base is firm and the top of the pizza is golden brown.

PizzaBase8oz/200g self-raising flour

2oz/50g sunflower margarine

7 tablespoons of milk

Topping400g/14oz passata sauce

4 mushrooms, washed and sliced

4 tablespoons sweet corn

1 green pepper, washed, deseeded and sliced

1 teaspoon mixed herbs

Pinch of black pepper

40g/1 ½ oz cheddar, grated

40g/1 ½ oz Edam cheese, grated

SERVE THE PIZZAWITH A MIXEDSALAD FOR ABALANCED MEAL!

Cook’s

Tip

Date Topic Time PlaceJune 2011 Stroke Evening Glenfield Hospital(day to be confirmed)

21 September 2011 Asthma Evening (time to Glenfield Hospitalbe confirmed)

28 September 2011 Personality Disorders 6pm-8pm Lecture Theatrefacts and myths Clinical education centre,

Glenfield hospital

20 October 2011 Seasonal flu and colds 10am -12noon Y Theatre, 7 East Street,Leicester LE1 6EY

8 November 2011 Mental Health 6pm-8pm NSPCC Training Centre, and Wellbeing 3 Gilmour Close, Leicester LE4 1EZ

February 2012 Choose well – which is the Daytime Y Theatre, (day to be confirmed) right NHS service when 7 East Street Leicester LE1 6EY

Table of events continued from page 11


As you may alreadyknow, the Governmenthave decided to take anatural pause in thepassage of the Health and Social CareBill, to allow time to listen to thepublic’s views and comments on theproposed changes to the NHS. With this break in place and also the heavy timetablealready outlined in the Health White Paper, some ofthe major reforms which were due to take place inApril 2012 have now been delayed and will not comeinto place any earlier than July 2012.

This means that Leicestershire Local Involvement Network(LINk) will now officially not take on the additionalfunctions of Local HealthWatch until July 2012.

As you can imagine, the transformation from LINks to LocalHealthWatch is an exciting and huge piece of work, so thesethree additional months will definitely be required. In themeantime, the work of the LINk/Local HealthWatchTransformation Task Group continues. These are just some ofthe activities we are progressing. . . .

l Lobbying our MPs and letting them know whatamendments we would like to see in the Health andSocial Care Bill

l Making contact with the two GP Consortia in the Countyl Having two voting seats on the county council’s newly

formed influential Shadow Health and Wellbeing Boardl Working closely with Leicestershire County Council to

put in a joint application to become a Pathfinder. Ifsuccessful, this will mean Leicestershire LINk will be ableto test out some of the new functions of LocalHealthWatch and have the responsibility of sharingthese with other Pathfinders across the country.

This is a very influential time for LINks and is certainly a greatopportunity for anyone who wants to get involved andshape the future of health and social care.

If you are interested and want to find out more, pleasecontact Leicestershire LINk Tel: 0116 2293103 or Email:[email protected] or visitwww.leicestershirelink.org.uk

Rutland LINkencourages debate on NHS changesMore than 80 people attended a meeting organised byRutland LINk to hear about progress on thedevelopment of the new Crescent Consortium, thegroup of GPs who will become responsible forcommissioning services for a population of 310,000,including Rutland.

Crescent Consortium chair Dr Dave Briggs outlined thework going on to prepare the GPs in the Consortium fortheir new role and answered a wide range of questionsfrom the floor.

Dr Andrew Ker, senior partner at Oakham Medical Practice,was at the meeting to explain new arrangements for minorinjuries which started in April. Oakham GPs have taken overmanagerial responsibility for the Rutland Minor Injuries Unitat Rutland Memorial Hospital. Some practice services havebeen transferred to the unit and the facility has beenrenamed Rutland Acute Treatment Centre.

The meeting was also an occasion for people to hear moreabout how Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) will beplaying an increasingly important role as a sounding boardfor GP practices. Richard Simmons, chair of the PPG atEmpingham Medical Centre, encouraged everyone to findout about the PPG in their own practice and to get involvedto make sure it is as effective as possible.

Rosemarie Whittaker, outgoing chair of Rutland LINk, said:“We were really pleased that so many people attended themeeting and asked so many probing questions. Theyshowed how much Rutland people care about their NHSand want to be involved in how it develops.”l Rutland LINk are holding elections for their steering

group in June this year. To make sure you have a say inhow services develop in Rutland, contact Gill Wollertonto find out more about the steering group. Call 0116229 3028 or email [email protected]

Visit: www.rutlandlink.org.uk


Latest Latestfrom Leicestershire LINk

from Rutland LINk



If you live in Coalville or parts ofLoughborough you may recentlyhave noticed posters about bowelcancer. Or perhaps you haveheard a radio advert on Oak FMor Capital FM East Midlands.These posters and radio ads are part of a campaignencouraging people to notice if they have symptomswhich might mean they have bowel cancer. The focusis on these areas of Leicestershire because they areareas where people are slightly more likely to get thiskind of cancer.

The campaign also focuses on encouraging people agedbetween 60 and 69 to take a simple bowel cancerscreening test that they receive in the post. Local GPs inCoalville and parts of Loughborough have been asked totelephone people who are about to receive the bowelcancer screening kit, to encourage them to take the test.

It’s really important to use the kit, because it can help tocatch bowel cancer early, before there are any symptoms.The earlier the diagnosis, the better the chance of survival.

For all age groups, it’s important to be aware of thesymptoms, even though bowel cancer is rarer for under60s. The symptoms include blood in your poo, orpersistent looser poo or constipation, persistent tirednessand/or weight loss for no reason.

To reduce your chancesof getting bowel cancer:l Look after yourself

– try to get your 5-a-day vegetables and fruit, and eat more fish and whole grain foods, andfewer fatty foods like cakes and pastries, andprocessed meats like bacon and ham. It’s also agood idea to reduce your alcohol intake to safelevels - less that 14 units per week for women and less than 21 units per week for men

l Stay fit – exercise often (such as walking to local shopsinstead of taking the car) and try to maintain ahealthy weight

l Stop smoking – there’s plenty of support and help available from the NHS for this. Locally you can telephone 0845 045 2828

Be clear onbowel cancer



Here are a few tips on how to barbecue safely toavoid food poisoning or accidents around the fire.

l Cover the bottom of your barbecue withcoal to a depth of no more than 5cm (2in).Use only recognised firelighters or starter fuel,and on cold coals only. Never use petrol on abarbecue. Charcoal should be glowing red with apowdery grey surface before you start. Makesure your barbecue is steady on a level surface,away from plants and trees.

l Keep children, garden games and pets wellaway from the cooking area. Never leave thebarbecue unattended. Keep a fire extinguisher ora bucket of water or sand nearby foremergencies. Ensure the barbecue is cool beforeattempting to move it. Never put hot ashesstraight into a dustbin or wheelie bin - they couldmelt the plastic and cause a fire.

l Never put cooked food on a plate or surfacethat’s had raw meat on it. Raw meatsometimes contains germs that can cause foodpoisoning. You can very easily pick up germsfrom raw meat on your hands or utensils, andthen spread them to anything else you touch,including food that's cooked and ready to eat. Toprevent this use separate utensils (plates, tongsand containers) for cooked and raw meat. Washyour hands after every time you touch raw meat.Keep raw meat in a sealed container away fromfoods that are ready to eat, such as salads andbread. Any frozen meat should be fully thawedbefore you cook it.

l To kill germs cook all meat until steaminghot all the way through, none of the meat ispink and any juices run clear. It's importantwhen cooking meat to turn it regularly and move it around the barbecue. This helps it tocook evenly.

l Don’t leave food out of the fridge for morethan a couple of hours – eat it, cook it ordiscard it. Make sure you keep the followingfoods cool: salads; dips; milk and cream; yoghurt;desserts and cream cakes; sandwiches; ham andother cooked meats; rice salads; cheese.

l When you're eating outdoors you shouldalso remember to keep food coveredwhenever possible. This is to protect it frominsects, birds and pets, which can carry bacteria.

This information is taken from the NHS Choiceswebsite. For more information and a fun interactiveguide to barbecuing, visit:

http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/barbecue.aspx?Tag

Be safe this summer

We look forward to long summer days and spending more timeoutdoors. Many of us will be planning summer barbecues with family andfriends to take advantage of the warmer weather and lighter evenings.

– safe barbecues


Healthy Times: Summer 11 Issue 9 www.nhslcrmembership.org

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healthy times issue 9

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