the calderdale voice issue 8 dec - jan 2014
DESCRIPTION
Healthwatch Calderdale, health, social care,TRANSCRIPT
Top tips for having fun and getting home safely are:
You don’t have to be drunk to have a good night, set
limits and stick to them.
Always pre-book a licensed taxi for your journey home,
stay with your friends & never walk home alone.
www.westyorkshire.police.uk/nightoutsurvivalguide
Welcome to the December - January
2014/15 edition of The Calderdale
Voice.
This year has seemed to fly by and we
have been very busy at Healthwatch
Calderdale. In our News from the
Healthwatch team, there are a few
updates about what we have been up
to including a really positive mention
about us from the Calderdale MP Linda
Riordan!
Winter can sometimes dramatically
affect people’s moods, particularly
Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD.
In this issue, we have included some
strategies for dealing with SAD on
page 16.
Hope you have a wonderful Christmas
and New Year!
Emma Worsley, The Calderdale Voice Editor
If you hate Brussels Sprouts, it may be
because of your DNA! Some people have a gene that can make Sprouts taste bitter.
The coldest temperature ever recorded in
the world was -128 degrees Celsius, in Vostok Station in Antarctica in 1983.
Healthwatch is the new Consumer Champion, or Watchdog, for health and social care.
The aim of local Healthwatch will be to give citizens and communities a stronger voice
to influence and challenge how health and social care services are provided locally.
Healthwatch Calderdale is an independent body that will raise your views and
opinions on Health & Social Care in Calderdale and to help make your voices heard.
What we aim to:
Enable local voices to influence the delivery and design of local health and
social care services
Use local volunteers to gather views and information from local people and
communities
Involve and engage local people, putting you at the heart of Health and
Social Care service decision making
Enable local people to make informed choices about their own and family’s
health and social care needs
Influence the way services are designed and delivered
Have a strong relationship with Health and Social Care
providers as a critical friend using community views to
influence and improve planning and delivery of services
Provide information, advice and support about local health
and social care services
Refer people to make a complaint via the Advocacy Service
Healthwatch Calderdale will be taking
their Community Engagement in a new
direction in the new year.
As part of our revised engagement plan,
Healthwatch Calderdale will be replacing
some of our drop in sessions with new
methods of outreach including the
Todmorden Market Charity stall - starting
15th January - and Halifax Woolshops.
Healthwatch Calderdale will also be
visiting local Health & Social Care support
groups and organisations to talk to them
about their experiences of Health &
Social care services.
If you would like Healthwatch to visit
your group, please email
Over the past year, we retrieved information
from residents of Calderdale, which
informed us of the trends in Health & Social
Care services in Calderdale. These trends
initiated our first Enter & Views, three of
which, we have recently completed. The
reports from those Enter & Views will be
published on our website.
Alan Walsh, our Information and Support
Officer said
“Enter & View is an integral part of our
operation(s) because it highlights, and
brings to the fore, the views and
experiences of Calderdale residents. It is
vitally important that we have open,
transparent dialogue between us,
Calderdale residents and Health & Social
Care services to ensure patients needs are
met and a high level of excellent care/
treatment is provided.”
Please visit our website for more information
www.healthwatchcalderdale.co.uk
Average snowflakes fall at 3.1mph and they
always have 6 sides.
Healthwatch Calderdale was mentioned by
Linda Riordan, Labour MP for Halifax, when
she addressed the House of Commons on
Thursday 20th November.
Whilst addressing the House of Commons in a
debate on the future of our local A&E, Linda
said:
“I hope today’s debate can shed some light
on exactly what is taking place. I also want
to place on the record the excellent health
staff we have in Halifax; the nurses,
doctors, consultants, clinicians and everyone
in the NHS wider health family do a superb
job in difficult circumstances. That is why, as
Healthwatch Calderdale have found, that the
clinical treatment administered by GPs in the
district is very good and they make a positive
contribution to residents’ health in the
area.”
This is really positive for Healthwatch
Calderdale and we are keen to develop our
relationship with local MPs further.
People with Chionophobia are simply said
to have a fear of snow.
Healthwatch Calderdale has been busy
with our Task and Finish groups.
In September 2014, Healthwatch
conducted a survey about Car Parking at
Calderdale Royal Hospital. Based at the
hospital front entrance, Healthwatch
staff and volunteers spoke to 651 people
about their car parking experience.
With the help of our volunteer Ruth, we
have collated all the data and are in the
process of creating a report of our
findings. The report will be given to
the Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS
Foundation Trust for their consideration
and will also be published on our website
www.healthwatchcalderdale.co.uk
Healthwatch Calderdale is a membership
organisation. We make sure that all our
members are kept up to date with
everything related to Health and Social
Care at both a local and national level.
Becoming a member is free of charge and
is open to anyone who lives in Calderdale
and/or receives substantial health and
social care services from any provider
within Calderdale. It is also open to
voluntary and community groups who
supports users of health and social care
services.
To become a member, please email
Healthwatch is the new Consumer Champion,
or Watchdog, for health and social care. The
aim of local Healthwatch will be to give
citizens and communities a stronger voice to
influence and challenge how health and
social care services are provided locally.
Healthwatch Calderdale is an independent
body that will raise your views and opinions
on Health & Social Care in Calderdale and to
help make your voices heard.
The feedback we receive from local
residents allows us to understand what the
issues are from the people that use the
services. Your views will help us identify
areas that need to be looked into further.
Please get in touch by calling 01422 431099
or you can email us on
You can also give us your feedback by using
the ’Talk to Us’ page on our website
www.healthwatchcalderdale.co.uk
On Christmas Day, people eat an estimated 7,000 calories each.
The Healthwatch Calderdale website offers a number of different services:
Send us your feedback using the ‘Talk to Us’ page
Sign up to be a member of Healthwatch Calderdale
Find out about our volunteering opportunities
Search for local Health & Social Care services
Keep up to date with news from Healthwatch
Find out where your nearest Healthwatch drop in session is
Watch videos from Healthwatch England
See our Healthwatch Calderdale Twitter feed
Read the Healthwatch Calderdale Pledge
Find out about Healthwatch Calderdale local meetings
www.healthwatchcalderdale.co.uk
Twitter @hwcalderdale
Facebook Healthwatch Calderdale
Chilblains are small, itchy swellings on the
skin that occur as a reaction to cold temperatures.
A number of churches and organisations
are working in partnership to provide a
weekly drop in point for food & support at
the Ebenezer Methodist Church, St. James
Road, Halifax.
The aim of the project is to enable vul-
nerable people who have a 'chaotic
lifestyle' to access a drop in on a weekly
basis and collect a free food parcel and
gain support and guidance to enable them
to move on from their current situation.
This will include:
people who are experiencing
homelessness
destitute asylum seekers
people who suffer from substance
misuse
clients and people suffering extreme
hardship.
For more information, please ring
07975 718 093
Yorkshire Smokefree is a stop smoking
service run by South West Yorkshire
Partnership NHS Foundation Trust which
gives smokers the chance to quit their way
using tailored support.
Smokers in Calderdale can choose to pick
and mix their support from:
- Face to face support in a local and
convenient quit shop
- Telephone support from trained
advisors, available 7 days a week with
extended opening hours
- Online support using Yorkshire
Smokefree’s innovative online quit tool
which is available 24/7
It’s free, flexible and run by NHS experts
who have already helped thousands of
people across Yorkshire to stop smoking.
To find out more about how Yorkshire
Smokefree can help, visit
www.yorkshiresmokefree.nhs.uk
or call 0800 6120011 (free from landlines) or
0330 6601166 (free from mobiles).
Exciting news for Calderdale residents!
If you have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 25
or over, you may qualify for FREE Weight
Watchers vouchers. These vouchers
entitle you to up to 12 weeks of free
Weight Watchers support to help you
lose weight healthily.
This is part of the Calderdale Council
Scheme and allows people to self refer
onto the programme.
At Weight Watchers you’ll find friendly,
effective, support that you need to help
lose weight safely and keep it off.
To find out more or register your
interest, please call 01422 230 230.
Winter can be a really hard time for people
grieving a loved one. CHIBS is a free,
befriending service that provides emotional
support to bereaved adults and children over
the age of 5 years living in the Calderdale
area.
Adult support is offered on a 1-2-1 basis in
your home or at a mutually agreed venue.
All Befrienders are volunteers who have
undergone professional training which is
updated regularly. Most have suffered
bereavement themselves and can empathise
with the many thoughts and feelings that
grief can bring. They have also undertaken
an enhanced Disclosure Barring Service
check (DBS).
CHIBS are not a counselling service but if you
have suffered the loss of a loved one and
would like someone to listen and help you in
your loss, then please get in contact.
For more information, please visit
www.chibs.org.uk
or call 0845 0099220
Calderdale Inn Churches is a Winter
shelter project for homeless people aged
18 years and over, it runs 7 days per week
(from 6pm to 9am) from Sunday 4th
January until Sunday March 29th 2015.
Evening meals and breakfast are provided.
This is a free service.
Who can use the shelter?
Temporary homeless – e.g. due to
relationship breakdown
People sleeping rough
Economic migrants
Recently released prisoners
Destitute asylum seekers & refugees
Hidden homeless – living in squats,
hostels or sofa surfing
For more information, please ring
07975 718 093
The Basement Recovery Programme has been
designed by people who have been affected
by alcohol and drug issues, with the aim of
helping others attain a lifestyle free from
addiction, abuse and the fear.
The programmes aim is to help people get
clean from alcohol and/or drugs and for
them to understand more about the nature
of addiction. The winter months can be
particularly hard and depressing for those
who misuse drink or drugs and the realisation
that help is needed can be at its greatest,
The Basement Recovery Programme is here
to help. The project has an open door policy
for anyone to walk in and ask for help.
The Basement Recovery Project provides
twice weekly drop-ins for food to those who
are socially excluded or homeless. The
Breakfast Club is available 10am – 12pm each
Tuesday and Thursday morning.
For more information, please visit
www.thebasementproject.org.uk
This December, Heart Research are
asking the nation to warm up their vocal
chords so we can continue helping people
to live happier, healthier, longer lives.
Sing for Your Heart encourages choirs,
singers and people alike all over the
country to sing, whether in a train
station or at home on the karaoke to
raise money for Heart Research UK.
Choirs and singers can also sign up to
sing at one of Heart Research’s
organised city venues.
Not only is singing a great way to raise
money, research has shown that it's also
good for your heart, helping you to live a
longer and healthier life.
For more information, please visit
www.heartresearch.org.uk
The Campaign to End Loneliness aims to
maintain and create connections in older age
and combat loneliness. They are asking
people to reach out to older neighbours or
family who might be isolated or lonely over
Christmas
Loneliness is a bigger problem than simply an
emotional experience. Research shows that
loneliness and social isolation are harmful to
our health.
Laura Ferguson, Director of the Campaign to
End Loneliness said:
“Keeping in touch with older neighbours and
family could help them overcome the extra
emotional pressures of Christmas. Memories
of past friends and Christmases can make the
festive season particularly painful for older
people who are isolated and lonely.
Simply sending a Christmas card, giving a gift
to or spending time with an older neighbour
or family member might help lift them out of
their isolation and loneliness.”
For more information, please visit
www.campaigntoendloneliness.org
Monday 19 January 2015 is expected to be
the most depressing day of the year.
Now, individuals and organisations are being
challenged to cheer up the day and
make a real difference to people with
depression or seasonal affective disorder
(SAD).
Mental Health Research UK (MHRUK) is
hosting Blooming Monday in order to help
break down the continuing stigma attached
to mental illness. 1 in 4 people will have
some form of mental illness in their lives.
On the 19 January 2014, MHRUK invite
everyone to join their Blooming Monday
campaign and make a big visual impact by
injecting some unexpected colour and joy
into the day. It’s a simple ask: that
everyone wears their brightest clothes on
one of the dullest days of the year. Even if
you have to wear formal clothes to work,
you can at least wear a bright tie or scarf,
and bring a smile to someone’s face.
For more information, please visit:
www.blooming-monday.com
Decembeard is the next big thing in men’s
lifestyle charity fundraising. Think
Movember but with beards. Less Freddie
Mercury, more David Beckham.
The campaign aims to encourage men
throughout the UK to raise sponsorship for
bowel cancer by growing a beard.
Beating Bowel Cancer is a leading UK
charity for people affected by bowel
cancer. The money raised during
Decembeard will fund their work
supporting people affected by bowel
cancer and raising awareness of the
disease, its symptoms and the importance
of early diagnosis.
For more information, please visit:
decembeard.org
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a
form of depression that people
experience at a particular time of year
or during a particular season.
If you experience SAD, the change in seasons will have a much
greater effect on your mood and energy levels, and lead to symptoms of
depression that have a significant impact on your day-to-day life.
Self Help Strategies for SAD
Make the most of natural light - Going outdoors, particularly around
midday or on bright days, can be effective in reducing symptoms.
Avoid stress - If you find this time of year difficult, try to plan ahead to
reduce the amount of stressful activities you have during this time.
Exercise and eat well - Try to keep physically active during the winter.
Consider using a light box - Using a light box has been found to be an
effective treatment for SAD, as it increases your exposure to light during the
winter months.
Mind
www.mind.org.uk
A rarer type of seasonal affective disorder known as ‘summer depression’ can occur in people who live in warmer climates.