2 Thursday, February 9, 2012

Promotinga healthierway to livefor us allT

HE subject of thenation’s health is neverfar from the news. Oftena political tool,constantly pulled this

way and that, it’s unsurprisingthat our MPs want to and have totouch this particular hot potato,going as far as announcing aDecade of Health and Wellbeingfor the region, set to climax in2020.

This amount of focus happensbecause health provision has becomesuch an important and integral partof our daily lives. Imagine lifewithout the National Health Service,for example. Consider the range ofhealth professionals working in andaround your community, from GPsand nurses, to counsellors andphysiotherapists, and you begin topaint a picture of the interconnect-ing and overlapping patchwork of thehealthcare landscape, both across thecountry and in the local area.

The Greater Merseyside region isone of the most densely populatedurban areas in England, with around1.5m people living within the six dis-tricts of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool,Sefton, St Helens and Wirral (source:Learning Skills Council (LSC)).

And looking after the healthcareneeds of so many people is theresponsibility of the regional NHS,through its individual Primary CareTrusts (PCTs), along with manyother private and voluntary care pro-viders.

Our local PCTs are responsible forcoordinating, planning and fundingthe NHS services within the region.Making sure that people are able toeasily access health services is one ofthe main concerns of the PCT. Fromdistrict nurses and health visitors tosmoking cessation support, mentalhealth services, walk-in centres, hos-pices and hospitals too, PCTs are avital cog in the provision of localhealth services.

However, communities need arange of important healthcare avail-able right at their hearts. The greathigh rise and sprawling edifices ofour regional hospitals, such as TheRoyal in Liverpool or Aintree Uni-versity Hospitals across Fazakerleyand Walton, are absolutely vital. Butthe ability of regional healthcare tospread its reach into our towns, vil-lages, even into our homes, is incred-ibly important, especially to thosewho lack the fitness or means to eas-ily reach the hospital environs on aregular basis.

Thankfully, the importance ofquality local healthcare provision inLiverpool and Merseyside has beenrecognised by our politicians as par-ticularly vital for the good of thecommunity. As such, a Decade ofHealth and Wellbeing was launchedby Liverpool City Council and Liv-erpool PCT following 2010’s success-ful Year of Health and Wellbeing.Due to climax in 2020, its aim is toencourage people to build five spe-cific ‘ways to wellbeing’ into their

daily routines and potentially addseven-and-a-half years to their lifeexpectancy. The idea is that goodmental health is just as important asgood physical health.

The ways it is suggested we do thisare as follows (from www.2010healthandwellbeing.org.uk):● Connect with others, whether it isat home, work, school or within thelocal community. Taking the time todevelop these relationships canenhance everyday life.● Be active. Healthy body, healthymind – find something suitable foryour level of fitness and, mostimportantly, which you enjoy; any-thing from trampolining in thegarden to walking to work.● Take notice of the world aroundyou. Noticing the simple things

while going about your daily routine,such as a change in season or a pieceof artwork, and savouring themoment will help put things in per-spective and allow you to be moreappreciative.● Keep learning. Trying somethingdifferent, such as learning a newinstrument or language, will set achallenge, increasing motivation andconfidence.● Give or do something nice for afriend or stranger. Buy a copy of TheBig Issue, or help out inyour local community.Putting your effortstowards a good causecan be incrediblyrewarding.

With the Decade ofHealth and Wellbeing asa backdrop, there havebeen many new health-care developments bothannounced and com-pleted in order to dir-ectly increase thehealth and wellbeingof the region.

The £8m FivewaysCentre in Childwallcombines a brand newneighbourhood health centre withsports learning facilities and a newlibrary. The Centre is part of Liv-erpool PCT’s wider vision for A NewHealth Service for Liverpool, whichhas seen millions of pounds investedinto new health facilities across thecity over the last few years.

The advantages to the communityof this new Centre include extendedGP services, sexual health clinics,blood tests and minor surgical pro-cedures. Increasing the provision ofthese sort of services region-wide isvital for the health and wellbeing ofour communities.

Such developments and redevelop-ments are no longer unusual asmany millions of pounds are pumpedinto community healthcare. Speak-ing after the opening of a new neigh-bourhood health centre in AnfieldGideon Ben-Tovim, chair of Liver-pool PCT, said: “Over the past fewyears we’ve made enormous progress

and I feel extremely proud that yetanother building has been deliveredfor patients in Liverpool... I feelextremely proud that we are continu-ing to deliver the highest quality ofbuildings that will not only house awider range of services but are goingto make a huge difference to patientsin the Anfield area.”

While at the launch of a similarhealth centre in Kensington, Liver-pool City Council’s Cabinet Memberfor Regeneration and Transport, Cllr

Malcolm Kennedy, said:“The new centre willprovide an invaluableresource for localpeople and is the latestpiece in the jigsaw forKensington’s regenera-tion.

“Improving people’shealth is an importantpart of the regenerationof our neighbourhoods,and this centre will givethe community betteraccess to first-classhealth services. It’s animportant step forwardduring Liverpool’s Dec-ade of Health and Well-

being.”The Kensington scheme is just one

part in the local PCT’s wider visionfor the region’s health service, withmillions of pounds having beeninvested in purpose-built orimproved facilities.

New developments have alreadyopened in Everton, Breeze Close, Pic-ton, Yewtree, Oriel Drive, Speke,Childwall and Garston, and that isbeing complemented with new devel-opments across Wirral, Sefton, StHelens and Knowsley. It’s a positivestart to a decade which hopes totransform the way we both considerand experience our healthcare andpersonal wellbeing.

Some great strides have alreadybeen made, and if the region man-ages to fulfil the commitment it hassuggested and continue the work thathas already begun then Merseyside,as a community, should be feeling awhole lot better come 2020.

Local PCTs look after our health needs from cradle to grave

The Decade of Health and Wellbeing aims to improve everyone’s general health

3Thursday, February 9, 2012

Centre of excellence can helpT

HE Bone and JointCentre, based atSpire LiverpoolHospital, is one ofthe UK’s leading

specialist orthopaedichealthcare providers,boasting a client list thatincludes many sportingprofessionals among itspatients.

Established by a partner-ship of six world-renownedsenior orthopaedic surgeons,the team is able to provide acomprehensive orthopaedicservice covering most condi-tions. This is not limited toprivate patients, and NHSreferrals are welcome too.

The Bone and Joint Centreis a unique business partner-ship and the service offered isunrivalled across the Liver-pool city region.

Each of the partners andtheir associate consultant sur-geons have their own area ofspecialism and treat mosttypes of orthopaedic problems,ranging from joint replace-ments to sports injuries,upper limb surgery (shoulder,elbow and hand) and lowerlimb surgery (hip, knee, footand ankle).

Together they provide tar-geted and holistic care, witheach treatment tailor-madespecific to the needs of thepatient. This holisticapproach allows time tounderstand the patient’s con-dition fully, and thus offer the

best treatment and overallexperience.

The team is proud to set rig-orous clinical and profes-sional standards and, as a res-ult, patients will find that allits consultant surgeons andspecialist clinical staff are atthe top of their profession,passionate about what theydo, with each having met thestringent standards that allowthem to work at the Bone andJoint Centre.

Supported by a team ofphysiotherapists, each patientis provided with a rehabilit-ation program bespoke to

their individual needs.The Bone and Joint Centre

is open to everyone andaccepts all major private med-ical insurance cover.

For patients without privatemedical insurance or thosewith exclusions on theirpolicies, the hospital offers acomplete care package thatprovides a guaranteed fixedprice confirmed in advance.

If you would like to find outmore about the services thecentre offers or wish to dis-cuss making a referral, con-tact the Bone and Joint Centreusing the details below. The Bone and Joint Centre provides a comprehensive orthopaedic service

4 Thursday, February 9, 2012

New centres benefitthe local communityA

NEW community centrefor Liverpool combininghealth, library andeducation facilitiescelebrated its official

opening recently.The £8m Fiveways Centre develop-

ment houses Liverpool’s new Child-wall Library; learning facilities forChildwall Sports College, plus a brandnew Neighbourhood Health Centre.

The Childwall Centre was developedby Liverpool and Sefton Health Part-nership (LSHP) on behalf of LiverpoolPCT, Liverpool City Council and Child-wall School Specialist Sports College.Building work began in summer 2010,and it first opened its doors to thepublic in October 2011.

Gideon Ben-Tovim, Chair of Liver-pool Primary Care Trust (PCT), said:“This is a fantastic development, andwe’re really excited about the positiveeffect it will have on the lives of thelocal community. In Liverpool we arecurrently marking the Decade ofHealth and Wellbeing, which focuseson the Five Ways to Wellbeing – con-nect, be active, take notice, keep learn-ing and give – and I think the newFiveways Centre will be a real stim-ulus for helping local people improvetheir own health.”

Its facilities will also provide Child-wall Sports College with modernlearning spaces for use by sixth formstudents and staff, with access to thenew library facilities.

Childwall is not the only area to

benefit from such a scheme, with abrand new Neighbourhood HealthCentre offering patients a wider rangeof health services opening in Anfield.

The £6m building is situated onTownsend Lane on land formerly occu-pied by All Saints RC Primary School.The additional services which patientswill now be able to access includeextended GP opening hours over even-ings and weekends; dental services;pharmacy; blood tests and nurse-ledtreatments, such as ear syringing andwound dressings.

Local GP practices Townsend Lane

Medical Centre and Anfield GroupPractice have both moved into the newbuilding.

Work is also underway on a £5mNeighbourhood Health Centre in Kens-ington that will not only provideenhanced health services to patientsbut will be an important part of thewider regeneration of the area.

Liverpool Primary Care Trust (PCT)unveiled its plans for a landmarkbuilding opposite St Cyprian’s Churchon the junction of Edge Lane, DuringRoad and Holt Road, last year. Thestate-of-the-art building will house arange of health services, includingdental, pharmacy, childhood immun-isations and vaccinations, and phlebot-omy (blood tests).

It will also provide patients withlonger opening hours for GP services.Kensington Park General Practice andEdge Hill Health Centre (which arecurrently located in temporary cabinsat the old reservoir site and in EdgeHill Medical Centre), will be movinginto the new centre.

The centre forms part of the widerregeneration of the area, including the£350m Edge Lane Project, whichincludes work to create a dual car-riageway along the full length of EdgeLane, new housing, more than1,000,000 square feet of new and refur-bished commercial and retail floor-space and community facilities.

It is estimated that KensingtonNeighbourhood Health Centre will becompleted by early 2013.

The new £8m building at Childwall Fiveways houses alibrary, learning facilities, plus a health centre

Mondays

L11 Norris Green, EllergreenCommunity and Early YearsCentre, Ellergreen Road: 9am

L15 Wavertree LibraryThe High Street: 9am

L69 Brownlow Group PracticeThe Infirmary 70 PembrokePlace: 12 noon

L13 Old Swan, One-stop-shopDerby Lane, Old Swan:1.30pm

L9 Long Lane Health CentreFazakerley: 2pm

L19 Garston LibraryBowden Road: 2pm

L5 Everton 1-to-1(no appointment needed)Great Homer St Practice: 2pm

L13 Queens Drive Fire StationStoneycroft: 5pm

L7 J&K Clinic, Royal LiverpoolHospital, Prescot Street: 5pm

L7 Children’s Centre, 139 EarleRoad Wavertree: 3.30pm

L18 Allerton LibraryAllerton Road: 4pm

L25 Belle Vale Health CentreHedgefield Road: 4pm

L7 Abercromby Health CentreGrone Street: 5.20pm

L12 St Marys Millennium CentreMeadow Lane, West Derby:6pm

Wednesdays

L8 Liverpool Arabic Centre163 Lodge Lane: 9:15am

L5 Vauxhall Medical CentreLimekiln Lane: 10am

L12 West Derby St MarysMillennium Centre MeadowLane: 10am

L11 Ellergreen Medical Centre24 Carr Lane: 10am

L24 Margaret Thompson MedicalCentre, East Millwood Road,Speke: 10am

L5 Breckfield, Breck Road Library,Breck Road: 1pm

L14 Dovecot Mac 1-to-1(no appointment needed)Dovecot Parade: 1pm

L24 Speke Neighbourhood HealthCentre, 75 South Parade: 1pm

L8 Toxteth Archer Hall68 Upperhill Street: 3.30pm

L4 Spellow Library, County RoadWalton: 3pm

L8 Edge Hill LibraryLodge Lane: 5.30pm

L9 Breeze Hill NeighbourhoodHealth Centre, 3 Rice Lane:5.15pm

Thursdays

L4 Walton Sports Centre, WaltonHall Avenue: 12 noon–1pm

Fridays

L8 Matthew Arnold Primary SchoolDingle Lane Children’s Centre:9am

L11 Croxteth Family Health ClinicAltcross Road: 10am

L7 Edge Hill Health Centre,Crosfield Road, Kensington:10am

L12 Knotty Ash One-stop-shopBlackmore Drive: 11am

L17 Sefton Park LibraryAigburth Road: 1pm

L9 St Pauls Church, Formosa DriveFazakerley: 1:30pm

L25 Woolton House MedicalCentre, Woolton Street:2:30pm

Saturdays

L13 Old Swan NHS Walk-in CentreSt Oswalds Street:10–11.45am

Other venues areavailable for 1-to-1appointments. Youcan also visit any of 28pharmacies acrossLiverpool for adviceand support. Call freeor visit our website forfull details. (calls frommobiles may be charged)

Turn up, drop in, stub out…

0800 195 2131 • www.stopsmoking.org.uk Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust andLiverpool Primary Care Trust working together

L24 Parklands LibraryConleach Road, Speke: 5.30pm

L11 Croxteth Community FireStation: 7pm

Tuesdays

L25 Belle Vale Health CentreHedgefield Road: 9am

L14 Dovecot, Yewtree Children’sCentre, Berryford Road: 9am

L13 Old Swan Salvation ArmyPrescot Road: 9:45am

L4 Anfield Group Practice117 Priory Road: 12 noon

L9 ‘The Breeze Inn’ LongmoorLane Methodist Church opositeBlack Bull Pub: 12:30pm

L8 Liverpool Arabic Centre163 Lodge Lane: 1pm

L27 Netherley Health CentreMiddlemass Hey: 2pm

L9 Walton Library One-stopEvered Avenue: 1pm

L11 Norris Green LibraryTownsend Avenue: 2.30pm

L4 Bousfield Surgery, WestministerRoad Kirkdale: 3pm

Mondays L7 Earle139Centre,Children’s L14 1-to-1MacDovecot L12 One-stop-shopAshKnotty

out…stubin,dropup,Turn

L24 LibraryParklands

FagEnds offer free and confidential help, advice and support to anyone who wants to stop smoking…find out more at any of the drop-in meetings listed below:

Neil fromWallasey quit smoking with supportfrom theWirral Stop Smoking Service.

‘I didn’t start smoking until I was 28, so I didn’t start young.I don’t even know why I started .

I’ve tried to stop more times than fingers on my hands .I knew I needed to quit but kept saying I would do it tomorrow.

This time I have done it for my son, Callum. I initially quit when he wasborn but gradually started again. So I promised him I would, and youkeep the promises you make to your children.

I used to be out of breath walking up some of the steep hills inWallaseybut I’m not any more. I have so much more energy, I’ve been to thegym, takenTai Chi classes and financially we are much better off.

We are taking Callum on a trip to Lapland on the money we have savedfrom quitting so it’s been really worth the effort.

TheWirral Stop Smoking Service helped me to quit – and I even won£50 in Asda vouchers for staying smoke-free!

I’ve never looked back. I just hope my story encourages othersmokers to take that first step and get some support to quit.

Wirral CommunityNHS Trust

We offer you many waysto quit smoking

www.quitstopwirral.co.ukwww.wirralct.nhs.uk

0151 630 8383Text QUIT with your name & post code to 80039QUIT STOP

Join us on Facebook

Please visit our websites, telephone the local number or email wsupport@wirralct.nhs.uk

Choose the support option that fitsin with your lifestyle

How can we help?• Free advice and support with your quit attempt• No appointment, no fuss options• Nicotine ReplacementTherapy vouchers issued immediately*• CO (Carbon Monoxide) readings to monitor your progress• Personal 1:1 appointments with Specialist Advisors• Access to local sessions and venues acrossWirral

Prescription charges may apply*

• Individual clinic appointments• Drop-in clinics (first come first served basis)• Quit Stop mobile camper van at variousWirral venues• Clinics at some G.P. surgeries•Telephone support if you don’t have time for appointments

6 Thursday, February 9, 2012

Quality care helpedKayleigh fight back

KAYLEIGH was atypical teenager wholoved nothing betterthan socialising andshopping with

friends but, in the monthsleading up to her 19thbirthday, she started toexperience extreme stomachpains.

Kayleigh, from Warrington,said: “The pain was so bad that Icouldn’t sleep. The only thingthat would ease it was very hotbaths. I’d find myself getting upand running baths in the middleof the night to try and alleviatethe pain. It was awful.”

She made countless visits toher GP, but he couldn’t explainthe symptoms. It was only whenher stomach swelled to the size toof a melon that she was referredto her local hospital, WarringtonGeneral, for an ultrasound scan.

“They called me back imme-diately, so I knew it was seriousbut, when I got there, they stillcouldn’t diagnose what it was.”

Kayleigh had a biopsy doneand was referred to ClatterbridgeCentre for Oncology as it showedshe had a very rare type of can-cer – Ewing’s sarcoma.

Ewing’s sarcoma is most com-monly found in young adults andusually occurs in the bone tissue.Rapid bone growth is thought tobe one of the causes, which could

explain why more cases are seenin teenagers.

Only 400 people are diagnosedwith the disease every year.

Kayleigh’s cancer was moredifficult to pin down as it hadgrown in the soft tissue.

She joked: “I always have to bethe odd ball and do things dif-ferently.”

Luckily, Clatterbridge Centrefor Oncology has a specialistteam to deal with rare cancers.She was admitted straight awayand started a six-month course ofchemotherapy.

But the shock of the diagnosisand having to be admitted to hos-pital was hard on Kayleigh.

“I missed my friends and feltlike I was missing out on somuch. But then another patient,Rachel, came over and intro-duced herself. She was so livelyand fun and made me realise thatmy social life didn’t have to endjust because I was in hospitalhaving treatment.”

In January 2010 the tumourhad shrunk enough for Kayleighto undergo surgery.

“They told me that the tumourwas originally the size of a melonbut it had shrunk to the size of alime.”

“To celebrate my final treat-ment I had a leaving party withselect friends and family at Clat-terbridge in the newly- opened

Teenage and Young Adult Unit.”It’s been 18 months since she

finished her treatment and life isreturning to normal forKayleigh. She returned to worklast Spring at Warrington PostOffice, where they have allowedher to slowly build her hoursback up.

“I used to be a real shopaholicand would spend whole weekendsgoing round shops. Now I findmyself tired after walking roundfor an hour or so. Slowly butsurely I will get there. I’m start-ing to feel more like myselfagain.”

Dr Nasim Ali, lead clinicianfor teenagers and young adults atClatterbridge Centre for Onco-logy commented: “Kayleigh hashad a tumour from the Ewingsfamily of tumours. These behaveaggressively and require intens-ive chemotherapy treatment for asignificant length of time, oftenin addition to surgery. The treat-ment involves multiple hospitaladmissions.

“Kayleigh was extremely cour-ageous and positive throughouther treatment and from the starthas had a positive response toher therapy.

She remains well at this timeand will continue to remainunder follow up at ClatterbridgeCentre for Oncology for severalyears.”

Kayleigh Terry is testament to the great work done by staff atClatterbridge

FREE REMOVAL of PIP IMPLANTSfor breast implant patients

www.sthk.nhs.uk

The Mersey Regional Plastic and Breast Reconstructive Surgery Unitbased at Whiston Hospital invite PIP implant patients for removal oftheir breast implants following referral from their GP.The latest advice from the Department of Health and Plastic Surgeryexperts is that women with PIP breast implants do not need to have themremoved unless they have symptoms such as pain and tenderness.However, a considerable number of women are keen to explore whatoptions are available to assist them in making a decision on whether tohave their implants removed or not.The Government is advising women to take three steps to reassurethemselves.These steps are:

Find out if they have PIP implants by checking their medical notes.This information can be accessed for free from the clinic thatsupplied your implants or through your GP. Women who had PIPimplants provided by the NHS will receive notification in due course.Speak to their GP or surgeon. Women who have had PIP implantsprovided by the NHS should speak to their specialist surgeon or GP.Women who have had PIP implants provided privately should speakto their private clinic.Agree what’s best for you. Women should ask their GP to refer themto a plastic surgeon for further advice on whether or not they need ascan and to discuss what options are available to them.

If you decide you want your PIP implants removed and replaced, theNHS will carry this out for free if your original operation was performedby the NHS.If your private clinic no longer exists or refuses to remove your PIPimplants ask your GP to refer you for removal of your implants. The NHSwill not fund replacement implants.However, for patients wanting implants removed, the Mersey RegionalPlastic Surgery service is able to provide a “top up” to the NHS removalof implants.The service is offering to replace existing PIP implants with UK madeimplants containing medical grade silicone at costs starting from £1,000.The exact cost will be given to you following a consultation with one of ourhighly specialised plastic surgeons, however patients choosing to payfor a “top up” will remain under the care of the NHS. Giving patients theoption to pay a “top up” means that they can have their implants replacedat the same time as removal, which is much safer. Some private providersare offering vouchers for use elsewhere, we are happy to take thesevouchers.All our surgeons are members of BAPRAS (British Association of Plasticand Reconstructive Aesthetic Surgeons) and BAAPS (British Associationof Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons).

For further information please contact the Regional Plastic Surgery Unit PIPpatient helpline: Tel: 0151 430 1992 or by email: pip.referrals@sthk.nhs.uk

7Thursday, February 9, 2012

We’re passionate about community health services.We think you are too.

Liverpool Community Health is planning to become an NHSFoundation Trust, we want you to take part in our consultation.

Have your say between 6th Feb to 30th April and become amember of your community health Trust.

Find out more at: liverpoolcommunityhealth.nhs.ukOr by email: cft@liverpoolch.nhs.uk

?Drinking alcohol is part and parcel of manypeople’s social lives. However, some people startto find it leads to problems in their lives. Thismay be because they begin to drink too much,or too often.

It is recommended that men should notregularly drink more than three to four unitsof alcohol per day and no more than 21 units aseek. (A pint or can of strong lager = 3 units)

For women it is recommended they drink nomore than two to three units of alcohol per dayand no more than 14 units per week. (A largeglass of wine = 3 units)

If units confuse you, then call us and we’ll helpyou to assess how much is too much. Its easyand the results may even surprise you.

If you are concerned or even just want someinformation or advice, pick up the phoneand ring Freephone 0800 988 1421 now or visitwirralalcohol.co.uk

Are you concerned abouthow much you, a familymember or a friend isdrinking? Then we’rehere to advise you.

NHS Wirral has a free confidentialadvice line which is available 24hours a day, seven days a week.You can ring day or night to talk tosomebody on Freephone

0800 988 1421.

How much is too much?

0800 988 1421www.wirralalcohol.co.uk