Back by popular demand during the May half term school holidays, Sefton Council is proud to offer a number of ‘Ditch Those Stabilisers’ cycling events.
Children aged four and above can learn to ride a bike unaided at sessions in both Litherland and Southport.
The events, which take place a number of times throughout the year, always have a very high success rate, as staff from the Council’s highway safety team offer a range of practical advice to young riders and their parents.
Sessions are free but pre-booking is essential.
Join in the fun at Litherland Sports Park, Boundary Lane on Tuesday, May 28 between 9am-12pm or Shoreside Primary School, Westminster Drive on Thursday, May 30 from 9am to 12pm.
Sefton Council is holding a ‘Moving on’ event to help young people with a disability and their families find out more about their options when they leave school and approach adulthood.
The drop-in event will take place at Crosby Leisure Centre on Wednesday, May 22, 10am – 2pm and is targeted at Sefton residents aged 14-25 years who have a disability or special educational need.
This is an opportunity for young people and their parents or carers to find out about colleges, supported employment, volunteering, welfare rights, health, social service support and other local opportunities.
More than 35 providers have been confirmed for the drop-in event to help answer any questions and provide information. There will also be lots of fun and interactive things to do on the day.
Dwayne Johnson, Director for Social Care and Health, said: “Leaving school and becoming an adult can be a stressful time for any young person as they start making decisions about their future.
“Moving On will provide an opportunity for young people in Sefton to learn more about their options and help them make the right decisions about their future.”
This June 2019, the NHS Northern Cancer Alliance will be launching a Health Harms campaign across the North of England called Quit 16 to encourage smokers in the region to make a quit attempt.
The campaign will aim to raise awareness of the links between smoking and 16 types of cancer and will include the story of someone whose life has been affected by a cancer caused by smoking, either themselves or a loved one.
To support this important health campaign, the group would like to invite people to get in touch if they are prepared to share their story publicly in order to encourage smokers to make a quit attempt.
The alliance group realise this would be a brave step but recognise that personal stories of how smoking affects real people can be a powerful trigger for quitting smoking.
For further information please email Hayley Edwards on hayley.edwards5@nhs.net
If you live or work in Sefton and want free support and information to stop smoking then call Smokefree Sefton on 0300 100 1000.
NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is looking to appoint a new lay member to its Governing Body to replace Graham Morris who retires at the end of June 2019.
Graham joined the NHS in 2005 as a non executive director and audit chair of Clatterbridge Cancer Centre Foundation Trust, later becoming its vice chairman. He then joined the CCG in December 2013 as a lay member and vice chair after retiring from Urgent Care 24 as its director of finance.
Dr Craig Gillespie, chair of NHS South Sefton CCG, said: “We would like to wish Graham all the best on his retirement. Graham has contributed greatly to the work of the CCG and we thank him for his dedication in carrying out this strategic role.
“We look forward to welcoming a new lay member to our Governing Body to continue the good progress we have made so far.”
The lay member role the CCG is recruiting to will bring strategic insight and impartiality to the Governing Body, overseeing key elements of governance, including audit and remuneration.
The candidate will be expected to chair the audit committee and be the CCG’s Conflict of Interest Guardian. They will be asked to fulfil the role of the deputy chair for the Governing Body and the term of office will be for three years.
For more information on the role you can contact Cathy Loughlin at the CCG on 0151 317 8452. Closing date for applications is 18 May 2019 and interviews will take place on 31 May 2019.
Age Concern Crosby has announced that Red Joan will be the next screening at the Flicks and Friends Club on Tuesday, 21 May.
For just £1 people can watch the film at the Plaza Community Cinema in Waterloo and have refreshments including tea, coffee and biscuits.
The club is specially for the over 60s within Sefton to mix, meet new friends and have and afternoon out.
The doors open at 12.30pm with the film starting at 1pm.
Come and meet new friends or bring your friends with you.
Details of the film are:
RED JOAN
RUNNING TIME: I hour 41 mins.
DIRECTOR: Trevor Nunn
STARRING: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore
STORYLINE: English-born Joan Stanley, a Soviet and communist party sympathizer, becomes employed as a British government civil servant, and gets recruited by the KGB in the 1930s. She successfully transfers nuclear bomb secrets to the Soviet Union (Russia), which enables them to keep up with the west in the development of atomic weapons, and remains undetected as a spy for over a half a century.
As it’s Dementia Action Week (May 20-May 26) Alzheimer’s Society Sefton is promoting a series of local events and activities that raise awareness of dementia.
The organisation has a pop-up Memory Café at the Willows Day Centre, Parkhaven Trust, in Maghull today from 9.30am to 11.30am.
And they will also be at the Atkinson in Southport on Tuesday 21 May from 11am to 3pm where a reminiscence event has been organised by The Memory Clinic inconjunction with the Atkinson. There will be exhibits, reminiscence materials and a chance to find out and share memories about the old infirmary in Southport.
During the week, The Atkinson in Southport is also running a Dementia Friends session on Wednesday 22 May from 11am to 12noon. Anyone is welcome to take part.
Dementia Friends is a social action movement set up by the Government in 2012 with the aim to increase dementia awareness and to encourage people to take positive action. There are now more than 2.5 million Dementia Friends across the country.
The free session will give you some basic awareness, help you understand dementia and allay some of the myths and misunderstandings about the condition.
If you are interested in attending, please click on this link to book your place.
On the Wednesday (22nd) there is also a series of events taking place at Southport Fire Station which have come about after joining forces with North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
The Dementia Hub takes place from 10am to 12noon and gives people the opportunity to find out about local dementia services.
From 1 to 2pm a free Dementia Friends session is running which you can book on to by clicking this link.
From 2 to 3pm the Memory Service will be showing a couple of short films on dementia “A Month in the Life” and “Dementia from the Inside”, then finish with a question and answer session. There will be a psychiatrist, a psychologist and an advanced nurse practitioner from the Memory Clinic as well as Alzheimer Society’s Dementia Support Worker Elaine Young. This is your opportunity to put your dementia-related questions to a panel of experts whether you are affected by dementia or you work with people who live with this condition.
For information about dementia or the other events, then contact Alzheimer’s Society on 01704 539967 or email: seftonoffice@alzheimers.org.uk
Local community group, Stepping Stones, recently made a display of the Last Supper for the true meaning of Easter.
It was on display over Easter at the Temperance Hall in Southport where the group meets regularly.
Stepping Stones encourages members with disability – whether it’s a mental health, physical or learning disability – to get out, support each other and to improve wellbeing.
The group is now looking to do an Easter Parade next year and would be keen to hear from anyone who would like to get involved. If you do want to support the group – or you want to know more about them – then contact Michael Swift on 07599 093460.
Widely held myths about sleep are damaging our health and our mood, as well as shortening our lives, say researchers.
A team at New York University trawled the internet to find the most common claims about a good night’s kip.
Then, in a study published in the journal Sleep Health, they matched the claims to the best scientific evidence.
They hope that dispelling sleep myths will improve people’s physical and mental health and well-being.
So, how many are you guilty of?
Myth 1 – You can cope on less than five hours’ sleep
This is the myth that just won’t go away.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously had a brief four hours a night. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made similar claims and swapping hours in bed for extra time in the office is not uncommon in tales of business or entrepreneurial success.
Yet the researchers said the belief that less than five hours’ shut-eye was healthy, was one of the most damaging myths to health.
“We have extensive evidence to show sleeping five hours or less consistently, increases your risk greatly for adverse health consequences,” said researcher Dr Rebecca Robbins.
These included cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes, and shorter life expectancy.
Instead, she recommends everyone should aim for a consistent seven to eight hours of sleep a night.
Myth 2 – Alcohol before bed boosts your sleep
The relaxing nightcap is a myth, says the team, whether it’s a glass of wine, a dram of whisky or a bottle of beer.
“It may help you fall asleep, but it dramatically reduces the quality of your rest that night,” said Dr Robbins.
It particularly disrupts your REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep, which is important for memory and learning.
So yes, you will have slept and may have nodded off more easily, but some of the benefits of sleep are lost.
Alcohol is also a diuretic, so you may find yourself having to deal with a full bladder in the middle of the night too.
Myth 3 – Watching TV in bed helps you relax
Have you ever thought “I need to wind down before bed, I’m going to watch some TV”?
Well, the latest Brexit twists and turns on the BBC News at Ten might be bad for sleep.
Dr Robbins argues: “Often if we’re watching the television it’s the nightly news… it’s something that’s going to cause you insomnia or stress right before bed when we’re trying to power down and relax.”
And as for Game of Thrones, it’s hard to argue the Red Wedding was relaxing.
The other issue with TV – along with smartphones and tablets – is they produce blue light, which can delay the body’s production of the sleep hormone melatonin.
To read more on sleep myths, continue reading the article on the BBC health website.
Cats don’t seem to have an issue with quality sleep
Sefton residents needing advice on their sexual health will be able to get help and advice from a new clinic opened this month.
The new community sexual health clinic in Bootle is £260,000 investment in the service by Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust in Sefton Sexual Health Service.
It opened oat the beginning of April on the fifth floor of St Hugh’s House in Stanley Road and incorporates services previously available at the nearby May Logan Centre and the PACE service for under 19 year-olds at Bootle Health Centre.
The opening coincides with the relaunch of Sefton Sexual Health website, www.seftonsexualhealth.nhs.uk. As well as a feature that help users quickly find the service they need, it contains information on all contraception methods, STI testing and treatments.
Matron, Wendy Hicks, and service manager, Lynne Hindle, said: “We are thrilled to be able to open our new sexual health clinic in south Sefton offering an integrated sexual health service to all who live, work, study and play in the local area. We hope the new website will support service users to access the right service at the right time for their sexual and reproductive health needs.”
Silas Nicholls, Chief Executive, added: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to work with our public health partners Sefton Council to deliver this new service.
“It represents a significant investment by the Trust in a service which is as much about preventing disease as it is about treatment.
Sefton Sexual Health clinics at Southport Centre for Health and Wellbeing, Maghull Health Centre and Netherton Health Centre will continue as usual.
