Health News
Healthy and Happy
Staff at Homerton hospital are signing up for a new online scheme which allows them to find out just how fit, or unfit, they really are.
The hospital is one of only eight NHS Trusts nationwide to be chosen to lead on the pilot scheme – called vielife – which will be used to devise plans to improve overall health and wellbeing.
Human Resources Director, Andrew Panniker, said: “The NHS is already thinking in terms of how we can provide better quality services for our patients and we believe that happier, healthier staff are one of the keys to improving the patient experience.”
Staff signing up to the programme fill in a self-assessment form on the website and are given confidential feedback and a fitness rating out of 100.
They then receive online advice about how to improve their stress levels and diet and avoid health risks at work such as back pain.
Andrew added: “This two year pilot programme will, we believe, empower our staff to be more aware of their health and support them with strategies to improve their nutrition, sleep and physical activity – and reduce stress.”
Gardening leave for bankers
Bank staff have helped create a summer garden along the Regent’s Canal for a local charity.
Headway East London now has a beautiful, tranquil space outside its Hackney headquarters thanks to the community outreach project.
Six staff from investment bank Goldman Sachs volunteered to carry out the work. The City company also paid for materials and the services of a garden consultant to oversee the transformation.
Headway East London is a charity dedicated to providing long-term support for people living with the consequences of brain injury.
Philippa Paine from Headway said: “We are very grateful to the volunteers. The garden is now a more appealing place to be and we will hope to be holding lots of summer barbecues.”
The bank’s annual volunteering project Community TeamWorks also supported Headway to organise two days out this summer to London Zoo and Kew Gardens.
More information
Visit: www.headwayeastlondon.org.
Volunteers wanted
Do you want to help make Hackney a healthier place?
If so, you could be part of a group looking at ways to improve health services in the borough.
If you live or work in Hackney, and have experience in the health or social care sectors we would like to hear from you. The Health in Hackney Scrutiny Commission is looking for up to three members of the public to participate in its work.
The Commission generally meets in the evenings about 10 times a year. Its first piece of work in 2008 will be to examine the causes of childhood obesity and ways to tackle it. You will get to work with councillors and make recommendations of how to improve existing health and social care services.
To find out more, come along to an informal discussion on 10 September, 6-7pm; or 12 September, 2-3pm, in Hackney Town Hall. Alternatively, contact Tracey Anderson on: 020 8356 3312.
What a reception
A new reception at Hackney’s innovative Crossroads Centre, run by the City and Hackney Alcohol Service has been officially opened by Diane Abbot MP.
The reception is the first point of contact for people who have an alcohol related problem. Centre Director, Patricia Salt, said:
“It takes a lot of courage to seek help for a drink problem. So it’s important that people’s first impression is a good one, as they are more likely to return and engage in treatment if they feel welcomed and understood.”
Hackney Alcohol Service was set up in 1994 and since then has successfully treated over 2,000 people.
Guests at the opening ceremony on 23 July were able to hear first-hand accounts from people who had accessed treatment using the centre.
More information
Call the service on: 020 8525 1313, or visit the Crossroads Centre at: 2 Westgate Street, E8.
Closer to health
Plans to modernise GP surgeries across the borough will give patients access to a wider range of services, close to home.
The City and Hackney Primary Care Trust (CHPCT) has already started to redevelop and refurbish surgeries across Hackney. The programme will see some surgeries combined to ensure practices have the space and facilities to offer a greater range of services. Although this means the number of surgeries will decrease, there will be more GPs, nurses and other healthcare professionals in the borough, as practices expand and develop.
Each surgery will be linked to one of four new Primary Care Resource Centres – which received wide support during a public consultation in 2006 – due to be built by 2012.
Once operational, over 98 per cent of residents will live within half a mile of a GP and all patients will be able to keep their existing doctor.
The extra services offered at the centres may also see patients experiencing shorter travelling times by avoiding hospital appointments.
On offer
- General Practice with convenient opening hours
- Diagnostic tests including ultrasound and audiology
- Maternity services
- Community dental services
- Urgent care centres providing advice and treatment for all patients on a walk-in basis
- Primary mental health care including easier access to counselling and psychology
- A range of information and advice services including benefits advice
Beating the bugs
Homerton Hospital’s record for controlling killer bugs is steadily improving, according to the latest figures.
With MRSA, it has seen a year-on-year reduction from 20 cases in 2005-06, to 17 in 2006-07, and nine last year.
Figures released by the Health Protection Agency also showed the hospital has seen a dramatic fall in the number of cases of Clostridium difficile. In 2006-07, 154 cases were reported. This year saw a total of 61.
Dr John Coakley, the hospital’s Medical Director, said: “We are very pleased with the ongoing improvement we are seeing at Homerton in combating hospital acquired infections.
“These improving results reflect the hard work and dedication of our infection control team and also all staff who remain ever vigilant.”
Page updated: 3 Sep 2008