Author: Alex Jones

The ‘Living Well’ bus is returning to Netherton on Tuesday 20 September to offer free holistic health checks and first, second or booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Sefton residents, including the seasonal (autumn) booster for those eligible.

The bus will be parked outside Netherton Activity Centre from 10:30am-4pm and residents can come along throughout the day with no appointments needed.

COVID-19 vaccines will be available for anyone aged five and older who has not yet been vaccinated, or who has missed their second jab or first booster dose. The team will also be offering the seasonal (autumn) booster to those who are currently eligible. You can find more details about this on the NHS website at: www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination.

Free health checks will also be available for residents aged 18 and over, which include a pulse check and blood pressure check, cholesterol and blood glucose check and a BMI check, which will help to spot early signs of conditions like stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and kidney disease.

Residents who are unable to visit the Living Well bus this time can also access free blood pressure checks at the Strand By Me shop in Bootle Strand shopping centre until March 2023.

Sefton Council hosted a Keep Warm, Keep Well event at Bootle Cricket Club on Monday 12^th September as part of its commitment to helping vulnerable people get through winter. The event was very popular, with upwards of 100 people attending.

Information stands provided advice and contacts for keeping well and managing finances. Organisations present included Living Well Sefton, who provided advice on staying healthy, Sefton O.P.E.R.A, who provided information and complimentary massages, and The Indy Pantry, a food union offering food for the community. Additionally, there was free advice on paying rent and council tax, and how to efficiently use energy to reduce energy bills. There was also blood pressure checks, chair-based exercises, and free goody bags.

Another Keep Warm, Keep Well event is being held at the Atkinson Centre in Southport on Monday, 10^th October. The event was originally planned to take place on Monday, 19^th September, but was rescheduled following the announcement of the day becoming a bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral.

Sefton Council recognises many households will struggle to pay their bills this winter due to the cost-of-living crisis. Autumn’s expected rise in the energy price cap to £3,554 will leave average household bills 80 per cent higher going into the colder months when energy use soars. Many vulnerable people will be hit hard, including older people and those in ill-health, living in energy inefficient homes that are difficult and expensive to heat.

Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing said:

“With their gas and electricity bills set to rocket and inflation rising to the highest rate in 40 years, households and business across Sefton will be wondering just how they are going to get through the coming winter and beyond.

“While Sefton Council has no magic solutions and like councils across the UK is hit by the same rises in costs to run its operations and services, it is vital we recognise people’s plight and work with our partners to provide what support and advice we can.”

People can find out more information about the events by contacting Sefton Opera on 0151 330 0479 or 07452 867 648 admin@seftonopera.org.uk.

Anyone concerned about keeping warm at home should contact Sefton’s Affordable Warmth Team on 0151 934 2222.

People worried about paying gas and electricity bills or who are struggling due to rising prices in shops can find support and advice by visiting www.sefton.gov.uk/cost-of-living

The ‘Living Well’ bus returns to Sefton this week, parking up outside Bootle Strand Shopping Centre on Friday 9 September, to offer free holistic health checks and first, second or booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The bus will be parked at the shopping centre’s former H. Samuels retail unit on Stanley Road from 10:30am-4pm and residents can simply turn up and hop on board throughout the day, with no need to book.

Free health checks are available for residents aged 18 and over, which include a pulse check and blood pressure check, cholesterol and blood glucose check and a BMI check.

COVID-19 vaccines will be available for anyone who has not yet been vaccinated or who has missed their second jab or first booster dose. The autumn booster is not yet available. Eligible residents who are immunosuppressed who have not yet had their spring booster can also come along to get vaccinated, and vaccines for children aged five years and older will also be available.

Jan Leonard, primary care lead for Sefton at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside said: “The Living Well bus is out and about in the community again this week, making it easier than ever to get a health check up or to grab a jab if you’ve missed any of your COVID-19 vaccinations.

“It’s also ‘Know Your Numbers’ week this week – a great reminder to get your blood pressure checked. Six million people in the UK have high blood pressure and don’t know it, so getting it checked on the Living Well bus makes it quick and easy to ‘know your numbers’ and live a healthier life.

“COVID-19 is also still very much with us, so this is a perfect opportunity to get better protected and grab any missing jabs while you’re out and about shopping, or on your lunch hour.”

People can find out more about the COVID-19 vaccine, who is eligible, and to book an appointment online or find other walk-in vaccination sites on the NHS website: www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination.

Living Well Sefton are working with the charity Blood Pressure UK to promote blood pressure awareness during this Know Your Numbers Week.

As part of the campaign, a blood pressure kiosk has been setup in Strand By Me in Bootle Strand and anyone is welcome to use this to check their blood pressure free of charge. The kiosk will also offer advice on how stay healthy and monitor blood pressure levels, and will be at the Strand until March 2023.

Blood Pressure UK is urging all adults (of all ages) to check their blood pressure, ideally with a home blood pressure monitor and at the same time reduce their salt intake. The more people test, enabling them to control their high blood pressure, the more premature deaths due to strokes, heart attacks and heart failure will be prevented. Especially since high blood pressure is largely symptomless and also one of the biggest single (and preventable) causes of death in the UK.

Despite nearly half (45%) of the UK population having had their blood pressure checked in the last 12 months, over half of these (56%) don’t know their blood pressure numbers and could be living with undiagnosed high blood pressure.

Substantial evidence supporting the use of home blood pressure monitoring has shown it gives a better reflection of blood pressure, as being tested in somewhere like a GP surgery or pharmacy, where patients might feel anxious, can affect the result.

What’s more, home testing enable patients to monitor their condition more easily in the long term. According to NHS England, regular home blood pressure monitoring across a population of 50,000 patients could prevent up to 500 heart attacks and 745 strokes over five years.

Margaret Jones, Sefton Council’s Director of Public Health said:

“I would encourage Sefton residents to take part in Knowing Your Numbers and check their blood pressure. This is very important as high blood pressure doesn’t always have clear symptoms and can have a harmful effect on health and wellbeing. People can lower their blood pressure through being a healthy weight, eating less salt, eating more fruit and vegetables and doing more exercise.”

Guidelines on monitoring blood pressure are available free on the Blood Pressure UK website at www.bloodpressureuk.org/your-blood-pressure/how-to-lower-your-blood-pressure/monitoring-your-blood-pressure-at-home/