Health

After all the indulgence of the festive season, health professionals and Sefton Council are encouraging you get the New Year off to the right start by taking better control of your health.

NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCG are reminding you about the number of great resources available to people living in Sefton who are looking to make positive changes to their lifestyle.

Living Well Sefton enables people to make small changes to their lives that can have a big impact on their wellbeing. It offers individual and group support around a broad range of issues, from eating better and being more active, to managing debt.

Anne-Marie Morrison, Living Well Sefton assistant manager, explains: “Together with our partners we encourage people to make healthy lifestyle choices including stopping smoking, learning healthy cooking, taking up new hobbies and meeting new friends.”

All Sefton residents are eligible and can self refer via the website or by calling 0300 323 0181.

Fiona Taylor, chief officer for NHS South Sefton CCG and NHS Southport and Formby CCG, said: “It is a good idea to take a break from drinking during January. People tend to drink a lot more in the run up to Christmas due to all the get-togethers and Christmas parties. Even if you are staying within the recommended intake, drinking most days of the week – no matter how much – can have bad effects on your physical and mental health. 

“Persistent alcohol misuse can lead to heart disease, stroke, liver disease and liver cancer among other things. I would encourage you to take part in Dry January and start your New Year off on the right foot. The first few days will be hard, but it will get easier as you go along.” 

Visit the One You website for tips and guidance about drinking less and a range of lifestyle advice.

Sefton Council’s Smokefree Sefton service can also support people that are trying to stop smoking. The programme provides behavioural support combined with up to 12 weeks’ worth of products to help you quit smoking.

For more information on Smokefree Sefton visit the website.

Sefton’s Supported Living Service is a finalist in the Health and Social Care category at the 2020 LGC Awards.

The service has been shortlisted thanks to its innovative Individual Service Fund (ISF) Model which has given local people with learning disabilities more control over their own lives and a greater choice of how they’d like to receive their care.

The ISF model was developed by Sefton Council in partnership with NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCG as a way to improve outcomes for people in need of complex care. This came as a result of a review undertaken by the Council, the CCGs and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust which explored how services that provided housing and support provisions for people with learning disabilities could be improved.

Sefton has been shortlisted out of a record number of 700 entries to this year’s LGC Awards which celebrate outstanding practice and cutting-edge innovations in Local Government.

Deborah Butcher, Sefton Council’s Interim Director for Adult Social Care, said: “The ISF Model has really revolutionised how we offer care to people with learning disabilities in Sefton. This will enable more people to live better lives for longer and give them greater control over how they’d like to be supported.”

Cllr Paul Cummins, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “This is a brilliant example of the power of partnership work and I am delighted that it has been recognised on a national level.”

Fiona Taylor, chief officer for both CCGs in Sefton, said: “We’ve designed this pioneering model of care together with the people with learning disabilities who are supported by it and their advocates, so it’s fantastic that our partnership has been nominated for such a prestigious award.”

Nick Golding, LGC Editor, said: “The councils that have been shortlisted for an LGC Award are among the most innovative – and their innovation helps provide the best services for residents, despite local government facing ongoing financial constraint.

“The officers and councillors of shortlisted councils deserve enormous credit for thinking of new ways to deliver the best services, ensuring vital services thrive, benefiting everyone who uses them.”

Find the complete shortlist list here: https://awards.lgcplus.com

On World Diabetes Day (14 November 2019), NHS South Sefton and NHS Southport and Formby Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are urging local residents to become familiar with the warning signs of diabetes to try and spot the condition sooner.

Diabetes causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high due to ineffective control by a hormone called insulin. The two types main of diabetes are:

• Type 1: Where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin
• Type 2: Where the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells don’t react to insulin. This is the most common type of diabetes.

In Sefton about 19,400 (7.1 per cent) of adults have diabetes and almost 5,500 (2.0 per cent) are predicted to be living with it unknowingly. The condition can lead to other serious health problems including strokes, heart disease and early death.

Nigel Taylor, diabetes lead for the two CCGs in Sefton, said: “Diabetes gets progressively worse when left untreated, so early diagnosis is very important. Common symptoms include feeling very thirsty, tiredness, blurred vision and needing to pee more often than usual.

“If you think you or someone in your family might be showing signs of diabetes, contact your GP or visit your local pharmacy for advice.”

Most diabetes cases are Type 2, which is closely linked to obesity. This type commonly affects adults but is being increasingly seen in children and young people.

The International Diabetes Federation has created a simple online test https://www.idf.org/type-2-diabetes-risk-assessment/  that predicts an individual’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes within the next 10 years. The tool is quick, easy and confidential and may indicate a need to introduce healthier lifestyle changes to lower the risk of diabetes.

Nigel added: “About half of Type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or delayed by making small changes such as, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a varied healthier diet, reducing portion size for some of us and staying active. In Sefton, we continue to work closely with our health and community partners to look at ways to help improve diabetes care. “

“Sefton residents can get help and advice about living with diabetes through two programmes. ‘Diabetes and You’ helps educate people who have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and ‘Diabetes and More’ focuses on supporting those who have been living with diabetes for more than 12 months.”

These well respected sessions, with national accreditation by QISMET, are held at a variety of locations and times across Sefton.

 If you would like to attend, you can request a referral from your GP or practice nurse, or you can refer yourself to one of the programmes by contacting the Diabetes Education Team. If you are registered with a GP in South Sefton, you can call them on 01514 754285, or if you live in Southport and Formby you can call 01704 387271.

Sefton Council has announced its plans to explore options for the implementation of a Sefton Clean Air Zone (CAZ) to help improve air quality for residents in the borough’s pollution hotspots.

Air quality across the majority of Sefton is of a good standard, but there are four areas in South Sefton that have been identified as Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) where air quality does not meet national standards.

Although the Council has undertaken significant work to improve air quality in these areas, there remains concern that the ongoing expansion of the port and associated port traffic may result in increased levels of air pollution in the AQMAs.

In a study commissioned by the Council, AECOM, a global environmental consultancy, concluded that a CAZ where vehicles pay a fee to use specified roads (charging CAZ) would be the most effective way to reduce Nitrogen Dioxide emissions from road traffic.

Cllr Ian Maher, Labour Leader at Sefton Council, said: “For some people who live in Sefton, air pollution is an important concern and the quality of the air we breathe is an issue that affects everyone. For this reason, last year I instructed a team of officers to explore all available options to address air pollution in Sefton.

“This work followed on from a number of significant actions that were already in place to improve air quality in the borough. However, we need to do everything we can to protect the health and wellbeing of all our residents.

“AECOM’s report concludes that the only viable option left to make a significant difference to air quality in the areas most affected by traffic pollution is to implement a charging CAZ to cut pollution and encourage people to drive less polluting vehicles, including electric and low emission vehicles.

“Although we will explore a number of CAZ options, our current preferred option is a CAZ Type B. This option will not charge everyday commuters using private cars or vans but will be aimed at Class B vehicles like buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) that do not meet required emissions standards.

“There will be an opportunity for residents and businesses to share their views on these plans further down the line and we will work closely with our key partners and stakeholders throughout the process to ensure that our plans continue to work towards the best interests of our communities.

“Our borough is clean, green and beautiful and we are determined to do all that we can to improve our air quality. That is why I’m bringing an item to Cabinet on Thursday, November 7 to allocate funds to fully explore the implementation of a charging Clean Air Zone in Sefton.”

For more information on Sefton’s CAZ, or to read the AECOM Report, please visit www.sefton.gov.uk/CAZ