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The NHS in Sefton is reminding you that they are still here for you over the upcoming Christmas and New Year Bank Holidays, and sharing advice for planning ahead and getting healthcare help over the holidays.

Plan ahead to get help from your pharmacy

Some local pharmacies in Sefton may have different opening hours over the festive period, which can be found online on the Sefton Partnership website at www.seftonpartnership.org.uk/christmas-pharmacy-times.

You are advised to phone ahead before travelling to a pharmacy, as opening times may be subject to change, and to travel safely in the cold weather.

Sefton’s ‘Care at the Chemist’ scheme also offers convenient healthcare advice and medicines and is available at 31 pharmacies in the borough. It means that, where appropriate, you can go directly to your local pharmacy for expert advice and treatment for a wide variety of conditions, without needing to see your GP first. Ask at your local pharmacy to find out more about the Care at the Chemist scheme.

Get prescription medications early

You are advised to plan ahead to stock up on any medications you may need and to order repeat prescriptions by 19 December, to make sure you have enough supply over the festive period.

For support with prescription costs, you can find out if you are eligible for NHS income support by visiting www.services.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/check-for-help-paying-nhs-costs/start.

Anyone who regularly needs prescription medications can also save money by buying an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate, which costs £30.25 for three months, or £108.10 for 12 months for an unlimited amount of prescriptions.

These can be purchased online at www.services.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/buy-prescription-prepayment-certificate/start.

Get urgent health care help from 111

Anyone who needs urgent healthcare help or advice over the holidays is asked to ‘think 111 first’ and use the NHS 111 online service: www.111.nhs.uk.

NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even on bank holidays, and in many cases NHS 111 clinicians and advisors can give patients the advice they need without using another service such as their GP or A&E.

Check symptoms if your child is unwell

Parents and carers are advised to use the online Alder Hey Symptom Checker tool to get advice and guidance on the right care for your child if they become unwell over the festive period. The tool has been developed by clinicians at Alder Hey and offers trustworthy advice and information on several of the most common symptoms in children requiring urgent care.

Bookmark the Symptom Checker on your mobile phone or laptop, for quick and easy access should your child become unwell. 

It’s at www.alderhey.nhs.uk/symptom-checker.

Get up to date with vaccinations

With flu and COVID-19 circulating during the winter period, anyone eligible for their vaccines is urged to get up to date ahead of the holidays, to keep yourselves and loved ones safe and protected from serious illness.

Seasonal booster vaccines for COVID-19 are still available – check if you are eligible for the booster, book a vaccination or find a walk-in vaccination site at www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination.

Anyone aged 5 and over can also still get any of their previous COVID-19 vaccination doses they may have missed.

Flu vaccinations are also available free on the NHS to eligible patients and you can check if you are eligible for the vaccine at www.nhs.uk/fluvaccine.

Parents and carers are also urged to ensure that eligible children get the children’s flu vaccine, which is given as a nasal spray, either through their GP practice or school when offered.

Find out more about who should have the children’s nasal spray flu vaccine at: www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/child-flu-vaccine.

Flu vaccinations for secondary school students in Sefton has started this month with school vaccination teams already bringing the vaccine out to pupils in schools to ensure they are protected this winter.

The NHS is offering the flu vaccine again this year, usually given as a nasal spray to secondary school aged children in years 7, 8 and 9. Children and young people often catch and spread the flu very easily, and parents are being urged to take up the vaccination offer as soon as their children are invited.

e-consent

Parents of students eligible for the flu vaccine will have received an email from schools with a link to an e-consent portal. Please return the consent forms to school as soon as possible.

Schools will be visited by vaccination teams throughout Sefton in December and January to ensure as many eligible young people as possible can get their vital protection.

Flu, caused by the influenza virus, can be a very unpleasant illness for children and can sometimes lead to more serious illnesses such as pneumonia or bronchitis. When children have the nasal flu vaccination, it can not only protect them, but can stop the spread to other, more vulnerable groups.

Hospitalisation

The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency shows rates of hospitalisation for flu has risen more than 14% in the North West in the past week.

The nasal spray, which is offered to eligible children every year to protect them from flu, is free on the NHS to the following groups:

• children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2022 (born between 1 September 2018 and 31 August 2020)
• all primary school children (Reception to Year 6)
• some secondary school aged children
• children aged 2 to 17 years with long-term health conditions

If your child is aged between 6 months and 2 years and has a long-term health condition that makes them at higher risk from flu, they’ll be offered a flu vaccine injection instead of the nasal spray. This is because the nasal spray is not licensed for children under 2 years old.

Best defence

Jan Leonard, primary care lead for Sefton said: “With flu related hospitalisations rising every week this winter, the best defence against flu this winter is the flu vaccine.

“The flu vaccine is administered by a nasal spray and is a quick and painless way of protecting children and young people, any side effects will be mild and shouldn’t last longer than around a day. If your child catches flu after being vaccinated, the illness is less likely to make them seriously unwell.”

Easy and painless

Margaret Jones, director of public health at Sefton Council said: “Flu vaccinations have started in secondary schools this month in Sefton and are the best way of protection against flu this winter.

“I urge parents of eligible secondary school aged children to check their emails and to fill out the consent forms as soon as possible. Getting the flu vaccine is an easy and painless way to protect your child.”

For any queries about the vaccine and the vaccination and immunisation service in Sefton you can ring 0151 247 6130

Eligible people need to have a flu vaccine every year because the viruses that cause flu can change. This year’s flu jab is a good match for the type of seasonal flu that is currently circulating (H3N2) and is the best and most effective way to protect ourselves, and our loved ones this winter.

A ground-breaking check-up, which has already saved hundreds of lives across England, is being rolled out into south Sefton this month.

Part of NHS England’s latest rollout of its Targeted Lung Health Check programme, people aged 55-74 in south Sefton with a history of smoking and registered with a local GP surgery are starting to receive their invitation to have a free lung health check.

Earlier detection

Targeting those most at risk of lung cancer, the checks have been proved to significantly improve the earlier detection of the disease.

Thousands of people across the country have already taken up the opportunity to assess their lung health. Around 1,200 people have been diagnosed with cancer through the programme. Three quarters of these cancers were detected at an early stage; far earlier than would have been likely without these checks. People diagnosed with lung cancer at the earliest stage are nearly 20 times more likely to survive for five years than those whose cancer is caught late.

Within the Merseyside and Cheshire region, targeted lung health checks have identified 111 lung cancers so far, of which, 68.5% were at stage 1. This has enabled 74 people diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer to receive curative treatment.

You can find out more about the programme here.

Diagnosed

Gordon Darnell was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer in a similar programme in Liverpool. He had surgery in January. Eight weeks later, he went on holiday to Spain. He said: “My consultant said when I went for my original lung scan, I saved my own life.

“I was never ill – not before my diagnosis, not during treatment and not now, and that’s because they picked it up so early. I almost feel like a fraud speaking to people who’ve got cancer or who’ve had cancer because I didn’t experience anything like they did, and that’s all down to going for that lung check.

“We’re talking an hour out of your day. If you go and there’s nothing wrong, you haven’t lost anything, but if there is something wrong, you’ve got to deal with it as quickly as possible. I truly believe it has saved my life.”

Above average

Lung cancer is the UK’s biggest cancer killer, claiming the lives of more people than breast, prostate and pancreatic cancers combined. It is a particular issue in south Sefton, with local incidence above that of the national average.

Now, these simple lung checks provide a way to significantly change the situation. They could revolutionise long-term lung cancer survival rates in the area by detecting the disease at the earliest opportunity, even before symptoms appear. However, in order for the checks to work, people need to take up the opportunity and make an appointment – even if they feel well.

Opportunity

Dr Chris Warburton, medical director at Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance said, “We are delighted that south Sefton and also St Helens are now part of NHS England’s Targeted Lung Health Check programme.

‘’We have been seeing the impact of these checks for several years now through programmes in Liverpool, Halton and Knowsley. It is wonderful that residents across south Sefton and St Helens will now have the same opportunity.

“Lung cancer can be difficult to detect early, which is why so many people are currently diagnosed when the disease has become incurable. However, as we are seeing from the existing programmes, these checks are helping us to diagnose many more people earlier, when it is far easier to treat.

“This is why we want everyone who is invited to take up the opportunity and make an appointment. The chances are you will not have any symptoms when you receive your invitation, but this should not stop you making an appointment. You should have the check whether you feel fine or not.

“The main aim of these checks is to find cancer at the earliest opportunity before there may even be any symptoms, so, just as you would go for a breast screening or send off your bowel screening kit, we now want you to have your lungs checked. For the majority of those who attend, everything will be fine, while for those who do have something wrong, catching it early can make all the difference.”

Invitations

The first residents in south Sefton to receive their invitations will be eligible patients in Litherland, Seaforth and Bootle from 14 December, with the programme rolling out to other areas in south Sefton over the coming year.

Those invited will have an appointment with a lung health nurse, either over the phone or face-to-face. Those then considered to have a higher risk of lung cancer will be offered a low dose CT scan in a mobile truck located within their community. This scan is far more accurate at picking up cancer than a standard X-ray. 

The programme also offers help and advice on how best to quit smoking for those who are ready to make the change.

You can find out more about the programme here.