Sefton Council

On Monday 5 July the NHS will celebrate its 73rd ‘birthday’. After a challenging year, health professionals in Sefton are encouraging everyone to join them in giving thanks for our national health service and recognising those who have worked hard to keep our borough safe.

Staff at NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCG are marking the anniversary of the creation of the NHS by hosting a ‘Big Tea’ event, sharing a ‘Thank You’ video to staff and residents in Sefton and inviting everyone to join in to ‘light it blue’ at home this weekend.

Cuppa

Anyone can get involved in the ‘Big Tea’ to say thank you to our NHS by hosting their own tea party and collecting donations for NHS Charities Together. Alternatively, you can join in online by taking a 5 minute brew break, sharing a photo with your cuppa on social media with the hashtag #NHSBigTea and donating to the charity by texting TEA to 70207 to give £5.

Landmarks across the country will also be ‘lighting up blue’ this weekend to mark the occasion and show support for the NHS, while also remembering those who have lost their lives to COVID-19. The NHS in Sefton is encouraging everyone to join in this simple act at home from Saturday 3 July – Monday 5 July, to show support for our NHS and remember those we have lost.

Hope

Fiona Taylor, chief officer at NHS South Sefton CCG and NHS Southport and Formby CCG, said: “It has been an extremely challenging year for the NHS in Sefton and across the country, but it has also been one of hope. While caring for around 400,000 seriously ill COVID-19 patients, the NHS has rolled out the biggest vaccination programme in our history.”

“We could not have played our part in these achievements without the skill and dedication of our staff, volunteers, keyworkers and you, the public, who are supporting our efforts by following social distancing rules and turning up to get vaccinated.”

“We would like to mark the 73^rd birthday of the NHS by saying a huge thank you to those who have worked so hard to face these challenges or who have supported us over the last 12 months.”

Celebrations

Cllr Ian Maher, Leader of Sefton Council, said: “We would love for everyone in Sefton to join in the birthday celebrations at their own ‘Big Tea’ events with friends and family, while remembering that the ‘Rule of 6’, or two households, still applies indoors. It’s a great opportunity to ‘pour out our thanks’ to NHS teams all over the country who have worked so hard to care for and protect our communities this year.”

“You can also join in by ‘lighting up blue’ at home to show your support. Why not dig out the Christmas lights, hang something blue from your house, or simply place a lamp in your window as an act of respect to remember those who we have sadly lost to COVID-19.”

Cllr Maher also took part in a ‘thank you’ video, talking about how, in May, the Council’ s Cabinet agreed proposals to grant Aintree and Liverpool University NHS Trust and Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust the Honorary Freedom of the Borough in the light of the hard work and dedication the Trusts’ staff had shown during the ‘devastation of the Covid 19 Pandemic’.

The NHS ‘Big Tea’ is a national celebration and fundraising events organised by NHS Charities Together, the NHS’ national charity partner made up of 240 charity members based with hospitals, mental health, ambulance and community health services across the UK.

If you would like to host your own NHS ‘Big Tea’ event or find out how to support NHS Charities Together, visit their website here: www.nhscharitiestogether.co.uk/nhs-big-tea/

You can find out more about the NHS birthday and activities across the UK on the NHS website here: www.england.nhs.uk/nhsbirthday/.

NHS Test & Trace will be holding a webinar on Thursday for community and faith leaders, voluntary and community groups in areas like Sefton, where enhanced testing and support measures have been put in place.

The webinar takes place from 11am to 12 noon on Thursday 1st July and is a chance to hear directly about the enhanced support package, the work being done to support your local area and the actions we can all take to keep our communities safe.

All community leaders are being encourage to attend the webinar by registering here.

Anyone wanting any further information or with any questions can please get in touch at: community.resources@dhsc.gov.uk

As the weekend approaches, Sefton Council is reminding people who live and work in the Borough, that unlike many of us COVID-19 doesn’t take Saturdays and Sundays off.

Additionally, people are being warned not to drop their guard even if they have been vaccinated. They could still pass on the virus even if they are fully vaccinated with both jabs.

Over the last few weeks there has been a significant rise in cases in Sefton as the more infectious Delta virus, first identified in India, takes hold across the country.  Earlier this week, Peter Hampshire the clinical director for critical care and pain at Liverpool’s main University Hospital Trust warned that they were starting to see a fourth wave in the city.

Tempting

Margaret Jones, Sefton Council’s Director of Public Health said: “With longer, lighter, warmer days, more of us having had both vaccination jabs and the end of lockdown in sight albeit delayed, it’s tempting to start forgetting what we need to do to stop the spread.

“Recently, numbers of cases in the Borough have been doubling as quickly as every four or five days.

“It’s no good us getting tested, wearing masks and socially distancing in our workplaces and classrooms through the week and then forgetting it all at the weekend.

“Yes, it’s better if we gather outdoors but we should still be maintaining the two-metre rule and wearing face masks on public transport and in shops as well as when moving around in restaurants and pubs.

“And, we need to keep up the habit of washing our hands, frequently and thoroughly to prevent the spread of coronavirus and some other vomiting bugs which are going around at the moment.”

Vaccinations

COVID vaccinations are now available to everyone aged 18 or over. To book their jab, people should visit www.nhs.uk/covidvaccination.

When cases of the Delta variant were first identified in the Formby area but numbers of remained low, Margaret Jones attributed this to high local levels of vaccination.

She said: “The Delta variant is more transmissible than other COVID variants but the vaccinations available remain resistant to it so everybody over 18 should get both doses, which offer the highest level of protection.

“But we need to remember that even once we’ve had both doses, there is a slight chance we can still contract the virus and we can also still pass it on to other people around us for whom it could be serious.”

Rapid tests

Government recommendations say people should be taking rapid tests, which provide a result in around 30 minutes, twice a week even though they do not have symptoms. Anyone with the main coronavirus  symptoms of a raised temperature, a new persistent cough or a loss of taste or smell should self-isolate straight away and book a PCR test by dialling 119 or visiting www.nhs.uk/coronavirus.

Free home test kits are widely available from all Sefton’s pharmacies as well as online from www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests .

They can also be collected between 2.30pm and 8pm, seven days a week, from walk-through Local Test Centres opposite Bootle Town Hall and at Crosby Library Car Park, Netherton Activity Centre and Southport Town Hall. No appointments are needed.

Rapid testing for people without symptoms is also available at Bootle Strand and Southport’s Splash World. The Splash World site is open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week. The Bootle Strand site, the former H Samuel unit, is open 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays.

And, people can also choose to have assisted testing at the Bootle Strand or Splash World test sites.

Find out more.