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People who are most at risk of flu are recommended to get a flu vaccine every year. This winter is especially important with flu and coronavirus (COVID-19) both in circulation. -
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The NHS Covid-19 has launched, and to date over 10 million people in England and Wales have downloaded it to protect others and save lives. -
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As of Monday 5 October, Self-injury Support will be offering self-harm information and navigation service open to anyone over 18 affected by self-harm.
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The RUH is seeking to improve the TV, radio, and internet facilities available to patients, their carers, and families. To do so, they are asking for your help. -
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In this month's newsletter, we will share how your experiences prompted a review of dental services, our version of 12 days of Christmas, updates on the COVID vaccine rollout, and much more. -
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Yesterday evening (Monday 10 October) the Prime Minister announced a new three-tiered system of COVID Alert Levels in England. Healthwatch BANES asks, what is an alert level, and how it will affect you, and your family? -
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the way cancer patients attend appointments with their cancer teams. The SWAG Cancer Alliance Patient Representatives want to understand what it is like from a patient's perspective. -
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Playlist for Life, a Music and Dementia charity, has launched a Musical Tea Campaign to help people stay connected while social distancing continues. The charity is asking people to hold various virtual musical tea events throughout October.
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Kooth, a digital mental health and wellbeing service, that offers support platforms for young people and adults, is looking to redesign their services to reduce the time between sign up and receiving support. -
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It will come as no surprise that COVID-19 has changed the way that people are accessing NHS services. A recent survey of 2,178 people found that almost half (48%) of the public would delay or not seek medical help at all. -
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Healthwatch Bath and North East Somerset gather feedback about a wide range of health and care services. This briefing highlights what Healthwatch Bath and North East Somerset have been hearing from local people about dental services during 2020. -
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Clinically extremely vulnerable people in England have today received further guidance on keeping safe as the country introduces new national restrictions the government has announced. -
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People living in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire are being advised to stay on top of their health and wellbeing by continuing to use the NHS throughout the next period of national lockdown. -
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Read October's edition of Healthwatch BANES news bites and find out the latest on musical tea, self-care, and the impact of COVID on cancer patients. -
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A local information service for families with a child or young person with additional needs, a special educational need, or disability is asking for young persons and carer feedback on 'transition' (the change from children to adult services). -
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In March this year, Age UK launched a pre-planned start-up social enterprise called Meals + with just a single customer, oven, freezer, and delivery vehicle. This week they will deliver their 12,000th hot meal. -
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Children's charity, Rainbow Trust, has shared its key findings of the pandemic pressures on families with seriously ill children, and its recommendations for decision makers and commissioners going forward in its latest report.
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Catherine Shaw joined Healthwatch B&Nes as an volunteer two years ago as she began a part-time Masters degree with the Open University on ‘Advancing Healthcare Practice’. Here Catherine shares her story.
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People living in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire can find out more about what’s happening with the health and care in their area by attending an upcoming virtual meeting of the local CCG’s Governing Body on Thursday 19 November. -
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Local health professionals are encouraging all of us to take three simple steps to maintain good mental health in lockdown. According to the experts, sleep, a healthy diet, and regular exercise can benefit our mental health as much as our physical. -
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People over the age of 50 will be able to get their free flu vaccine from 1 December in the next phase of this year’s expanded flu vaccination programme, the government has confirmed. -
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Care workers looking after people in their own homes will be offered weekly coronavirus tests from today (Monday 23 November), the government has announced. -
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A six-month freeze on dental charges brought on by the first wave of the pandemic is due to end next month. In turn, patients will see a rise in dental fees across all NHS Dental Practices as part of a five-year spending review plan. -
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A new short film released by the government shows how coronavirus lingers in enclosed spaces, and how to keep your home ventilated. -
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Vanessa Scott chaired the September Healthwatch Bath and North Somerset Executive meeting. You can download the minutes of the meeting here. -
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More than 2.5 million vulnerable people across England will be offered free vitamin D supplements for the winter, the government has announced. -
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Patients in Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath, and North Somerset are now able to receive dedicated care and treatment for symptoms associated with 'long COVID'. -
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The NHS is providing a new and more convenient way for you to access urgent care from the 1 December. Find out what this means for you and your loved ones. -
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Read November's edition of Healthwatch news bites and find out the latest on COVID news, stories of our work, a video explanation of what we do (courtesy of Healthwatch Plymouth), and much more.
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NHS England and Improvement (NHSEI) has announced that Health and care organisations in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) are to join up as they meet the criteria to become an integrated care system. -
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Local vaccination centres run by GPs will open this week across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire as the NHS continues its phased roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine. -
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Many pharmacies and GP practices across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire will be closed for four consecutive days over the Christmas period. -
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Service times will change for primary care services over the bank holiday and Winter period. Below are the arrangements for B&NES and Wiltshire. -
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Hundreds of people received the life-saving Coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday 16th December as the Corn Exchange in Devizes amongst other venues played host to its first phase of patients. -
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More than 3.79 million clinically extremely vulnerable people in England will be informed they are no longer advised to shield from Thursday 1 April 2021. -
Advice and Information -
Read about how coronavirus could affect you, your baby, and your pregnancy care. -
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Each quarter we meet with our Executive Board to decide which areas in health and social care we should focus on in Bath and North East Somerset. These are the minutes from our meeting in December 2020 - read more. -
Advice and Information -
To date, over 30 million people in the UK have received their first dose of the vaccine. But as this is a phased rollout - what does that mean for you and your loved ones in light of new variants of COVID? -
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Healthwatch B&NES helps local people get the best out of health and social care services. In this briefing, we hear from the children and young people of two of our Community Pot Projects. -
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We are delighted to launch our small grants programme for 2021. Find out more about how you can apply for funding. -
Advice and Information -
Are you or someone you know looking for Easy Read information to explain our current situation with COVID, vaccines, and Lockdown? If so, we have collated the latest documents, films, and audio to help explain and reassure you and your loved ones. -
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A survey conducted by the Eve Appeal charity has found that nearly 1 in 3 women who didn't attend their cervical screening test when invited in the last twelve months did so because of coronavirus concerns.
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Health leaders call for patience as all GP-led, community-based coronavirus vaccination sites in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire open meaning everyone in the area aged 80 or over will be invited to for their Covid-19 vaccine. -
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In this month, we will be sharing how you are helping Healthwatch, to help you; with the latest report on our Because We All Care campaign and how Every Mind Matters can make inside feel better. -
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NHS staff working across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire to deliver the lifesaving coronavirus vaccine have been given a helping hand on the frontline by local fire crews, volunteers, and military personnel. -
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From Wednesday 3 February, people aged 18 and over in the clinically extremely vulnerable group will start receiving letters inviting them to book their COVID-19 vaccine. -
Advice and Information -
Vaccine misinformation and delay among ethnic minority communities is fast becoming an issue in the fight against COVID-19. Here, we share downloadable leaflets and multimedia materials to help share the message that vaccines are safe. -
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As the vaccination programme continues we ask for your thoughts on the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in BANES. The NHS is doing everything they can but there might be things that can be improved. -
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Following a recent inspection, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a report today on the forensic inpatient and secure wards at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust at its Fromeside site.