Covid-19 booster vaccines

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NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group has put together a series of short videos to answer some of the questions you may have about the Covid-19 booster vaccine.

The CCG is responsible for the planning and buying of local NHS services for people in Northumberland.

In the videos, Richard Hay, Head of Planning and Operations at Northumberland CCG talks about who, how and when you can get a booster vaccination and whether the flu jab will be given at the same time. He also answers some questions about the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Click on the questions below to watch the videos:

Can I still get my COVID-19 vaccine?

Am I eligible for a COVID-19 booster jab?

When can I get my COVID-19 booster jab?

How do I get my COVID-19 booster jab?

What vaccine will I get for my COVID-19 booster jab?

Where can I get more information about the COVID-19 vaccine?

Can I get my COVID-19 booster at the same time as my flu jab?

Why am I being told not to contact my GP about my COVID-19 vaccine?

 

For the latest information and FAQs visit the Northumberland CCG website.

Visit our Covid-19 Information Page

End of life care focus group

End of life care focus group

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End of life care in Northumberland focus group

Friday 15 October 2021, 10.00am – 12.00pm, online.

Would you like to have a say in improving end of life care in Northumberland? We have been asked by NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to find out what’s important to the residents of Northumberland when thinking about end of life care.

We would like feedback from you at our online focus group on the CCG’s ambitions for end of life care and the idea of an end of life agreement. This would outline what responsibilities and expectations care providers should have and the role of us all in helping to achieve these.

If you are interested in taking part please contact: helenb@healthwatchnorthumberland.co.uk for more information or to register for the session.

The number of places on the session are limited so let us know as soon as you can if you can join us. You’ll receive a £10 gift voucher as a thank you for taking part.

Leave feedback on any NHS or social care service you or your family have used in the last 12 months.

Where next? What you told us

Where next? What you told us

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Every year we conduct an annual satisfaction survey with the residents of Northumberland to find out what they thought about the NHS and social care services they have used over the last 12 months. We also look at how this compares with the previous years’ results. With 2020-21 being such an exceptional year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year we decided to shift the focus away from looking back over the preceding year and more towards the forthcoming year. Therefore, the aims of this year’s annual survey were to:

• Gain an overview of satisfaction levels with health and social care services in the preceding 12 months

• Gain clear direction from the residents of Northumberland which two health services and which two social care services we should prioritise in our work for the next year and why.

We received a total of 617 responses to our survey of which 199 were via the online version and 418 were paper copies returned via freepost  or completed at a face-to-face event.

Read more – Where next: what you told us in our Annual Survey 2021.

 

To leave feedback on services at any time or ask a question of our Information and Signposting Service, please get in touch.

Young people and mental health

Young people and mental health

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Healthwatch Northumberland is the independent champion for people who use health and social care services. We are a listening organisation working across Northumberland, interested in what people like about services and what can be improved. We act on what people are saying, sharing their views with those who have the power to make change happen. We also help people find the information they need about services in their area and record this as ‘signposting’.

Between January and March 2021 we ran an online survey to gauge the access and support received by young people (aged between 13 – 25 years) from mental health services in Northumberland.

We promoted the survey through our own social media channels and website as well as contacting all secondary and high schools in Northumberland. We also contacted all the local youth groups across the county and other relevant partners such as Northumberland CVA, the Aging Well Network and town and parish councils. The survey had 51 responses. Read our findings at the link below:

Young People and Mental Health: Experiences of access and support in Northumberland

Find mental health services and support

What should I expect after being referred for mental health support?

What should I expect after being referred for mental health support?

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Your mental wellness is as important as your physical health but seeking help can be daunting. Healthwatch England has put together a guide about what to expect when you seek support for your mental health.

Mental health matters. One in four of us can experience poor mental health each year. However, only one in eight adults with ill-mental health is getting treatment.

If you have been struggling with your mental health and are referred for support or are thinking about seeking help, here’s what you should expect from your care.

What should I expect when being referred to a mental health service?

If your GP thinks mental health services can help you, they will write to them to ask for an appointment. Your GP should discuss with you the different types of mental health support available – both within the NHS and provided within the community. You should be involved in deciding what kind of service you think would best suit your needs.

NICE guidance recommends that the mental health services should do their best to offer you an appointment within three weeks of your GP writing to them. New NHS standards set to be implemented later this year state that you should be offered an appointment within four weeks after being referred for community-based mental health services.

Your appointment letter should include information about getting there and a number to call if you have problems. It should also clearly state who you will see and what will happen during an assessment.

The letter should also ask if you need any additional support to help communicate or if you would like to bring a family member, carer or advocate with you.

Questions to ask during your assessment

After being referred to a mental health service, you’ll need to attend an assessment. You might feel nervous about this, but it’s important to think about some of the questions you can ask to make sure you get the most out of your appointment. Here are some examples:

  • Why am I being offered an assessment?
  • Will you tell anyone about my mental health problem?
  • Who can provide my treatment and care?
  • Are there any support organisations in my local area?
  • Have you got any information for my family or carer?
  • How can I manage my own condition?
  • Who can I contact if I need help quickly between appointments (in a crisis)?

What should I expect from mental health professionals?

The first mental health professionals you might speak to at your GP surgery might be a Mental Health Practitioner, who can advise you on access to services, or your GP who can refer you to a mental health service.

When referred to a mental health service, you might speak to a qualified Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP), a qualified high-intensity therapist, another healthcare professional or your consultant (this could be a nurse, a psychiatrist or another clinician).

The health and social care professionals supporting you should be easy to identify, friendly and welcoming. They should understand that you may feel nervous and do their best to make your feel comfortable.

How should I be involved in my treatment?

Doctors, nurses and other health and social care professionals should support you to make decisions about your treatment and care.

They should encourage you to manage your condition, including recognising warning sides of your situation worsening.

Professionals should provide you with resources to support you in a format you can understand and information of where you can go to get further support. Your mental health team should explain your treatment and also work with you to develop a care plan, including:

  • Activities, such as education, work, volunteering, caring for family members or leisure activities
  • What you can do to keep well
  • How to cope with and reduce any risks to yourself or others
  • Who to contact in a crisis

If there’s a risk you may have a crisis, there should also be a crisis plan.

What should I do in a crisis?

There should be a local 24-hour helpline you can call in a crisis. Your GP or mental health team should be able to give you this number.

If the crisis team thinks you need an assessment or treatment from mental health services, you should:

  • be seen within four hours and be given clear information about what’s involved
  • asked whether you would prefer a male or female professional to assess you
  • be asked where you’d like the assessment to take place

The crisis team should be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and should support you to stay at home rather than going into hospital if possible.

Can my family, carer or advocate be involved in my treatment?

Professionals should make sure you can make decisions about your treatment – this is called ‘capacity’. This can change over time if your mental health condition is severe, and your doctor might ask you if you want to make an advance statement or advance decision about your future care.

Mental health professionals should also ask you if you would like a family member, carer or trained advocate involved in your care and, if you agree, what information you’d like to share with them.

Find out more about what you should expect from mental health care in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Read the guidelines

Find mental health services and support

Have your say – let us know what you think of mental health services you or a family member have used.

 

Care homes, Covid-19 and beyond

Care homes, Covid-19 and beyond

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In September 2020 it was widely reported that people who were living in care homes in Northumberland during lockdowns had struggled to keep in touch with their loved ones, as visiting restrictions were in place to protect the most vulnerable from infection.

We responded by asking for feedback from people whose loved ones were in care homes in Northumberland. We hosted a series of online forums which took place in November 2020, January 2021, March 2021, and June 2021. We had 46 attendees across these four forums consisting of 26 different people, as many attended more than one and in some cases all of the forums.

At different stages of changes in visiting guidance for care homes these forums gathered feedback from relatives around their experience of visiting and other ways they were keeping in touch with loved ones during the pandemic. We also heard from professionals who work with older people including those with dementia, their carers, and other professionals in the health and social care field.

It is important to acknowledge that the Covid-19 pandemic was unprecedented and care home staff had to work under extremely difficult and challenging conditions for a long time. Whilst many relatives who attended the forums generally had less than positive experiences to share, they were also keen to know what good practice was taking place across care homes.

Visiting experiences had also improved by our final forum and survey responses have also shared positive approaches taking place. We ran a survey for relatives of those living in care homes and care home staff from mid-March to early June 2021 to gather additional feedback. The survey had a total of 22 responses.

Read more in our report: Care Homes, Covid-19 and Beyond

Find lots of information and support at our Your Health pages

Join your local Patient Participation Group

Join your local Patient Participation Group

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Join your local Patient Participation Group and help the NHS shape services for your community

Are you interested in influencing how your GP practice works and about the health services it delivers? Your practice patient participation group (PPG) could be for you. 

A PPG is a group of patients, carers and GP practice staff who meet to discuss practice issues and patient experience to help improve the service.

PPGs work in partnership with their GP practice and are vital in ensuring that the patient voice is heard. PPGs have an increasingly important role to play in helping to give patients a say in the way services are delivered to best meet their needs, and the needs of the local community.  

By becoming a member of your local PPG you will be helping to support your local NHS services and community by being a critical friend to your practice and you could be:

  • Helping them communicate to patients how recent changes to the NHS will affect services provided 
  • Advising the practice on the patient perspective 
  • Involved in organising health promotion events
  • Helping the practice decide on overall service priorities
  • Helping to carry out research into the views of service users and carers

Northumberland has 40 member practices across the county, some with established PPGs delivering their own community health improvement initiatives such as book clubs, walking groups and knit and natter groups and asking patients and carers their views on using services through surveys and meetings. Groups work in different ways; some meet in person, others communicate with their practice online – all are keen to welcome and involve new members.

If you are interested in joining your local PPG, please contact your GP Practice Manager or NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group, Communications and Engagement Team by emailing: lesley.tweddell@nhs.net who will help advise you about your nearest PPG.

What to expect when waiting for care

What to expect when waiting for care

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Waiting for planned medical care or surgery can be a frustrating time. That’s why it’s so important that while you wait, you get regular, clear and accessible updates so that you can plan your next steps.

If you or a loved one is waiting for care, read the information from Healthwatch England below to find out what healthcare staff should be doing when contacting you.

Communications from healthcare staff should:

Be personalised to you and not just a generic response

When you’re contacted by healthcare staff about your upcoming appointment, they should provide honest information about your next steps. You must be made aware of realistic timescales and what to expect while you wait so that you can make an informed decision about your treatment.

Put you at ease around safety concerns regarding COVID-19

Significant steps have been taken to minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission while in hospitals. But, if you have any concerns about your safety while in hospital, you should be given contact details to discuss these concerns with a healthcare professional.

Use clear language

When healthcare staff contact you, the language they use should be clear, accessible and easy to understand – whether that’s by letter, email or on the phone. Of course, sometimes technical terms are needed, but these should always be explained to you first.

Share their decision making

You should be part of the conversation when decisions around your health are being made. Healthcare staff should support you to make the right decisions for you and outline the risks and benefits of going ahead with, cancelling or delaying your procedure.

Be transparent around delays and cancellations

When contacted regarding a delay or cancellation to your appointment, you should be provided with a clear reason and information about what happens next. Healthcare professionals must be open and honest with you and give a realistic timescale when you should expect to hear from them again. Further support should be provided to you to help you manage your condition whilst waiting for care. This could be information about or access to other health and care services, or access to pain relief. Above all, it should be clear who you should contact if your condition deteriorates. Your safety should always be the priority.

If you are waiting for an operation and this gets cancelled for a non-clinical reason on the day you were due for surgery, your hospital should offer you another fixed date within 28 days or fund your treatment at a date and hospital of your choice.

Be in your preferred way of communication

Information around your upcoming care should be easy to access and provide you with the option to ask questions. It’s essential that you receive information in they way you prefer. This can often be via phone but alternative options should be available for anyone with specific language or communication needs.

 

Tell us your story – We want to know if you’re getting the advice, information and support you need while you wait. Get in touch to share your experience.

Menopause support

Menopause support

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A blog written by 47 year old Gaynor Tucker from Redcar, is helping to support women through perimenopause and menopause. Gaynor has set up a national Facebook support group to help other women going through the same experience as herself.

The group is about sharing experiences and offering peer support to ensure no woman feels they are going through this alone. There are also future plans to encourage more professionals to become involved. Gaynor hopes that the blog and the group will help raise awareness about the difficulties women face when seeking support during the menopause and help to make improvements in this area.

In July, the group held their first virtual live session where a nutritionist answered questions from the group about eating healthier and how to reduce the weight gain that is experienced by many women during this time. More of these sessions are planned over the next few months.

Read Gaynor’s Blog

Join the Facebook group