Join us on Friday 12 August, 1pm-2pm to hear a presentation from Nick Powell from Asthma+Lung UK.
In this free, online public event Nick will provide a brief overview of asthma, COPD, mesothelioma and other lung conditions.
We will also hear about the national and local support available from Asthma+Lung UK. There will be a chance to ask questions.
Register now and we will send you a link to join closer to the event:
This event has now passed.
NHS England would like to hear from people with diabetes and those who support them, about their views on diabetic eye screening and how to improve the service in the future.
The Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DESP) aims to reduce the risk of sight loss amongst those living with diabetes by early identification and effective treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
The screening programme invites anyone with diabetes aged 12 years or over for digital eye screening once a year. Your views will help shape the way the screening programme is delivered going forward.
You can also give your views for improving the service by emailing: Trudie.metcalfe@nhs.net
All feedback should be submitted by Saturday 6 August 2022.
Read more about diabetic eye screening (including Easy Read)
If you would like to tell us about any diabetes or eye health services you have used recently please get in touch.
Our Annual Report 2021/22 gives an overview of our work over the year. Filled with local photographs from all four corners of the county, the report highlights how we made a difference to people in Northumberland who use health and social care services.
You told us about your experiences of local pharmacies, home care, dentistry and GP services, helping providers know what matters to you and ensuring your views are included in plans for these services. Our Signposting and Information Service enabled over 3000 people to find out more about support and services in our area, and you can find examples of how the service provided confidential support and information.
View the Healthwatch Northumberland Annual Report 2021/22.
Tell us about the NHS and social care service you and your family have used recently.
Home care services are a vital way to support people by meeting their health and social care needs in their own homes.
‘Understanding the experiences of people using home care services, then, now and in the future’ was a project designed to find out the experiences of people using services and their family carers in Northumberland. We wanted to find out what is working well for people and also make recommendations for changes or improvements to services, based on what people told us.
This is particularly important at present given the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on those using home care services and their families, and the need to prepare for similar situations in the future.
We also wanted to follow up and extend on our previous work which focused specifically on the Coquet Valley, by gathering the views of people throughout Northumberland. Read Home Care Provision in Coquetdale.
This report is an overview of the findings and draws out key recommendations on the issues raised by those who use services and their carers. We have indicated where the recommendations are for Northumberland County Council Adults Social Care commissioners (ASC) or service providers (SP).
Read our findings and recommendations below:
999 BSL is a new service that connects deaf people to British Sign Language Interpreters remotely through an app or a web-based platform, who then will relay the conversation with the call handler and emergency authorities.
This service has been set up so that no deaf person will be excluded when they need to make an emergency call, therefore saving lives.
There are two ways to reach the emergency services through 999 BSL:
You can use the service in three simple steps:
Read more about the service and watch videos explaining how to use 999 BSL at the Sign Health website.
Loneliness can affect people of all ages. As we get older, we can be presented with many challenges in our lives that can lead to loneliness. A loss of a partner, family, or friends, retirement, illness or moving into different accommodation.
Whatever the challenge, it can be difficult to find a solution, make new meaningful connections and cope with the loneliness you are experiencing.
Mental Health Foundation has created the following tips to help reduce loneliness in later life.
As part of our information and signposting service, we’re shining a spotlight on organisations offering all kinds of support to people in Northumberland. To mark Carers Week 2022 which runs from 6-12 June, this Spotlight on… is all about Carers Northumberland.
Carers Northumberland supports unpaid carers throughout the county, empowering them to have a voice and to have a life outside of their caring responsibilities. It offers information and advice, support for young carers, carers’ groups, education and employment support, Emergency Care Planning, workshops and training. Small grants are also available to enable carers to take short breaks from their caring responsibilities.
As part of Carers Week 2022 Carers Northumberland has organised some walks for all abilities at popular places such as Bolam Lake, Newbiggin promenade and Craster. See what events and activities are coming up at their website.
To get in touch with Carers Northumberland call: 01670 320025 or email: info@carersnorthumberland.org.uk
Pharmacies open in Northumberland over the Jubilee Bank Holiday 2-3 June 2022
Over the long Jubilee weekend, some pharmacies will be closed. Below is a list of Northumberland pharmacies which are open over the Jubilee Bank Holiday. You are advised to telephone the pharmacy before attending to check the opening hours haven’t changed.
If you require advice out of hours, please contact: NHS 111.
ASHINGTON: Well Pharmacy, Nursery Park PCC, Nursery Park Road, Ashington NE63 0HP. Tel: 01670 854 002. Open: 10:00am-12:00pm on 2 June only, closed 3 June.
ASHINGTON: Central Pharmacy, Lintonville Medical Group, Lintonville Terrace, Ashington, Northumberland NE63 9UT. Tel: 01670 856 633. Open: 10:00am-12:00pm on 2 and 3 June.
ASHINGTON: Asda Pharmacy, Lintonville Terrace, Ashington, Northumberland NE63 9XG. Tel: 01670 528 610. Open: 10:00am-16:00pm on 2 and 3 June.
BEDLINGTON: Lloyds Pharmacy, The Library Site, Glebe Road, Bedlington NE22 6JX. Tel: 01670 822 282. Open: 11:00am-13:00pm on 2 June only, closed 3 June.
BERWICK-UPON-TWEED: Boots Pharmacy, 60-68 Marygate, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland TD15 1BN. Tel: 01289 306 036. Open: 11:00am-16:00pm on 2 and 3 June.
BLYTH: Asda Pharmacy, Cowpen Road, Blyth, Northumberland NE24 4LZ. Tel: 01670 542 710. Open: 10:00am-16:00pm on 2 and 3 June.
BLYTH: Blyth Healthcare Pharmacy, 30 Bowes Street, Blyth, Northumberland NE24 1BD. Tel: 01670 362 111. Open: 15:00pm-17:00pm on 2 June only, closed 3 June.
BLYTH: Boots Pharmacy, 60-62 Maddison Street, Blyth, Northumberland NE24 1EY. Tel: 01670 546 092. Open: 10:00am-16:00pm on 2 June only, closed 3 June.
CRAMLINGTON: Boots Pharmacy, 29-30 Manor Walks Shopping Centre, Cramlington NE23 6QE. Tel: 01670 736 399. Open: 10:00am-14:00pm on 2 and 3 June.
CRAMLINGTON: Lloyds Pharmacy, Sainsburys, Dudley Court, Manor Walks Shopping Centre, Cramlington NE23 6RT. Tel: 01670 712 547. Open: 10:00am-16:00pm on 2 and 3 June.
HAYDON BRIDGE: Haydon Bridge Pharmacy, Ground Floor, 5 Church Street, Haydon Bridge, Hexham NE47 6JG. Tel: 01434 684 354. Open: 19:00pm-21:00pm on 2 June only, closed 3 June.
HEXHAM: Boots Pharmacy, 7 Fore Street, Hexham, Northumberland NE46 1LU. Tel: 01434 602 024. Open: 11:00am-16:00pm on 2 and 3 June.
HEXHAM: Tesco Pharmacy, Tynedale Retail Park, Alemouth Road, Hexham, Northumberland NE46 3PJ. Tel: 0345 677 9873. Open: 09:00am-13:00pm on 2 and 3 June.
MORPETH: Morpeth Pharmacy (Wellway), The Surgery, Wellway, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 1BJ. Tel: 01670 510 005. Open: 14:00pm-16:00pm on 2 June only, closed 3 June.
TWEEDMOUTH: Tesco Pharmacy, Tweedside Trading Estate, Ord Road, Berwick upon Tweed TD15 2XG. Tel: 0191 693 1575. Open: 09:00am-13:00pm on 2 and 3 June.
Diabetes Week 2022 is coming up from 13 to 19 June. It’s a chance to raise awareness of diabetes and highlight the support available to anyone living with the condition. If you would like to find out more about diabetes and the support available in Northumberland, come along to our free online event on Friday 10 June to hear from Colin Renshaw of Diabetes UK.
Colin will provide information about the different types of diabetes and how to manage and live well with the condition. We will also hear about national and local support available from Diabetes UK and there will be a chance to ask questions.
Here at Healthwatch Northumberland, two members of our volunteer team have experience of type 2 diabetes and have kindly shared their thoughts below.
Our volunteer James wrote a poem about his experience of type 2 diabetes:
Got diabetes
From eating too many sweeties
Didn’t care what I ate
Always cleared my plate
What symptoms did I have?
Lots of trips to the lav
Drank like a fish
Even made a wish
Was first given tablets
But didn’t change my habits
Drinking too much coca colas
Along the way I am rotting my molars
Moved on to the hard stuff
Needle is in
Needle is out
Whoops am going to shout
Sugars is o so high
Sugars is o so low
How is going to go
Or maybe it’s going to snow
Have now changed my diet
I can’t really be quiet
How low can I go
Getting a healthier glow
Volunteer Colin answered some questions for us about his experience of type 2 diabetes and how this affects his daily life:
When were you first diagnosed with diabetes?
22 years ago.
What symptoms did you have?
I didn’t have any symptoms, it was picked up during a routine eye examination following sight loss (unrelated).
How did it affect your life?
The main thing is that I have to check my blood twice a day.
How have you managed the condition? What healthcare support did you get? Did you get help from any support organisations?
My diabetes was initially treated with Metformin tablets and I had an annual check with a diabetes nurse. After a period of time I needed insulin to manage my sugar levels and I attended a course on how to use insulin at Blyth Hospital. I continue to have yearly check-ups with a diabetes nurse – these were online during pandemic but are back to in person now.
What is the situation now – how is the condition and have you made any lifestyle changes to improve it?
I have to have meals at regular times and carry something with me to eat. If things get out of balance, I can have a ‘hypo’ (experience hypoglycaemia) but I’m good at spotting the signs.
Find out more about diabetes at the Diabetes UK website.
If you would like to tell us about your experience of diabetes services or ask a question about local services and support, please get in touch.
Healthwatch England has shared some useful information about Long Covid including the common symptoms and when to get support.
After contracting COVID-19 it can take up to 12 weeks for your symptoms to disappear and for you to make a full recovery from the virus. For some people, COVID-19 can cause symptoms that last weeks or months after the infection has gone. Symptoms that go on longer than 12 weeks are known as ‘Long Covid’.
The chances of having long-term symptoms are not linked to how ill you were when you first got COVID-19.
There are wide-ranging symptoms making it difficult for doctors to diagnose. Everyone’s condition and symptoms are slightly different.
The main symptoms are the same as COVID-19:
Additional symptoms fall into one of three main categories:
Physical symptoms
Cognitive issues
Fatigue
Advice from the NHS suggests you contact your doctor if you are worried about continuing symptoms more than four weeks after having COVID-19.
To contact your GP surgery, you can:
Your doctor will need to rule out other causes for your symptoms and may wish to conduct some tests before reaching their diagnosis. These tests can include blood tests or an x-ray.
Unfortunately, there is currently no standard test for Long Covid. People suspected of having Long Covid are diagnosed by ruling out the more common causes of their symptoms.
Long Covid is a relatively new condition, so we don’t know very much about its causes yet. Several different things are likely to cause such a wide range of symptoms in people.
We have only recently started tracking Long Covid. However, over 1.8 million people in the UK have symptoms for more than four weeks.
The condition is most common in:
Find out what treatment options are available on the NHS and what support you can get to help you manage your symptoms.
Visit our Covid-19 Information Page
We are your local health and social care champion. We’re here to make sure your views on NHS and social care services in Northumberland are heard.
