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Henshaws survey ‘looks into’ North West eye care
HENSHAWS - the
North West’s leading charity for blind and visually impaired people
is launching the region’s 1st ever major survey into good eye
health. The North West has one of the worst health records in
the country and the charity is keen to raise awareness of the
correlation between general physical well being and eye health.
Henshaws is urging people across the region to take part by
requesting a copy of the questionnaire or by downloading a copy at
www.henshaws.org.uk. Over 16,000 households will find
a copy of the survey, dropping through their letterboxes this month.
Sally Bowden, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at Henshaws,
says:- “We are asking people across the North West to spare
just five minutes of their time to help us carry out vital research
into how aware people are of looking after their eye sight and the
issues surrounding sight loss. For example, few people realise that
stopping smoking, reducing alcohol intake, taking regular exercise
and eating a balanced healthy diet can actually help us to keep our
eyes healthy.
More than 50,000 people across the region are either registered
blind or partially sighted and Henshaws is there to help each and
every one of them. And through initiatives such as this, we can
educate people about how they can look after their eyes so that the
number of cases of preventable sight loss is reduced.
By
completing this survey, local people will be helping us to find out
more about the public’s understanding and knowledge of sight loss,
as well as providing vital information which will help to further
improve our range of services.”
Henshaws Society for Blind People is a registered charity which has
been providing practical, caring and imaginative services to blind
and partially sighted people and their friends, family and
colleagues since 1837. The charity relies entirely on voluntary
donations and Henshaws is asking people to consider donating a
little, often, to help it continue its valuable work. |
PPI
FORUM CONCERNED ABOUT RISKS TO AMBULANCE PATIENTS
THE Public
Forum For The North West Ambulance Service, the patient and public voice
in the NHS, is concerned at the recent report that longer ambulance
journey’s increase the risk of patients dying.
The Forum spokes person, Salle Dare, said:- “We know this is a
very complicated issue and the NHS has to strike a balance. Patients
need hi-tech hospital services for emergencies such as strokes,
heart attacks and serious accidents, and these have to be in
specialist centres, which serve larger populations and so are
further apart. But this recent report from Sheffield University
suggests that travelling further is a risk for patients too”
The report showed that patients with respiratory problems are at
high risk. The Forum, decided at its recent meeting to call on the
NHS to make sure that there are enough fully equipped emergency
ambulances and highly skilled medical and nursing staff working in
those ambulances so that when patients have to travel further to
specialist centres they get expert care while they are in the
ambulance. This is particularly important in the rural areas of
Cumbria, where the distance the nearest specialist hospital can
involve a journey of at least two or three hours.
The Forum is undertaking work to look at journey times for patients
as new hospital services are introduced and other services are
closed. It will be monitoring the performance of the ambulance
service and reporting our findings to the Ambulance Trust
The Forum is always keen to hear from anyone with particular
experiences of the ambulance service.
You can contact us
via post:- Public
Forum For The North West Ambulance Service, Black Health Agency, Gaddum
House, 6 Great Jackson Street, Manchester M15 4AX, or them a ring
on:- 0161 214 3909 |
