|
Soccerbus kicks off!
MERSEYTRAVEL'S
congestion-busting Soccerbus service is returning to Sandhills
Station this season and kicks off this week for 2 friendly matches.
The sport special bus service, back at Sandhills after a season-long
loan move to Bank Hall and Kirkdale Stations, is helping to kick
match day congestion around the grounds into touch.
The service linking Sandhills station to Goodison Park and Anfield
for Everton and Liverpool’s home Premier League and cup matches,
will be a permanent fixture. It will be operating throughout
the Premiership season, starting with Everton at home to Blackburn
on Saturday 16 August, then Liverpool’s 1st home match against
Middlesbrough on Saturday 23 August.
Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel and a lifelong Everton
fan, said:- “We are trying to make life easier for those
residents living around the stadiums, as well as the fans going to
the games.”
Councillor Jack Spriggs, Vice-Chair of Merseytravel and a lifelong
Liverpool fan said: -“More and more people are seeing it as
one of the best options to get to the grounds. We want people to
make full use of the service.”
Last season, the service for Everton and Liverpool matches helped
remove thousands of cars from the road, savings tonnes of CO2
emissions into the environment.
The Soccerbus service runs for 2 hours
before each Liverpool and Everton match up to 15 minutes before kick
off and for 50 minutes after the final whistle. A Soccerbus
ticket costs £1 when booked in advance with a train ticket (ask for
a return to Anfield or Goodison Park when booking tickets) or £1.50
single or return on the bus. It is free for Merseytravel Trio, Solo
and Saveaway tickets or English national concessionary travel
passes.
DOORSTEP SELLING
TRADING Standards officers in
Sefton have welcomed new regulations to protect residents from
buying goods and products from doorstep sellers.
The new rules which come into force on 1 October 2008 give people a
legal right of 7 days in which they can change their mind.
Previously, people only had these cancellation rights if a trader's
visit was not pre-arranged. The doorstep selling
regulations are part of a package of measures from the Government to
crack down on rogue traders. The Government will be writing to
companies across the borough to raise awareness of the new rules.
Businesses will need to make changes to their sales contracts to
comply with the law. Companies that fail to comply with the
regulations may well be investigated by Trading Standards, ending in
possible prosecution and fines. The new regulations will make
things simpler for businesses who sell at the doorstep. They now
need just one contract when they visit a customer, rather than
separate ones for solicited and unsolicited sales.
Sefton Council Trading Standards Manager, Andrew Naisbitt, said:-
"Every year we see sales take place in homes across the borough.
Sadly some unscrupulous traders have taken advantage of the
distinction between solicited and unsolicited calls - duping or
pressuring customers into buying products, without the chance to
change their minds.
Honest businesses, as well as customers in
Sefton, are the real winners here.
The regulations will put an end
to underhand tactics used by rogues who take advantage of current
loopholes in the law."
For more information about the regulations, businesses should visit
this
website.
|
12%
of deaths in 20 to 79-year-olds caused by diabetes
NEW figures
reveal that 11.76% deaths among 20 to 79 year olds in the North West
can be attributed to diabetes, warns leading health charity Diabetes
UK.
This work is based on data that shows adults under 80 with diabetes
are around twice as likely to die as those without the condition and
women with diabetes have a greater increased risk of death compared
to their male counterparts.
Julie Byron, Diabetes UK North West Regional Manager, said:-
"These new figures are truly alarming and confirm that diabetes is
one of the biggest health challenges facing the UK today. There are
already 280,000 people diagnosed with diabetes in the North West and
around 65,000 people who have the condition but are not aware of
it."
Good self-management, awareness, and improved access to specialist
diabetes care services are crucial if we are to curb this growing
health crisis and see a reduction in the number of people dying from
diabetes and complications attributed to the condition.
Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) with the highest percentage of
diabetes-attributable deaths are areas with a higher than average
proportion of the population under 40 and where there are large
numbers of over 40s of Asian and Black origin, who are at greater
risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. These areas also have high
levels of deprivation compared to PCTs with the lowest proportion of
deaths.
The percentage of diabetes-attributable deaths varied at PCT level
in the North West from 10.42% in Warrington to 13.21% in Blackburn
with Darwen. By using a method that combines data from
previous research studies and estimates of diabetes prevalence with
population and mortality data, the work is able to provide a more
accurate picture of the number of deaths attributable to diabetes
than from routine sources which often fail to identify diabetes or
diabetes-related complications as the principal cause of death.
Whilst still around twice as likely to die as their peers without
the condition, the number of deaths in the younger age groups is
small compared to the older age groups.
Diabetes can be fatal in a number of ways. Around 80% of people with
the condition die of cardio-vascular disease (CVD) - high blood
glucose levels can cause damage to blood vessels which can result in
a stroke or heart attack. Diabetes is also the main cause of end
stage renal failure (ESRF) an irreversible decline in kidney
function. A hypoglycaemic attack or a hypo - a condition where
the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood drops can also lead to
death on rare occasions. Similarly, high blood glucose levels
(hyperglycaemia) left untreated can result in death through diabetic
ketoacidosis (DKA) which occurs as a result of a lack of insulin.
John Ingham, from Whitby, died from a stroke in July 2006, aged 77.
His son Nigel, said:- "My father was first diagnosed with Type
2 diabetes in his 50s in the late 1980s. He had been overweight
since I was a boy. Despite warnings from his GP about the risk to
his health and his sight, he did little to manage his diet which
made the effects of his diabetes worse. My father soon began
to age very quickly due to his diabetes in his 70s. He became
incontinent and his eyesight deteriorated to such an extent that he
could barely read, even with spectacles.
Things then came to a head when an ulcer on his foot became infected
and refused to heal. He was advised to have the foot amputated to
save his life. It was very difficult persuading my father that he
had the choice between dying or an amputation. Like a
significant number of amputees my father had circulatory problems.
This led to a number of strokes, such that my father had to be fed.
No doubt he found it very humiliating to have his son feed him.
After 9 months in hospital he was transferred to a nursing home in
Whitby. All through this time he pleaded to go home but his care
needs were well beyond what myself or my mother, living over 200
miles away, could provide. He spent 3 months in the nursing home
before having a major stroke which ended his life in July 2006.
My father would have had far fewer problems and would have
undoubtedly lived longer with better management of his diabetes.
Whilst not wanting to scare people unnecessarily it is vital people
realise the serious implications of not managing this condition
properly."
For further information about diabetes and how to manage the
condition visit
diabetes.org.uk. |
