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Youngsters have it all
boxed off at Church Square Shopping Centre
CHILDREN visiting a St Helens
shopping centre were encouraged to let their imagination soar when they
created decorative mini bird boxes at a free craft workshop.
Youngsters visiting Church Square Shopping Centre used glitter, glue,
buttons and colourful gems to decorate homes for their feathered friends,
and were able to take their creations home.
The Shopper Whopper Children's Club event proved a hit with the young
visitors, including little Lucy Nield, 6 from Parr, St Helens.
"It's been really good and I made my bird house with lots of different
things..." said Lucy, a pupil at Allanson Street Primary School in St
Helens.
Mum Shirley, who was visiting the centre with Lucy and 10 month old son
Matthew, was grateful for a free, fun event during ½ term.
"We saw
the event advertised on Church Square's Facebook page and came down
especially for it... Lucy loves arts and crafts and it's great to have a fun activity that
doesn't cost anything. It's brilliant and has broken up the week for us."
Jean Gallagher took her 2 grandsons Lucas, 2 and Josh, 8, a pupil at St
Anne's Primary School in Sutton, to the workshop after reading about it in
her local paper. "We came by bus because that's a novelty for the
boys as they go everywhere by car... The boys have really enjoyed it and it
was special for me as I remember doing this with my older grandson who is
now a teenager and has still got his wooden bird box."
During the special event youngsters were also entertained by Church Square's
mascot Shopper Whopper who put in several appearances, meeting and greeting
families.
Grandma Sandra Sands, from Sutton, was at the shopping centre to buy a holy
communion dress for her grand daughter Faye McCully, 8 and came across the
workshop.
Faye, a pupil at St Julie's Catholic Primary School in Eccleston, and her
little sister Rosie, four, enjoyed making their bird boxes as sparkly as
possible. "Faye and Rosie really enjoyed it and made their bird
boxes so glittery and sparkly that Katy Perry would be proud..." said Sandra.
Church Square Shopping Centre manager Steven Brogan said:- "Our
Shopper Whopper events always prove very popular, particularly at this time
of year when the weather may not be good and families are looking for things
to do. Our craft workshops provide free, creative fun and parents tell
us it really helps to keep the kids occupied. Being able to take their bird
box creations home is the icing on the cake." Trust's outstanding end
of life care recognised
A NHS trust's outstanding work
caring for the dying has been recognised by a national programme to improve
palliative care.
The Department of Health has chosen Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS
Trust as one of 10 to take part in "Building on the Best". The
programme will support improvements in patients' quality and experience of
palliative and end of life care.
The Care Quality Commission Chief Inspector of Hospitals commended the
palliative care and bereavement teams for their outstanding practice in a
report on the Trust last May (2015).
Dr Karen Groves, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, said:- "We're
thrilled to have been selected for Building on the Best which will allow us
to build on the best practice we have developed with other trusts. We have a
very proactive approach to end of life care which includes a 7 day a week
service, support and education for staff, and teams that work not just in
hospital but with care homes, GPs and the charity sector too. Most
people say they would prefer to die in the place they usually live rather
than hospital. We are the best performing Trust in our network on this
measure."
Building the Best will initially roll out in England. It is funded by
Macmillan Cancer Support and is supported by a partnership between the
National Council for Palliative Care, Macmillan Cancer Support, NHS England
and the NHS Trust Development Authority.
As well as further developing the work of the Transforming End of Life Care
in Acute Hospitals Programme, Building on the Best will develop new areas of
focus for improving end of life care.
These will include making information more accessible to patients and their
families, to enable more shared decision making; taking the opportunities
offered by outpatient appointments to discuss advance and anticipatory care
planning; improving the handover of information and records as people move
between acute and secondary care; and improving pain and symptom management.
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Local NHS team launches
new eating disorders website
A team of eating disorder
specialists from local mental health Trust CWP have launched
CreatingHopeTogether.com; a brand new website providing information and
online resources for people with an eating disorder, their families,
healthcare professionals and the wider general public.
The new site, developed by clinical experts in Cheshire and Wirral
Partnership NHS Foundation Trust's (CWP) Eating Disorder Service, contains a
number of inventive and creative features designed to support people with an
eating disorder. This includes a dedicated:- 'Cook-Along' video page to
help the viewer plan and prepare nutritious meals, with advice around how to
reduce anxiety when preparing and eating food. There is also a:-
'Sanctuary'
area, providing a variety of ideas for days out, crafts, games and
relaxation techniques.
Dr Matthew Cahill, CWP Consultant Psychiatrist in Eating Disorders, said:-
"Eating disorders can often take over entire lives, and the lives of
those close to the sufferer. More often than not, the things that were
previously very important to the sufferer such as family, friends, hobbies,
school or work get neglected as the eating disorder takes over. CreatingHopeTogether.com
contains clear and simple information that will help visitors better
understand what they or their loved ones are going through, while also
providing valuable and innovative resources that can help people begin their
journey to recovery."
CreatingHopeTogether.com also provides information about CWP's local
services available to people in the region, and wider resources aimed
specifically to help professionals in the industry. The launch of the site
coincided with national Eating Disorder Awareness Week that took place over 21
February to 27 February 2016.
Studies show that over 1.6 million people in the UK are estimated to be
directly affected by eating disorders. Eating disorders have the highest
mortality rates among psychiatric disorders.
Health care costs for eating disorders in England have been estimated as
£80m to £100m, with overall economic cost likely to be more than £1.26bn per
year.
Reading was just the
ticket at Liverpool Central Station over ½ term
MORE than 500 books have been given
away over ½ term across the Merseyrail network.
It is a continuation of the popular 'Moved to Read' partnership
between City of Readers and Merseytravel, which has already seen over 3,500
book distributed over ferries, buses and most recently Taxis to encourage
more people to read across the region.
This next stage of the campaign aims to reach families travelling over the
holidays thanks to a commitment from Merseyrail. It had links to the
Liverpool Counts campaign which aims to drive up standards of numeracy in
the City.
On Sunday, 21 February 2015, families where able to join a book share at Liverpool Central
Station. There was also an opportunity for adults to sign up
to the National Numeracy Challenge on the day. Just before the event took
place Councillor Lana Orr, Mayoral Lead for Primary education, said:-
"Literacy and numeracy are so important and in Liverpool we make every
effort to give families opportunities to enjoy their learning. That's why
we're giving out free books and organising numeracy games and challenges.
It's a great way for families to learn together over ½ term and all part
of the City of Readers and Liverpool Counts campaigns to get residents
enjoying literacy and numeracy activities."
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