HEALTHYHOUNSLOW The Newsletter for NHS Clinical Commissioning Group

Issue: 3

Summer 2016

Dear Hounslow Resident,

This month's newsletter brings you the latest updates from Hounslow CCG, including news about:  Dementia awareness  Self-care  Living well with diabetes  Carers week  Improved care for children across North West London As I’m writing this, we are making preparations for our Annual General Meeting to be held at the Hounslow Civic Centre’s Conference Centre on the 19th July 2016 between 11:15 – 2:45pm. We are keen to meet a s many people at the AGM to share Hounslow Clinical Commissioning Group’s work in 2016. We will have a “Health Market” where people can come along and ask questions and collect healthcare information with our main providers, partners and colleagues. We are encouraging people to submit questions that they would like to ask prior to the meeting. If you have a question you would like to ask, please submit the question to [email protected] alternatively call on 020 8538 2414.

Dr Nicola Burbidge – Chair, NHS Hounslow Clinical Commissioning Group

Safe In The Sun

With the holiday season fast approaching I would like to remind Hounslow residents about being safe in the sun and heat. Below you will find some top tips: Top Tips  Plan your day in a way that allows you to stay out of the heat.  If you can, avoid going out during the hottest part of the day (11am-3pm).  If you must go out, stay in the shade, wear a hat and some loose fitted clothes.  Drink cold drinks like water or fruit juice regularly and avoid tea, coffee and alcohol.  Take cool showers or baths.  Remember to regularly apply sun screen with a high Sun Protection Factor (SPF) to yourself and children.  Advice on how to reduce the risk of sun damage for yourself or somebody you know can be obtained from NHS Choices, NHS

111 or from your local chemist.  Advice on sun protection from can be found on the Cancer Research website.

Hounslow CCG Supports Dementia Awareness

In the UK, approximately 820,000 people are living with dementia. A number that has been forecast to increase as the population ages.

Dementia is an illness caused when parts of the brain are affected by certain conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease or a series of strokes. It usually affects people over the age of 65 and becomes more common as people get older.

People with dementia may experience problems with:

 memory

 difficulties with thinking

 problem-solving

 communicating

 doing day-to-day activities such as getting dressed.

There are no cures for dementia, however leading an active and healthy life may reduce the risk of you developing the condition, as well as other serious health conditions, when you are older. This includes eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, reducing your alcohol intake, stop smoking and making sure you keep your blood pressure at a healthy level. Hounslow is doing really well on diagnosing dementia The increase in dementia diagnosis in Hounslow between August 2014 and April 2016 is 27.2%, showing that Hounslow CCG has made an enormous effort to increase the diagnosis rate. Hounslow CCG supported Dementia Awareness Week, which took place between 16 - 20 May 2016. During the week, our dementia specialists were based at Hounslow health clinics raising awareness of dementia and running Dementia Friends Sessions.

We took this time to fundraise for Alzheimer’s UK, Dementia UK and Age UK Hounslow. Working with our Hounslow social care colleagues, we raised £1450.00. Age UK Hounslow run weekly Dementia sessions and many other activities at their base in Montague Hall, Age UK Hounslow and can be contacted on 020 8560 6969 or vis their website http://www.ageuk.org.uk/hounslow/ or https://www.dementiauk.org/ for further information. “If you’re concerned that you may be experiencing symptoms of dementia, it’s important to speak to your GP. The sooner you know what you're dealing with, the sooner you can get on with your life and feel in control again. “We believe that life doesn't end when dementia begins, and we will try to do everything we can to help people living with dementia hold onto their lives and the things they love for longer.” The services in Hounslow that contribute to the diagnosis of dementia are:

 GPs throughout the Borough

 Cognitive Impairment & Dementia Services based at the West Middlesex University Hospital who provide the majority of diagnosis http://www.wlmht.nhs.uk/service/hounslow-cid-service/

Be Self-Care Aware?

What is self-Care?

We are focused on helping people look after themselves, and so one of our priorities is Self-Care. Self-Care means looking after your health, starting in simple ways, such as brushing your teeth, or eating plenty of fruit and vegetables. For people with long-term conditions, Self-Care is also about managing the condition so that you can continue to live well. This can involve making changes to your diet, taking enjoyable exercise or knowing about the medication you need to take. The doctors and nurses who look after you can help you with this. Staying active Self-Care also means staying active by doing things that are important to you, such as gardening, seeing friends and family, feeling part of your community, and continuing to work, if possible. It involves looking at what you can do and want to do, rather than what you can’t do. It aims to help you take care of yourself, and to let you know what’s available to help you look after your health. Our goal is to:

 improve health awareness - the things that can keep us feel well  prevent illness  help people manage their own care effectively  reduce hospital admissions  provide more community support to help people remain at home Further information on self-care can be found here http://www.hounslowccg.nhs.uk/your-services/self-care.aspx A healthy lifestyle is an important part of self-care for everyone.

Working With Communities In Hounslow

Healthwatch Hounslow are currently supporting Hounslow CCG in an exciting new project recruiting volunteers from a range of communities in Hounslow the aim is to ensure that people that have recently settled in Hounslow have access to information about self- care, health and social care services available in the London Borough of Hounslow.

Please note: self-care does not mean that you need to manage on your own without any help from a health professional. If you are at all unsure, please seek advice from your GP, nurse or pharmacist or call 111.

For further information on self-care and on how to get involved please email [email protected]

Living Well With Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition which causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high. There are different types of diabetes but the most common form is ‘type 2’ diabetes, which affects approximately 3.5 million people in the UK. There are also thought to be around 549,000 people with undiagnosed diabetes in the UK. In 2015/16 there are 17,795 people in Hounslow identified with diabetes and 10,709 people have been identified at high risk of getting diabetes in the near future.

The main symptoms of diabetes are: feeling very thirsty; passing more urine than normal; feeling very tired; and unexpected weight loss. Type 2 diabetes is also more common if you are overweight or you are of a South Asian, African or Caribbean background.

Dr Raquel Delgado, local GP and Clinical Diabetes lead of NHS Hounslow Clinical Commissioning Group said: “If you have any of these symptoms, go and see your GP – especially if you have a history of diabetes in your family.”

She added: “The sooner you are diagnosed, the sooner your doctor or nurse can help you to manage the condition and prevent you developing the health problems associated with diabetes.”

If you are living with diabetes there is a lot that you can do that will help you to take control of your diabetes and avoid future problems. Your GP or practice nurse will advise you on monitoring your blood sugar levels. If you have type 2 diabetes, you do not usually need to test yourself at home – you will have blood tests arranged by your practice.

Key steps to managing your diabetes are:

 Take your medication and insulin properly

 Maintain a healthy weight – this will help control your blood glucose level

 Eat a healthy, balanced diet

 Stop smoking

 Stay active

 Have the flu jab every autumn

 Go to your regular check-ups

Recognising that you are not alone and sharing your experiences can help you to find the inspiration you need to achieve your dreams no matter how small or how large.

A Diabetes Patient Reference Group has been set up by Hounslow CCG to represent the views of people with diabetes and their carers in the local area. The group provides a way to capture these views and ensure that they are used to influence and shape decisions on the design and delivery of diabetes services in the Hounslow.

For further information please email [email protected] or call 07826 944796

Carers Week

In June, Hounslow CCG and the London Borough of Hounslow celebrated National carers week. We reached out to carers by hosting information stalls across the borough in leisure centres, shopping malls, health centres and by having coffee mornings with support groups. The borough’s leisure centre provider, Fusion offered free access to their centres for the week for carers. We spoke to a large number of carers and residents in Hounslow, some of whom did not even realise they are taking on the caring role. We encouraged everyone that we have spoken to, to raise carers awareness.

The Sainsbury’s supermarket in hosted a special carers event to help celebrate the great work carers do in the community. The event was well attended by carers with guest speakers from the metropolitan police, young carers and Hounslow’s new deputy mayor Daanish Saeed.

For more information please visit http://www.hounslow.gov.uk/carers A big thank you to Sainsbury’s in Chiswick for allowing us to take part in this event.

Improving Access

The NHS’s ambition is to embrace technology as part of its drive to offer modern, convenient and responsive services to patients, their families and carers. GP practices are leading the way.

Today, the majority of GP practices already offer online services, including appointment booking, ordering of repeat prescriptions, and access to summary information in their records. GP practices will increasingly expand online services over the next year. By April 2016, online patient records should include coded information on medication, allergies, illnesses, immunisations and test results.

Online services will be offered in addition to the traditional telephone and face-to-face means of interacting with a GP practice.

To access these services at your GP practice, just ask

for your username and password next time you are the surgery or to find out more information please click on the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/patient - online/

Improving Care for Children Across North West London

From 30 June 2016 the children’s overnight ward (Charlie Chaplin) at Ealing Hospital is closing and ambulances will stop taking children to Ealing Hospital’s accident and emergency (A&E) department.

It is important to understand that the urgent care centre at Ealing Hospital will still be open 24/7 and all other children’s services and day clinics will remain open. Ambulances will take children to one of the five hospitals in North West London with a children's A&E – West Middlesex, Hillingdon, Northwick Park, Chelsea and Westminster, or St Mary’s hospitals – depending on the child’s needs.

If you are a parent or carer whose child needs urgent care in Ealing from 30 June: 1. In a life-threatening emergency call 999 2. If it is not a life-threatening situation go to Ealing Hospital’s urgent care centre (UCC) which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for children and adults who require urgent medical help. You can visit/call your GP or call NHS 111.

The changes are necessary to provide consistent high quality seven-day children’s services across five hospitals in North West London, allowing more specialist senior doctors to be available throughout the day and night to treat children. This will improve the quality of clinical care and patient experience and get children back to health more quickly.

Along with improvements in care, all five children’s A&E departments in North West London: West Middlesex, Hillingdon, Northwick Park, Chelsea and Westminster and St Mary’s hospitals have seen significant investment, refurbishment and expansion.

Find out more We have produced a booklet for parents and carers which explain the changes in more detail.

The booklet is also available in a range of community languages and in Easy Read format. You can find these and more information and resources on our website at www.healthiernorthwestlondon.nhs.uk

You can also contact us at [email protected] or by calling 0800 1777 990.

The following practices have patient participation group (PPG) meetings coming up over next two months and are always open to new members. To join, you just need to be a registered patient of that practice.

Practice Venue Date / Time

Little Park Surgery Little Park Surgery 25th July – 6:30 – 7:30pm

Wellesley Road Surgery Wellesley Road Surgery 24th August - 6:30 – 7:30pm The following practices below have virtual PPG groups. They will send out regular information on the practice, as well as questionnaires for patients to fill in. to join just send an email to the address listed and they will add you to their distribution list

Practice Email Address

Thornbury Road Practice [email protected]

WEST4GPs [email protected]

Your practice should have a patient participation group. Please speak to the Practice Manager at your GP practice who will be able to advise you of the next meeting date. We have also been helping GP Locality Federations set up Locality Patient Participation Groups within the borough.

To ensure patients have their say in how out of hospital healthcare services are delivered in these areas, your LPPG will have a number of patient members from each of the practices in your locality area. The table below sets out the dates for the next meetings.

FELTHAM Locality Meeting HEART OF HOUNSLOW Locality TBC (September date) Meeting th please email Tuesday 27 September 10:00-12pm [email protected] Heart of Hounslow Centre for Health

Feltham Centre for Health –

Community Meeting Room Practices covered by this locality are: Practices covered by this locality are: Bath Road Surgery Blue Wing Surgery Chestnut Carlton Surgery Practice Clifford House Surgery Green Practice Gill Medical Practice Hounslow Medical centre Greenbrook Kingfisher Practice Redwood Grove Village Medical Centre Practice Hatton Medical Practice The 303 Bath Road Surgery Little Park Surgery The Practice Heart of Hounslow Manor House Practice Willow Practice Mount Medical Centre

Pentelow Practice Queens Park Medical Practice St David's Practice GREAT WEST ROAD Locality AND CHISWICK Locality Meeting Meeting Locality Meeting Tuesday 13th September 12:30- Monday 26th September, 1-3pm Friday 22nd July 1-3pm Brentford 2:30pm Chiswick Town Hall Health Centre – Conference Room Heart of Hounslow Centre for (1st Floor) Health Practices covered by this locality Practices covered by this locality Practices covered by this locality are: are: are: Albany Practice Chiswick Family Doctors Practice Clifford Road Surgery Brentford Family Practice Chiswick Health Practice Cranford Medical Brentford Group Practice Glebe Street Surgery Crosslands Surgery Cole Park Surgery Grove Park Surgery Dr Sood's Practice Greenbrook Isleworth Grove Park Terrace Surgery Firstcare Practice Greenbrook Manor Holly Road Medical Centre Greenbrook Grove Medical Wellesley Road Practice Hounslow Family Practice Spring Grove Medical Practice WEST4GPs Jersey Practice North Hyde St Margaret's Medical Practice Medical Practice Thornbury Road Skyways Medical Centre The Great West Surgery

If you would like to get involved in either your locality or your practice PPG please contact [email protected] or call 020 8538 2454

Get Involved

We are regularly out in the community asking patients to get involved with Hounslow CCG as an organisation, below are some of the ways you are able to get more involved with us.

o Receive regular updates about what the CCG is planning

o Take part in online or postal surveys to help us find out what you think about healthcare issues

o Attend focus group meetings or other events to discuss healthcare issues with GPs and officers who are responsible for commissioning services

o Attend CCG Governing Body meetings to understand the decision making process and ask questions of the Governing Body

o Take part in specific commissioning programmes as part as part of a tender panel

If you would like to get involved with Hounslow CCG in any of the ways listed above or have any ideas on how we as an organisation can get more involved and engaged in a club or group you are part of please email [email protected]

Social Media

Hounslow CCG are on Social Media!

We use our Twitter account to encourage our patients to become more informed and involved in their healthcare

We are now encouraging patients to start following us to keep up to date with developments and health messages.To follow us please go to: https://twitter.com/hounslowccg