If you are suffering from painful joints, everyday activities can become uncomfortable and difficult. One of the major causes of pain in the hips or knees is the pressure which being overweight can put on the joints. This puts you at risk of osteoarthritis, which is a condition where the protective cartilage on the ends of your bones breaks down, which causes mobility issues, pain and swelling. Our new 12-week joint care programme aims to help you improve your lifestyle with gentle exercise sessions and nutrition advice to help you to lose weight and take pressure of your joints.
About the programme In this programme, you will get to join in with a 2-hour session each week at your local leisure centre. In these sessions, you will be invited to take part in 1 hour of light exercise, which will teach you some simple exercises which you can replicate at home too. There is also an additional weekly exercise class available for a small fee if you wish to do the exercise sessions twice a week. After this, our experts offer an hour of nutritional advice to help you to improve your lifestyle and diet at home. This will include some practical cooking sessions, where our team will show you quick and affordable meals and cooking tips, to help you make changes to your everyday diet. How to join your nearest joint care programme To get started with the 12-week joint care programme, you can speak to your GP, nurse, or physiotherapy about joining. They will be able to assess your current health and wellbeing and let you know if the programme is suitable for you. To find the contact details of your Taff Ely healthcare practice, click here. Sessions are held at local leisure centres in the Taff Ely area, so get in touch with your healthcare practice to have a chat about your joint problems and to get started on the road to a healthier lifestyle. To learn more about the programme in Taff Ely, click here. Or, to find out more from NHS Wales about the scheme, click here HENRY supports thousands of families across the UK, by partnering with parents to transform family life. The support offered for families from pregnancy up to 12 years covers some of the major factors which can impact a family’s health:
We know that reams of information doesn’t help, understanding what your family does well and helping parents to gain the confidence, skills and knowledge is key to making real change. At HENRY the teamwork with parents to decide on their own strategies to achieve their goals. HENRY’s support takes a holistic approach to the things that will have a real impact later on in life to help decrease the risk of health-related issues such as tooth decay, obesity, and diseases like cancer and diabetes. You can take part in: Family Programmes: Group or 1-to-1 multi-week sessions, working alongside parents individually to come up with a healthy living strategy which works for them. Workshops: Focussed, one-off sessions looking at topics like fussy eating, active play, oral health or starting solids. Families who have previously joined a HENRY Programme have seen sustained changes in:
If you would like to help break an unhealthy lifestyle cycle, why not give a HENRY programme a go. Click here to see what HENRY can do for you and your family. Kooth is a free mental wellbeing service available for Taff Ely’s 11-18yr olds which provides professional counselling, useful resources and tools for young people to take ownership of their mental health.
The platform allows young people to speak with fully trained and qualified counsellors up until 10pm, 365 days a year. Kooth also integrates with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), the Samaritans and the emergency services so those needing additional support can be referred by the team of Kooth counsellors. Kooth has discussion boards and a community space where young people can anonymously share their own experiences and speak with others experiencing similar issues. This encourages young people to learn from each other and to open up about their own stories. All discussions are moderated to ensure that the information on the platform are factual and appropriate for young people. Kooth has a set of self help tools, which show young people healthier ways to cope with issues they are facing. Online journaling and goal setting tools mean that they are able to take control of their mental wellbeing and track their progress. There are no waiting lists or referrals required. Kooth can be accessed for free and at any time. Click here to explore the platform for yourself. Please see below for an up to date poster detailing Covid response resources to help with our patients' mental health.
Also, in addition to these, please be aware there is a 'Safe Space Cafe' which will be taking place at Salem Chapel (in Church Village) between 10am and 12, starting after Easter, and this would be ideal for those experiencing anxiousness, loneliness and the vulnerable. And finally, please note that our Community Co-ordinators are keeping up to date information about local activities on their new facebook page. By the end of this week (February 14), we want to have offered a vaccine to all of our top four priority groups. If you are in the top four groups, by now you should have had your first dose already or have a vaccination appointment in the next couple of days. If not, then you need to contact us. Firstly, please double check you are in the top four groups (chart below). Group 4, clinically extremely vulnerable individuals will have received a shielding letter from Wales’ Chief Medical Officer. If you do not have a shielding letter, you are not in group 4.
We are not currently vaccinating groups 5 to 9, so please do not contact us at this stage if you are in those groups. If you still believe you are in groups 1 to 4 and have had no contact regarding your vaccine then please click on the link below. It will ask you to state which group you are in, and will ask you for your name, date of birth, postcode, contact number, and depending which group you are in, your GP practice and address. Please double check you provide us with the correct details to contact you. The link below will take you to an external site hosted by our local authority partners. Please click here -> Priority Group 1-4 Appointment Offer Follow Up – Vaccine Appointments (rctcbc.gov.uk) Once you have completed and submitted the form you will be contacted within five days. GP surgeries in the Taff Ely area are now vaccinating priority group 2 - All those 80 years of age and over.
Patients in this cohort will be contacted by their GP practice to book appointments. Due to the extreme demand of the rollout, please do not call the practice to book your vaccine unless the next priority group has been opened and you still haven't received your first dose. Practices will invite patients to attend for a vaccination. To keep up to date with information about the vaccination programme across the Cwm Taf Morgannwg area please visit the Cwm Taf Morgannwg website cwmtafmorgannwg.wales If you have any health concerns over the Christmas period, your local healthcare team are here to help you. Patients are urged to think carefully about which service is right for their needs and access the healthcare appropriate for them.
Pharmacies If you have a minor illness or ailment your local pharmacist may be able to help. Opening times for Pharmacies in our area are available on our website here: https://cwmtafmorgannwg.wales/services/pharmacy-medicines-management/ Dentists If you have tooth ache or mouth pain, dentists will be open on regular working days but services may be subject to reduced hours. Emergency arrangements will be in place where practices are closed – please contact your regular dentist to access urgent treatment. If you do not have a regular dentist and need treatment please contact our emergency lines. Patients living in RCT and Merthyr Tydfil should call 01443 680168/ 01443 680166 and patients in Bridgend can call 111 to access emergency dental treatment. Dental practices will be closed on weekends and bank holidays. If you need urgent treatment at this time please contact our out of hours service on 0300 123 5060 if you live in RCT or Merthyr Tydfil areas or 111 if you live in the Bridgend area. Optometrists Your local opticians can help with eye issues. Please check with them directly for information about opening times. If you require an urgent appointment over the Christmas period, your local opticians who will be able to provide information on services. GP Practices GP practices are open as usual on Thursday 24th December. Individual practices can advise patients on their opening times over the Christmas period. The majority of practices will be closed over bank holiday and weekends, including 25th -28th December and 1st January. A small number of practices will be open all day on 28th December – please check your practice website or social media pages for details. If you do need non-urgent medical advice and your GP surgery is closed, you can access e-Consult (via your practice website or social media sites), visit your community pharmacy or call 111, the new easy to remember shared number for NHS Direct Wales and the GP out-of-hours service or visit the website – www.111.wales.nhs.uk. In an emergency dial 999 COVID Symptoms If you have Covid-19 symptoms no matter how mild, please self-isolate and book a test. You can do this online at gov.uk or by telephone by calling 119. If you require urgent healthcare please advise of your symptoms when contacting us. We are inviting patients to tell us about pharmacy services in your area. This is to help us plan for services for our patients now and in the future to make sure they meet your needs, using a process called a ‘Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment’.
Your answers will help us identify if there are any service gaps, for example whether a pharmacy (also called a ‘chemist’) is needed in a particular area, or whether more pharmacies need to provide a particular service. We will also look at the dispensing service that some GP practices provide in rural areas – this service allows GPs to provide the prescribed medicines to people instead of giving them a prescription to take to a pharmacy. Looking to the future, we will look at what may change over the next five years and whether there will be enough pharmacies in the right places, providing the services that people need as, for example, more houses are built. Your views are important to us so please spare a few minutes to complete this questionnaire. We estimate it will take you about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The questionnaire is anonymous and any information you give will not be linked to you. If you would like more information about the questionnaire or have questions on how to complete the questionnaire, please contact CTM.PNAqueries@wales.nhs.uk with “PNA questionnaire” in the subject header. The questionnaire is available in both Welsh and English and can be accessed by clicking on the links below. English: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/O046XS/ Welsh https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/U43D5X/ Visiting your GP Surgery
It is now compulsory to wear a face covering in shops and public spaces in Wales. This includes your local GP surgery, pharmacy, hospitals and all other health premises. Everyone over the age of 11 will be required to wear a face covering, with limited exemptions for people with certain disabilities and medical conditions. Exemption Certificates There are a large number of queries coming into GP surgeries around exemption certificates for facemasks. Please DO NOT contact your GP Practice for an exemption letter/certificate. Guidance around wearing face coverings can be found on the Welsh Government website and states: How can I show that I am not required to wear a face covering? Whether somebody has a reasonable excuse not to wear a face covering will not always be obvious. Disabilities and impairments are not always visible to others, and respect and understanding should be shown to those who have good reasons not to wear face coverings. We advise people to carry information if possible which demonstrates why they have a reasonable excuse (for example a prescription or evidence such as a hospital appointment letter relating to a medical condition). A number of organisations such as transport operators have created cards that can be downloaded from their websites and printed. Sufferers of certain conditions can download a face covering exemption card or badge from the below specialist sites: Asthma UK British Lung Foundation COVID Symptoms Please remember, if you or anyone you live with has symptoms of Coronavirus you should book a test online via www.gov.wales/apply-coronavirus-covid-19-test or telephone 119 You should only be tested if you CURRENTLY have Coronavirus symptoms: - A new, continuous cough - High temperature - Loss/change of taste/smell Various updates - physio self referral, bereavement support, and local activities / resources.22/9/2020
Updated digital access to physio during Covid.
New bereavement support service Updated local activities / resources for over 18's and over 50's. |
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