Three years ago, the MS Society launched the results of the first ‘My MS My Needs survey’ which uncovered a lottery of MS treatment care and support across the UK. This year they conducted the second survey to see if this lottery of treatment and care remains. As the largest collection of patient-reported data for MS in the UK, it provides an unparalleled insight into the treatment, care and support of people with MS.
The Six principles for engaging people and communities set out how local areas can work towards this holistic model, by developing truly person-centred, community-focused care. They show how engagement is important at every level, from the individual to the community level, and provide both a strategic vision and practical steps for achieving this.
In the UK – as in almost all regions of the world – most deaths are caused by chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic lung disease take a heavy toll on individuals, families and economies, and the terrible tragedy behind the numbers is that many of these deaths – in the UK, 250,000 over a decade – could be prevented or delayed by tackling physical inactivity, poor diet, smoking and alcohol use.
One lesson from the wide consultation we carried out during the Joint VCSE Review is that there is still a gap between how some people see the work of voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and the work which they actually do.
“Living Longer, Living Well” puts forward 12 interventions that might be used to reduce avoidable deaths and improve quality of life for those with multiple long-term conditions. This blog looks at these interventions through the lens of BritainThinks’ public opinion research and considers how members of the public might respond to them.
Loneliness is more than a feeling. Together with social isolation, it is a growing public health issue here in the UK.
Despite being thought of as issues that affect largely older people, loneliness and isolation are indiscriminate and can affect anyone – from new mums to those recently bereaved.
The British Red Cross are delighted to have teamed up with The Co-op to tackle loneliness for thousands more people in communities throughout the UK.
The evidence is irrefutable – being physically active is vitally important in preventing and managing long-term conditions. However, we also know that 28% of adults in England are inactive – i.e. doing less than 30 minutes moderate activity per week. Action is needed as the number of people with long-term conditions continues to rise and put pressure on an already creaking health and care system.
The new Sport England strategy, ‘Towards an Active Nation’ is a positive step forward in ensuring that sport and physical activity is accessible, attractive and attainable for all by dedicating more funding and expertise to inactivity. The Richmond Group welcomes this strategic direction and also their collaborative approach in enabling physical activity to be the norm in England.
Last week’s first National Arts in Health Conference and Showcase set about clearly spelling out the numerous, often unrecognised, benefits of arts-related health interventions. The arts organisations were keen to overcome the barrier of the health sector seeing the arts as an additional, even fluffy ‘nice to have’, something peripheral, instead of integral to progress. Sound familiar to anyone working in the third sector?
My name is Rachel; I had my stroke in May 2015. They called it a left lacunar infarct – one of the many new medical terms I’ve had to learn.
I was in hospital for six days. The care and treatment I received and continue to receive on the ‘Early Supported Discharge Service’ was and is outstanding! As is the support and help I receive from my stroke support worker from the Stroke Association.
Self-Care Week gives us the opportunity to pat ourselves on the back if we are looking after ourselves and consider what else we could do to take better care of ourselves. At Asthma UK we don’t think that people are given the right tools to keep their asthma under control so we are looking at ways in which the NHS and other organisations, including us, can support people living with asthma to better control their asthma every single day.
