At a recent Board meeting, Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust (DIHC) were joined by the School Nursing team who told them about the impact of their service locally. Laura Bickley, Team Leader and Lisa Worth, Practice Nurse Educator, attended the meeting and explained that the team is responsible for looking after 45,000 children, aged between 5 years and 16 years across 104 schools in the borough.
Laura described how one of their roles is to help young people in school to understand the risks of sexual abuse. The team uses resources from the NSPCC, ‘Pantosaurus’.
Laura said, ‘By using arts and crafts, we can build relationships of trust with our young people where they feel comfortable to communicate with us. We work at their pace and use the resources to help explain that their body belongs to them and what is appropriate.”
Lisa said, “Pantosaurus is a great way to start the conversation in a way that does not feel uncomfortable or threatening. Our role is to work with our student population and help educate them and provide support and guidance when needed. The schools and students really benefit from this.”
Philip King, Chief Operating Officer at DIHC, said, “The team provides a fantastic service to our school-age population and is essential in ensuring that children get the support they need when they need it.”
We are planning a public engagement exercise which will start on the 17th October 2022, to seek the views of local patients on the future location of High Oak Surgery, Pensnett.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, primary medical services from High Oak Surgery relocated to Brierley Hill Health and Social Care Centre (BHHSCC) in order for the Pensnett site to be used as a Respiratory Assessment Centre.
Throughout the pandemic, the Pensnett site played a key role in delivering services to people in Dudley with suspected COVID-19 symptoms, whilst High Oak Surgery delivered primary care services to patients from the Brierley Hill site.
The Respiratory Assessment Centre closed in June 2021 and given the likelihood of covid variants and outbreaks, and the possibility that the Assessment Centre may need to resume if cases increased, High Oak Surgery has continued to offer services to patients from Brierley Hill Health and Social Care Centre.
We are now working with Black Country Integrated Care Board (BCICB), the service provider to explore the options for the future of High Oak Surgery.
In the meantime, patients of High Oak Surgery can continue to access services as normal from the site at Brierley Hill Health and Social Care Centre.
The next bank holiday takes place on Monday 29 August, which means many GP practices will be closed over the weekend, reopening as normal on Tuesday 30 August.
However, a range of GP appointments will be available from extended access hubs if you need urgent medical help.
Don’t forget, your local pharmacy can also provide confidential, expert advice and treatment for a range of minor illnesses. A number of pharmacies will be open across the bank holiday and you can find a full list, including opening times, here.
Bank holidays can mean that A&E could be particularly busy. If you’re feeling unwell but your condition is not life threatening, simply visit 111.nhs.uk. Enter your age, sex, postcode, and main symptom, and then you will be guided through a series of questions about your health problem.
To access the service via phone, dial 111 from any mobile or landline free of charge and you will be put through to an operator who will run through a few questions regarding your health problem to get you the right care.
For a medical emergency call 999 or go to your nearest A&E.
Local GP access over the August Bank Holiday period
We would like all patients in our community to be able to see a local GP this Bank Holiday.
We are working in partnership with all GP practices within your local community to offer GP appointments at the following practice:
Anchor Medical Practice (Netherton Health Centre, Halesowen Road, Dudley, DY2 9PU) will be providing cover over the August bank holiday period during the following times:
Monday 29th August 2022 – 09:00 – 5:00 pm To book an appointment please call 07966 196678
Healthwatch Dudley has been working with Syrian refugees to plan a community event for local people who have migrated to Dudley borough. Last Saturday 19 families came together for a celebration at Wellington Road Community Centre in Dudley, where they were joined by health professionals from Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust (DIHC) and Solutions4Health.
The event enabled families to get together and build their support networks and provided a real insight into what it is like to be a migrant living in Dudley borough.
DIHC provided health checks for around thirty participants. Dr Lloyd Baron, Clinical Lead for Health Inequalities, DIHC said, “It is so important that we spend time in our communities and develop trusting relationships. The health checks were a perfect way to get to know them better and check for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and potential diabetes.”
“All of the information from the health checks has been shared with the GP practices that patients are registered with and patients who are high risk will be contacted by their practices for further support and advice.”
Helen Codd, Head of Communications, Engagement & Partnerships, DIHC said, “We have a really positive relationship with Healthwatch Dudley and by collaborating, we can achieve so much more and make sure there are opportunities for getting into the heart of our many diverse communities.”
Jehad Khattab Halesowen Welcome Group volunteer said:
“I have enjoyed working with local families to plan this event with Healthwatch Dudley, who involve people who often struggle to have their voice heard. We have loved coming together with friends and family to talk about our experiences of living in Dudley borough and to also to have important health checks, at the same time as having a fun Syrian celebration.”
Healthwatch Dudley will produce a report about the activity, that will inform how Dudley borough communities are supported and involved in future health service planning.
Patients from High Oak Surgery and local residents are being given the opportunity to shape how a new group `Friends of High Oak Surgery` might be setup at a special event in Pensnett on Tuesday 26th July 2022.
The event is being organised by Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust as part of an engagement campaign to build upon the community amongst the Surgery’s stakeholders.
With the goal of creating a stronger and healthier network, the event aims to collect feedback from attendees regarding the design of the group, how it is setup, and how people would like to stay connected.
In addition to collecting feedback, trained NHS staff will also be on hand to provide a free health check to High Oak Surgery’s patients, including checks on atrial fibrillation, cholesterol, and blood sugar. Doctors and healthcare professionals from the area will be readily available to have a drink with and there will also be activities for children.
Dr Lucy Martin, Joint Medical Director at Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust said:
“It is vitally important that the local community are involved in all stages of the decision-making process – this helps us improve what we do.
“But to get that valuable information, we first need to build relationships with the people using the services.
“We hope this event will help us collect the information we need, so that we can create a well-connected group, made by the community, for the community.”
Where: (Car Park), 120 High Street, Pensnett DY5 4DS.
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