Kooth is an online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people, accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop and free at the point of use.

kooth.com

Bath and North East Somerset Carers’ Centre is here to help young carers of all ages who live in Bath and North East Somerset.

banescarerscentre.org.uk

B&NES Community Health and Care Services Podiatry Team provides diagnosis and treatment of feet and lower limb problems for people who are registered with a GP in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES).

Podiatry – Bath and North East Somerset Community Health Service

B&NES physiotherapy out-patients service provides holistic assessment and treatment for a range of painful joint, muscle and nerve problems.

Adult Physiotherapy Service – Bath and North East Somerset Community Health Services

B&NES Talking Therapies have been commissioned since September 2013 by Bath and North East Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (Banes CCG) and have been known as Banes Primary Care Talking Therapies Service since April 2015.

iapt-banes.awp.nhs.uk

When travelling abroad it is important to ensure that you are aware if any vaccinations are recommended for the countries you are visiting. To assess what vaccines you require please click here.

Not all vaccines are available on the NHS some have to be purchased privately. Here at Westfield Surgery, we only give NHS travel vaccines, this includes:

• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Combined Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B

When you have found out what vaccinations are required if you require any of the above please make an appointment with the Practice Nurse otherwise you will need to contact one of the private travel clinics listed below.

Private travel clinics will provide you with all other non-NHS vaccines you will need. Private travel clinics are provided by:

• Masta Travel Health Clinics
• Nomad Travel Health Clinics

There is further information about countries and vaccinations required on the links below:

• Travel doctor
• Fit for Travel
• Masta

It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible – at least 6 weeks before you travel – as a second appointment will be required with the practice nurse to actually receive the vaccinations.

Travelling in Europe

If you are travelling to Europe the EU has published useful information for travellers on the European website.

The following websites can give you information and support:

• www.ash.org.uk
• www.nhs.uk/smokefree
• www.lunguk.org

STDs are common, and condoms should always be used in addition to other forms of contraception. You can have Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea without knowing it. You can have a test for these without seeing the Doctors or Nurses at the Surgery by contacting the local sexual health clinic, Riverside Clinic on: 01225 826855.

Further information is available at: www.nhs.uk.

Smoking

Confirmed smokers seem on average to die 10 years younger than would be otherwise expected. This is the equivalent of losing 28 minutes of life for every packet of cigarettes smoked. The good news is that it is never too late to quit; there are tablets and patches to help you do this available at the surgery. Please make an appointment to see one of the nurses. If you have recently started or succeeded in quitting please let us know.

Exercise

Moderate exercise seems to be able to reduce our risk of major illness such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer by up to 50%, and reduces our chance of dying early by 30%. It also seems to be able to ward off stress, depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Exercise could include walking fast, swimming, cycling, tennis or pushing a lawn mower. The exercise should be intensive enough to raise your heartbeat and perhaps make you sweat. You should however still be able to talk during the exercise but be breathless enough that you couldn’t sing a song. For reasons that are not clear, exercise obtained through work tends to be less beneficial than that undertaken in our free time. No one has yet to give any explanation of this. Exercise seems to be able to reduce our blood sugars and cholesterol. The optimum seems to be about 2½ hours of physical activity each week.

Diet

The human body is astonishingly versatile, and can adequately burn a wide variety of foods. Nevertheless some foods are increasingly coming under the microscope as doctors are concerned they are contributing to a current epidemic of obesity and diabetes. There is currently a huge amount of conflicting advice as to what actually constitutes a healthy diet.

Currently in favour: broadly speaking doctors can agree that fruit, vegetables and light Mediterranean style diets are healthy and research seems to show that dairy products, red meat, and eggs are healthy for us when eaten in moderation.

Currently out of favour: sugary snacks, fizzy drinks, margarines and fat substitutes, pre-prepared meals and processed meat.

In pregnancy of course, it is important for Mums to take care of themselves. Increasing Folic Acid and Vitamin D is recommended in pregnancy as well as iron and multivitamins. We will prescribe these for you as necessary.

Dementia

As the population ages the incidence of this condition is increasing. If you or a person you care for is struggling with short term memory and would like an assessment, make an appointment. It can be warded off by a healthy diet but best of all by on-going exercise.

Hypertension

Raised blood pressure affects 12% of the adult population. Tablets can be used to control blood pressure, but diet, weight loss, and exercise are just as, or even more, effective.

Obesity

15% of the list size. We can now refer you for diet and exercise classes. Please ask.

Diabetes

3% of the list size and increasing all the time. If you are recently diagnosed, training days are available, though in its early stages, most diabetes can be cured by weight reduction, a healthy diet, and regular exercise.

In the unfortunate event that a person has passed away, there are three things that must be done in the first few days;

• Get a medical certificate from your GP or hospital doctor (this is necessary to register the death)
• Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland). You will then receive the necessary documents for the funeral.
• Make the necessary funeral arrangements.

Register the death

If the death has been reported to the coroner  they must give permission before registering the death.

You can register the death if you are a relative, a witness to the death, a hospital administrator or the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors.

An appointment with the registrar needs to be booked via the BaNES Registrar website.

Arrange the funeral

The funeral can usually only take place after the death is registered. Most people use a funeral director, though you can arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral directors

Choose a funeral director who’s a member of one of the following:

• National Association of Funeral Directors
• National Federation of Funeral Directors
• Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors

These organisations have codes of practice – they must give you a price list when asked.

Some local councils run their own funeral services, for example for non-religious burials. The British Humanist Association can also help with non-religious funerals.

Arranging the funeral yourself

Contact the Cemeteries and Crematorium Department of your local council to arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral costs

Funeral costs can include:

• Funeral director fees
• Things the funeral director pays for on your behalf (called ‘disbursements’ or ‘third-party costs’), for example, crematorium or cemetery fees, or a newspaper announcement about the death
• Local authority burial or cremation fees

Funeral directors may list all these costs in their quotes.

For free independent advice on bereavement issues, you can find more information at: lastingpost.com.