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www.breatheeasytelford.btik.com
September / October2014
Registered charity in England and Wales (326730) and in Scotland
(SCO38415)
Breathe Easy Telford is a self-help group affiliatedto the
British Lung Foundation, dedicated to
bringing together all those in our area affected byrespiratory
diseases, both patients and carers.Meetings are monthly, every
fourth Thursday at
Wellington Civic & Leisure Centre[Swimming Baths], Larkin
Way, Tan Bank,Wellington, Telford TF1 1LX at 2.00 p.m.
Please contact chairman:- Gerald Newtonon 01952 593561 for
further details.
E-mail the editor: [email protected]
Daisy’s Tea Lawn Raises £260!Wow! What a fabulous afternoon we
experienced at the home of Jo Grundy, drinking tea andselecting
from an incredible range of home-made delicacies. I opted for Lemon
Drizzle.Then a sneaky piece of Banana Loaf..... And, to my shame, a
selection of buns to share(?) withthe family (ahem). Jo, is a
friend of Kate Johnson, Gerald’s daughter. Together they and
anotherfriend, Julie Dent,donned their immaculate aprons and
provided Waitress Service to their“customers” in a beautifully
decoratedgarden, complete with gazebos,bunting and music. The tea
wasserved in china cups and saucers andwe all felt incredibly
special. We verymuch appreciate all the hard work thatwas involved
in organising this eventand thank everyone involved includingall
those who donated raffle prizes!How lucky are we to have Friends
whowork so hard to provide such interest-ing and enjoyable fund
raising events?Thank you ladies! Veronica Miller
Breathe Easy Teford Quiz NightOn Friday 12 September we had our
latest Quiz evening at the Learning Centre, Telford AFC.As usual
Telford AFC gave us tremendous support in donating the room and bar
staff along. PauletteCarter kindly donated the winning prize for
the evening and Danny Carter was the evening’s Quizmaster.We raised
in total on the night £170, which helps towards outings for the
group, newsletters andgeneral support, so important for people with
lung disease to encourage them to still enjoy their lives.It was a
fun night and I have once again had a lot of very good feedback.We
plan to have another evening in the spring next year, so watch this
space!I would like to take the opportunity to thank AFC Telford in
providing the facilities and Danny Carterfor his preparations and
hosting the evening. Mark Dillarstone
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Issues Regarding Ward 9 Princess Royal HospitalFurther to
concerns raised by some of our members both patients &
relatives, Mary Cook invited StevenMayo, Head of Quality CCG
Telford & Wrekin & Sharon Smith Patient Engagement to the
Breathe EasyMarch meeting so that our members could discuss the
concerns and worries they were incurring whilstin/visiting Ward
9.Points raised:
1. Nurses not wearing name badges2. Bed side hand over3. Long
shifts (nurses doing 12 hour shifts)4. Board over the patients bed
not being fully informative of patient name, Consultant’s name
etc.5. Concerns at a patient being on one ward who had different
conditions. Ward 9 Lung but patient alsobeing diabetic, and or
heart problems6. Ward visiting times causing some relatives great
problems with being able to get home etc.7. Also relatives felt
that when a patient is very ill then it would be nice if the
relative can help withfeeding, toileting etc.8. No information
provided as to which members of the nursing team were looking after
the individualbays.
Steve Mayo agreed that with other members of his team he would
make a on the spot visit to ward 9 tolook into these problems.He
invited some of the committee members to a meeting to discuss his
findings and also invited Ward 9Matron and Ward 9 Sister to discuss
the findings and to implement changes.On the 2 September a further
visit was made by members, who found the followingAll nurses/staff
now wearing name badge.1. Hand over still done at bedside and can
and does cause some worries, if a patient states they do notwant
this done, or if something is of a very sensitive or confidential
nature then the nursing staff will gooutside of the bay to discuss
the handover of individual patients if necessary.2. The 12 hour
shifts were working, nurses were only allowed 2 shifts and they
were working with staffwho found that the long hours were not
suitable but this did not seem to be a big issue at the moment.3.
Board over the patients bed informing of patient name, consultant’s
name and also informationregarding other illness, eating abilities
etc. Felt this was now very informative to all concerned.4. If a
patient has different conditions these are always noted and if any
nurse etc had concernsregarding other areas this is advised
immediately and dealt with by advising the consultants that
areresponsible.5. It was confirmed that if visiting times caused a
relative great problems with being able to get homeetc they should
discuss this with the staff and ask them if they can arrange times
to suit.6. Also if patient very ill then the relative can help with
feeding, toileting etc by discussing this with theSister and
obtaining a carer’s passport.7. List is on display of bay
nurses/staff who are in charge on that shift in front of the Nurses
station.
Other items noted by Breath Easy Committee when at the meeting
with the CCG.1. Staffing issue was now sorted and Nurses now up to
par with quota required.2. Also Agency nurses often blocked booked
when able to help with continuity for all concerned.3. Nurses were
all female but they do have 4 male HCA’s, Apparently when applying
for a nursing postthe applicants’ can and do request specialised
posts.4. The nurses/staff have team briefing updates at every
shift, this is in writing and notes high risk patients.5. Cold
water on tap, they have a cooling system on the taps that produces
the water at a cooltemperature and can be requested by patients at
any time if required.
The wards are now displaying a poster in certain places,
entrance to ward and bays. These posters state"if you have problems
or concerns do not take them home with you, tell us" As the sister
said if thepatient/relatives tell us of problems weeks etc after
the event it is very difficult to deal with the concerns,if we know
immediately this is noted and has to be followed up. You may raise
any further issues with acommittee members. Maureen Sanders
RIDDLES1/ What can travel around the world while staying in a
corner?2/ What kind of room has no doors or windows?3/ Which weighs
more, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?4 / A man who was
just learning to drive went down a one-waystreet in the wrong
direction, but didn't break the law. Why was that?
1/ A stamp.2/ A mushroom.3/ Neither, they both weigh one
pound.4/ He was walking.
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Mrs Jackie HigginsIt is with great sadness we have to announce
the death of one of our membersMrs Jackie HigginsAlthough she lived
at Hadnall, Shrewsbury she attended our group and although she was
only with usa short time she really established with gusto things
that needed to be said and done, and we hadhoped she would have
been able to put more input to the group, but alas this was not the
case and weshall miss her, our thoughts go to her husband and
family.
ICE ?In Case of EmergencyHave you put 'ICE' in your
mobile?Storing 'ICE' along with a name andtelephone number will
enable theemergency services to quickly con-tact someone for you in
the eventof an emergency.Eight out of ten people in the UKcarry no
next of kin details yet 80percent carry a mobile phone,most of whom
have it on them allthe time.There is no simpler way of lettingthe
emergency services know whoto contact should you be involvedin an
accident than by using ICE.Standing for In Case of Emergency,ICE
will allow the emergency crewsto quickly contact a nominatedperson
who can be informed of theincident.
Festive Meal 2014We are having a festive lunch at the
Ramada Telford Ironbridge Hotel (Grays),Forgegate, Telford Town
Centre TF3 4NA
Wednesday 10th December 2014 arriving at Noon for 12:30.£14.95
per person.
Bookings are now being taken by Mary Cook on 01952 254678.`
Membership formsBritish Lung Foundation are askingBreathe Easy
Groups’ members tocomplete a membership form.These forms will be
available at thenext meeting. We do already holdsome relevant data
in order to dis-patch the newsletters. A letter ex-plaining this
further and the form maybe attached or enclosed with
thisnewsletter. Thank you for your help.
Your stories, your thoughts in print!!Email the editor
A Poem Sent in by John PibworthJohn ‘s late wife Annie suffered
from Aspergillus and he wantedto share with members the following
Poem from a fellow sufferer.
We are so often ill, our breath coming in gasps,We fear for
ourselves, plead for mercy,Those breaths we take fight us with
wheeze and rasp,Our plight is hard; our mood is hard and
bitchy.
But wait a moment; pause a minute, look around, do you see?Those
that love us, care for us, nurse us and stay by ourside,Those loved
ones, siblings, partners or spouse, standingclosely,Holding our
hand, mopping a brow, hiding how they cried.
So while we suffer, puff and pant, do not grumble, do
notrant,There is strength beside us, a hand to support, an ear
tolisten,Our loved ones who watch us suffer without showing a
tear,Our life is hard, full of despair, but do we see the eyethat
glistens?
My wife is my rock, my oxygen mask, my faithful nurse,I am
lucky, I'm not alone, I have someone who cares,Suffer we do, often
its true, but don't moan, don't curse,One of us is ill but both
feel the pain, the suffering weshare.
Friend or family, brother or son, husband or wife,We all must
remember those who hide their tear, hide theirpain,They sacrifice
their hearts, to accompany us in our plight,So keep in your hearts
a smile, for those who love us, withnothing to gain. Mike
Chapman
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Breathe Easy Telford CommitteeChairmanGerald
NewtonTreasurerVeronica MillerNewsletter Editor/Website ManagerMark
DillarstoneWelfareElaine Biddulph, Mary Cook,Maureen Sanders,Mervyn
Tuck & Brian Bennett
Community Respiratory NurseSarah PatersonMeet & GreetBrian
BennettEvents & TransportMary CookSpeakersJeff WoodcockRaffle
DrawMervyn Tuck
Forthcoming Events25 September Dr Moudgil, Consultant Physician
- Respiratory Medicine PRH6 October Pub Lunch – Wickets Inn,
Wellington23 October Sarah Paterson, Community Respiratory Nurse,
NHS T&W – Lifestyle change management3 November Pub Lunch –
Wickets Inn, Wellington27 November Hadley & District Orpheus
Male Choir1 December Christmas Pub Lunch – Wickets Inn,
Wellington10 December Festive Meal Ramada Hotel, Telford No Group
Meeting in December2 January 2015 Peter Pan Pantomime -- Theatre
Severn, Shrewsbury
Please note 5 Thursdays in October
Stay healthy this winter – get the flu jabWith the leaves
falling from the trees and nights drawing in, many people
–particularly those with lung disease – will recognise it's the
time of year to getvaccinated against flu. Flu (the short name for
influenza) is unpleasant for anyonewho catches the virus. It
affects people of any age and gives you a sudden fever,chills,
headache, aching in the muscles, a dry cough and often a sore
throat. It canmake you feel very weak and can take at least a week
to pass. For people with long-term health problems, such as asthma
or chronic obstructivepulmonary disease (COPD), and older people,
it can be even more serious.Getting a vaccination can protect you
from unnecessary illness. The vaccination isgiven by an injection
which will take a week to 10 days before it protects you from
catching flu. It will not only protect you, but may also help to
protect your colleagues, friends and family. You are eligible to
receive a free flu vaccine if
you: ◦ are 65 years of age or over◦ are pregnant◦ have a certain medical condition, including a longterm lung disease◦ are living in a longstay residential care home or other longstay care facility◦ get carer's allowance, or you are the main carer for an older or disabled person whose welfare may beat
risk if you fall
ill◦ are a health care worker with direct patient contact or a social care workerIf
you are not entitled to a free jab, you can get one from a range of
providers including many high streetchemists – just have a look at
their websites to see if they offer this.If you think the flu
vaccine might be helpful to you, you can also discuss it with your
GP.
BLF Christmas CardsOrders are now being taken - A couple of
design examples!: Orders now being taken at shop.blf.org.uk/( From
October call 0207 688 555 to order.* From October call 0207 688 555
for an order form.