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Raising Awareness - Campaigns and Events 

Upcoming national and international campaigns:

Healthwatch - Share for Better Care

‘Share for Better Care’, a new campaign launched by Healthwatch, aims to help address health inequalities across England.

Last year, Healthwatch received nearly 400,000 experiences of health and social care. When services are under pressure, feedback on care can be crucial to identify what is working and what issues need fixing. But not everyone's voice is being heard.

'Share for Better Care' aims to help more people give feedback about their care, especially if their community experiences poor health outcomes.

Please share your experience and help us make NHS decision-makers aware of what needs to change to improve access to care, for everyone. We’re completely independent and impartial, and anything you say is confidential.

Share your story with Healthwatch Tameside by following this link: https://www.healthwatchtameside.co.uk/have-your-say. You can also provide feedback on care by giving us a call on T: 0161 667 2526

 

What Will You Miss:

What Will You Miss is a Greater Manchester campaign highlighting the importance of hard-hitting health messages for people to make changes to quit smoking.

In Greater Manchester, it’s estimated that around 5,700 people die each year from smoking-related illnesses, with 150,000 smokers living in ill-health and almost 15,000 out of work due to smoking-related Illness.

@thesmokefreeapp gives you 24/7 access to trained stop smoking advisors and helps you monitor your health improvements as well as money saved. Get it free for 6 months if you live in Greater Manchester (T&Cs apply). Visit www.smokefreeapp.com/GM. You can read more about the campaign, and find more resources to help you quit, at the Make Smoking History website: https://makesmokinghistory.co.uk/latest/hard-hitting-quit-smoking-campaign-launches-in-greater-manchester-aiming-to-create-a-smokefree-city-region/.

Stopping smoking is one of the best things you can do for you and your loved ones. Don’t miss the moments that matter most – quit today.

 

Patient Choice:

The Patient Choice campaign aims to help the public understand their right to choose where they receive their care. Patients have a legal right to choose which hospital they are referred to for their first outpatient appointment, when they are being referred for treatment by a healthcare professional.

As part of the government’s drive to cut waiting lists, the Department of Health want to make sure the public know and understand their rights when it comes to choosing a healthcare provider at the point of referral, and have the information and support they need to make an informed choice. To find out more on this campaign, please visit the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/your-choices-in-the-nhs/.

 

International Wheelchair Day – March 1^st

International Wheelchair Day is an annual day of events and activities which take place around the World for wheelchair users to celebrate the positive impact a wheelchair has on their lives.  

The aims of International Wheelchair Day:

• To enable wheelchair users to celebrate the positive impact a wheelchair has in their lives.
• To celebrate the great work of the many millions of people who provide wheelchairs, who provide support and care for wheelchair users, and who make the World a better and more accessible place for people with mobility issues.
• To acknowledge and react constructively to the fact there are many tens of millions of people in the World who need a wheelchair, but are unable to acquire one.

For more information about International Wheelchair Day, please visit their website: https://internationalwheelchairday.wordpress.com/.

We are always looking for feedback on local services - if you would like to share your experience of accessing care while disabled or using a wheelchair, please fill out our Have Your Say form: https://www.healthwatchtameside.co.uk/have-your-say.  

 

World Hearing Day – March 3^rd

World Hearing Day is a World Health Organisation campaign which focuses on overcoming the challenges posed by societal misperceptions and stigmatizing mindsets through awareness-raising and information-sharing, targeted at the public and health care providers.

World Hearing Day 2024 will be observed with the following objectives:

• Counter the common misperceptions related to ear and hearing problems in communities and among health care providers.
• Provide accurate and evidence-based information to change public perceptions of ear and hearing problems.
• Call on countries and civil society to address misperceptions and stigmatizing mindsets related to hearing loss, as a crucial step towards ensuring equitable access to ear and hearing care.

Read more about World Hearing Day 2024 here: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hearing-day/2024

We are always looking for feedback on local services - if you would like to share your experience of accessing care with hearing loss, please fill out our Have Your Say form: https://www.healthwatchtameside.co.uk/have-your-say.  

 

International Women’s Day – March 8^th

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements or rally for women's equality.

The IWD 2024 campaign theme is Inspire Inclusion.

When we inspire others to understand and value women's inclusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there's a sense of belonging, relevance and empowerment. The #InspireInclusion campaign aims to forge a more inclusive world for women.

Learn more about the IWD 2024 campaign theme here: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Theme.  

 

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Get Involved - Events and Opportunities

Here are some upcoming events and opportunities you can get involved with:

HINTED Research project

HINTED is a study which will explore the differences in the experiences of people with dementia and their carers who identify as African, Caribbean, Indian, Bangladeshi, or Pakistani. This includes what better care at the later stages of dementia would look like, what helps or prevents this, and how healthcare services can support this.

HINTED are looking for volunteers to take part in an interview about care at the later stages of dementia. This could be the care you would like to receive in the future as a person with dementia, or the experiences you have had as someone who is, or was, caring for someone with advanced dementia. You will receive a £20 gift voucher as a thank you for your time.

If you are interested or want to know more, please contact the researcher, Narin Aker, via email (n.aker@ucl.ac.uk), phone (020 7679 1278), or post (UCL Research Department of Primary Care and Population Health, Royal Free Campus, Rowland Hill Street, London, NW3 2PF).

 

Centre for Ageing Better – Advisory Group Member

Centre for Ageing Better are pioneering ways to make ageing better a reality for everyone. Their aim is to inspire and inform those in power to act, to tackle inequalities faced by older people, to challenge ageism and encourage take-up of innovative ideas and approaches to change lives.

They are looking for up to 10 people to work with them over 18 months as part of an advisory group overseeing a new piece of research. They have funding to engage a research partner and want to involve Disabled older people who have experience of navigating work and employment support, so they can work together to design, manage and interpret the research findings. They will pay you for your time and contributions, which will be confirmed with participants before the project starts.

They are particularly looking for people who:

• Are aged between 50 and 66
• Live in England
• Are disabled or have a health condition that limits your ability to work
• Are comfortable talking about and sharing your personal experiences in a group for the purposes of this project
• Have access to an internet enabled device to join us online
• And have personal experience of any of the following:
  • Have faced challenges finding fulfilling work because of your age and disability
  • Have recently left work because of challenges in the workplace
  • Have found that employment support doesn’t meet your needs
  • Are in work but are facing challenges staying in work
  • Want or need to be in paid work

The deadline for applications is Friday 15^th March 2024. For more information, please contact Lucy Kenny via email (Lucy.Kenny@ageing-better.org.uk) or phone (020 3150 4396).

 

PHSO Dilemma Café – March 13^th

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman investigate complaints about public services (such as the NHS, benefits, or immigration).

PHSO are hosting a Dilemma Cafe in Manchester (13th March 2024, afternoon), with members of the public and advocacy professionals invited. The venues will be wheelchair accessible. If you are attending as a member of the public, you will receive a £50 shopping voucher as a thank you.

A Dilemmas Cafe is a type of discussion group, providing an opportunity for people to learn about ethical challenges and work together to help find solutions. It involves listening to and respecting others, asking questions and coming-up with ideas (and of course, eating and drinking – lunch and refreshments will be provided).

Please fill in this online form to register your interest in attending a Dilemmas Café: https://phso.welcomesyourfeedback.net/s/ks2f57. The deadline to complete the form is Sunday 3rd March 2024. If you have any questions, contact the PHSO at outreach@ombudsman.org.uk.

 

SEND Dads Society

SEND Dads Society is a new male social club for parents/carers of children and young people with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) in Greater Manchester (GM).

It is going to be a judgement-free space for peer-to-peer support, sign-posting to activities, services, and the Parent Carer Forum in your area, fundraising activities for sensory equipment in GM schools, and more!

“Just a group of men coming together to make a difference and be around others who are on a similar journey.”

There’s no need to book; you can drop in to one of their sessions if you live in any of the following Greater Manchester areas: Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan. 

They meet monthly at Heaton Park Golf Club (M25 2SW), every third Thursday of the month, 7:30pm-9pm, with the first session happening on the 25th of March.

South Manchester CDC 

Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care Trust and Stockport NHS Foundation Trust are opening a new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in Denton, in partnership with InHealth, the UK’s largest specialist provider of diagnostic solutions. The new centre will open to patients later in 2024.

With funding provided by NHS England, thousands of people will be able to visit it every year to get a wide range of diagnostic tests in one central place, away from a busy hospital site. The services will be for the use of the populations across Stockport, Tameside, Glossop and the High Peak.

The South East Manchester CDC will be the second of its kind in Greater Manchester to be located in a retail location, situated at Crown Point in Denton. It will offer high tech scanning, heart tests and other diagnostic services, helping to detect a range of conditions quicker, ensuring patients can then be treated faster. Patients will be able to access the services via a clinician referral.

For more information, see here: https://tamesideandglossopicft.nhs.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/south-east-manchester-community-diagnostic-centre-open-year.