Rochdale Health Alliance are proud to be the shirt sponsor for St Gabriel's Roman Catholic Primary School football team. We all wish you good luck in all upcoming games, and have fun!!! https://www.stgabrielsrc.com/

Todays well attended meeting was hosted at the sunny Bellavista. Topics covered were QOF, National Primary Care Recovery Plan, Workforce & Core Plus. Thank you to all those attended and a special thanks to Zully from Viatris and Tom from Napp for their presentation and sponsorship.

Do you know what Primary Care is? Primary Care is the first point of contact you will have with a health professional and is made up of GP's; Dentists; Pharmacists and Opticians We want to know how we can make Primary Care your first career choice

A big thank you to all that attended yesterday’s LTI face-to-face session. June’s topic covered “dealing with threatening & violent behaviour. Tony & Jim from What A Kerfuffle (W-A-K), delivered an entertaining and insightful course to help us deal with difficult and challenging scenario’s we sometimes face in this sector. The Course covered: UK Law regarding use of force & self-defence, Communication techniques during emotive & self defence, Factors likely to increase the risk of violence in the work place How to identify relevant information quickly and effectively Medical implications of different methods of assaults Collaborative team approach to violence in the workplace Thank you again to all those attended and if you missed the chance to attend W-A-K course, it is available to book on as part of our MDP event in July (link Below) https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/mdp-thursday-13th-july-2023-2231109

The Greater Manchester Resilience Hub provides a central point for mental health advice and support on 03330 095 071 or via email GM.help@nhs.net The Money Helper offers free and impartial money advice by telephone on 0800 448 0826 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) or via WhatsApp (+44 7701 342 744) Whatever you're going through, a Samaritan will face it with you. They're here 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org Greater Manchester Bereavement Service can help to find support for anyone in Greater Manchester that has been bereaved or affected by a death, no matter how long ago. Call 0161 983 0902 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (Except bank holidays) or email gmicb-sal.gm.bs@nhs.net

Every Thursday, between 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm Petrus hold the Candlelight Café at their centre on Great George St, Rochdale. This service is for women only and they are provided with a warm meal, relaxed atmosphere, areas to talk to professionals regarding their health, finance and housing issues. Activities vary, some weeks there are therapy sessions such as Yoga, Rakhi and relaxation exercises. This week, as it’s Easter we are giving the ladies Easter Eggs that have been kindly donated to us by those lovely folks from Willmott Dixon Construction over at their Rochdale Town Centre site and we can’t thank them enough for their generous donation. Gestures like this really do make a difference to people’s lives. #willmottdixon willmottdixon.co.uk

Chris, a 33year old man attended the Petrus Hub together with his girlfriend in May 2022. They were both unkempt, thin, and looking very sad. As both were heavy weed smokers, all their money went into paying the rent (his girlfriend’s residence) and buying weed. Elaine, one of the Homeless Alliance Response Team nurses, took time out to chat with them both where Chris disclosed that for the past 3 months, he had begun to drink alcohol again. This was after a 2year abstinence and had now begun to cause problems in his relationship as his girlfriend did not drink. After an initial discussion and the offer of support, Chris made the tough decision to decline the offer of Turning Point and instead try to resolve his issues on his own. Although his decision was strongly disagreed with, a promise was made to him that if he was struggling, he could return to Elaine or attend Turning Point directly. Sadly, several weeks later Chris came back to Petrus. In an all too familiar story, he had been kicked out of the flat by his girlfriend and had slept in an alley for the last 2 nights. Furthermore, he was shaking due to lack of alcohol, extremely upset, dishevelled and not knowing what to do. Remembering Elaine’s promise, he had come back and was now in a place in his life where he needed her support. Chris was given breakfast and a hot drink, followed by a hot shower and clean clothes. He was then sat down, and a plan of action was agreed. This included a referral to Turning Point as well as the Homeless Team at Petrus on account of his homeless status as well as a general health check. However, despite all this support all Chris wanted his mum! Elaine has a son who is Chris’s age, so for her, it was upsetting to see him like this. Having achieved success several years ago with Turning Point, Chris was embarrassed to return there as he felt he had let everyone down, including himself. Reassurance was given with positivity, support, and understanding and it soon became evident that a rapport and trust were starting to build between Chris and Elaine. Later that day, Chris contacted his mum, dad, and sister who offered him some support with a temporary bed for that night which he gratefully accepted. Following on from that night he was offered a bed at an abstinent hostel, on the condition that he remained alcohol-free. The transformation in Chris over the following months was nothing short of extraordinary! He attended group talking sessions, joined the gym, started swimming and even went on a camping holiday with the hostel buying new clothes to take with him. His attitude to life, in general, has flourished and he has now begun a 5-year plan. He’s happy, bubbly, and chatty whilst health-wise he looks brilliant, fit, and healthy. Chris still calls into Petrus but only occasionally now just to give Elaine a hug, say thank you and let her know what he’s been up to and what his future looks like. He’s doing a lot of volunteer work supporting people and providing a positive future to others in between his college work. Twelve months after Elaine and Chris’s first meeting he has been abstinent for 10 months! He’s just completed a Level 2 Counselling course as well as a Peer mentoring accredited course at college. In September 2023 he will start a Level 3 Counselling course in Stockport and following this, he would like to go on to university. Brilliant! What an amazing journey Chris has been on. Elaine, HART and all the service providers are all justifiably extremely proud of him.

All GPs and GP trainees working wihthin HMR are welcome to join us in our GP Education event on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at the Bellavista Rochdale. Food, Education and Networking! Next event Wed 19th April 2023 at 7pm - Trans Health

Come and join us at Rochdale Football Club on 27 April 2pm – 5pm. Have a friendly chat and coffee with us about all things cancer, including breast, cervical, bowel and lung cancer. Find out about; screening advice, emotional support, money worries, diet and nutrition, cancer treatments and more. We look forward to seeing you. The Christie NHS Foundation Trust Macmillan Answer Cancer Can-survive UK Springhill Hospice Cancer Research UK Maggie’s Living Well Your Trust Gynaecology cancer leads Prostate cancer awareness leads #RochdaleWalkAllOverCancer #RochdaleBoroughCouncil #OneRochdaleHealth&Care

From 1 April 2023, women in England can access cheaper hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to help with menopause symptoms. A new HRT prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) will help around 400,000 women save hundreds of pounds annually, reducing costs to less than £20 a year. The certificate is available online or in some pharmacies and can be used as many times as needed throughout the year. Women experiencing symptoms of menopause can now access cheaper HRT – the main treatment for menopause symptoms – helping to save hundreds of pounds in prescription charges. The new HRT PPC being rolled out today (1 April 2023) will reduce prescription costs to just £19.30 per year and can be used against a list of eligible HRT items that include patches, tablets and topical preparations. Patients can use the HRT PPC as many times as they need across the year.

When you donate to Comic Relief or Sport Relief, you’re supporting vulnerable people and communities in the UK and internationally. Our vision is to create a just world free from poverty and we’re doing this by funding amazing organisations doing amazing things. Supporting brilliant solutions to terrible problems. We are working with local organisations in the UK and around the world who’ve proven that their approach to solving peoples’ problems work – and we invest in them as they grow. #rednoseday Date: March 17 Website: https://www.comicrelief.com/rednoseday/register

Nutrition and Hydration Week has taken place every March since 2012. Its purpose is to bring people together to create energy, focus and fun in order to highlight and educate people on the value of food and drink in maintaining health and well-being in health and social care. Organisations from around the world and from all areas of health and social care take part and new organisations are welcome to join in the fun. For more information just visit: https://nutritionandhydrationweek.co.uk