Health & Wellbeing

Cure Leukaemia is bringing back their spectacular four-day, 500km, closed-road cycling experience and it promises to be bigger and better than ever before.

Every aspect of the ride is planned with precision – from accommodation and transport to the all-important team of mechanics, motorcycle outriders and sports physios.

Consultant Dermatologist Dr Natalia Spierings of Channel 5’s Skin A&E and author Skintelligent: what you really need to know to get great skin is here to shake things up in the skincare world and isn’t afraid to tell the truth and call out the BS about all things related to skincare.

Drawing on a decade of work as a practicing consultant dermatologist, helping thousands of people achieve great skin, she will empower you with the knowledge to navigate the confusing world of skincare so you never get fooled into buying hundreds of pounds of disappointing cosmetic skincare products again.

Interest in singing groups for people living with dementia has soared in Birmingham thanks to a moving two-part documentary fronted by TV star Vicky McClure, says Alzheimer’s Society. Following last week’s final episode of the BBC One show ‘Our Dementia Choir Sings Again’, the charity has recorded a marked increase in enquiries about its popular Singing for the Brain service.

A new country-wide marketing campaign urging millions of eligible people to get their flu and Covid booster vaccines to top up their immunity will launch to (Monday 24 October), as almost 10 million people in England have already received their boosters. Adverts will air across television, radio, social media and in prominent locations, such as London’s Leicester Square, stressing the importance of people getting both vaccines to increase their protection this winter.

You-can’t-put-me Down syndrome is a photographic campaign that aims to challenge and rewrite the medical maternity narrative – showcasing young people and adults with Down syndrome living their best lives, each a valued and loved family member, each deserving of a maternity care system that no longer perpetuates and promotes stigma and discrimination towards them. 

A major new study has revealed how camping in the great outdoors improves people’s well-being and mental health. The Outjoyment Report was commissioned by The Camping and Caravanning Club and undertaken by a team of academics at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and Sheffield Hallam University.

NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board has announced the appointment Bernadette Hanney into the role of independent chair of the local maternity services quality oversight and improvement group. This new leadership role, reporting to the chair of the Birmingham and Solihull local maternity and neonatal system (LMNS) Lisa Stalley-Green, will be pivotal in driving forward quality improvements through listening to service users and working with clinicians and staff within the LMNS, ensuring that the voices of women and families are central to decision making.

Glenside Hospital Museum, in Bristol are launching a Heritage England-funded project: Answering the Call: Our NHS Commonwealth Nurses. 

In the Museum archive we found a book that of trainee nurses; over ten years from 1956, 22% came from the Commonwealth, with 17% coming from the Caribbean islands.

Circuit of The Americas (COTA) is proud to announce Race Against Dementia (RAD) as the featured charity for the 2022 Formula 1 Aramco United States Grand Prix and the Circuit’s 10th anniversary. RAD is a non-profit created by three-time Formula 1 World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart, OBE in 2016. Sir Jackie Stewart, OBE helped showcase the first USGP held at COTA in 2012.

As the nights become longer, people across Birmingham are preparing to set reminders to wind their clocks back on 30 October to reflect the change in season.

Despite this routine occurring twice every year, many people are caught out by the extra hour lost or gained. But for people with dementia in Birmingham, where there are an estimated 11,900 people living with condition, the time change may cause more than just a surprise.

Black Country Women’s Aid is running a chance of a lifetime sponsored challenge to support victims of domestic abuse. The thrilling event will see participants ‘fired’ up and walking over hot embers in the grounds of Dudley Arms in Himley on Wednesday 26^th October between 6 pm and 9 pm.

Dudley Councillor, Shaz Saleem, will be fundraising and braving the Firewalk among many other local Black Country community groups including: Black Country Aggregates (sponsors), Pavers (sponsors), The Enchanted Florist, Land Rover, Tile Choice, Jo Downing Martial Arts. Black Country Women’s Aid staff will be getting involved too.

NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board has announced the appointment Bernadette Hanney into the role of independent chair of the local maternity services quality oversight and improvement group. This new leadership role, reporting to the chair of the Birmingham and Solihull local maternity and neonatal system (LMNS) Lisa Stalley-Green, will be pivotal in driving forward quality improvements through listening to service users and working with clinicians and staff within the LMNS, ensuring that the voices of women and families are central to decision making.

Around 100 adult social care providers are benefitting from additional support from the City of Wolverhampton Council to help them cope with pressures from increased energy costs and rising inflation.

It includes financial support already totalling £240,000 for registered care homes, extra care, home care and supported living providers – with more expected to receive financial support in the coming days.

A special event will be held to mark the official opening of the new Bilston Memory Café on Tuesday (11 October). The support group, for people living with dementia and their family, friends or carers, will then meet on the second Tuesday of every month at Bilston Sports and Social Club, Wellington Road, Bilston.

People are being encouraged to think of the small things they can do to be kind to their minds this World Mental Health Day (Monday October 10).

Mental health problems can affect anyone, at any time, and the NHS Every Mind Matters campaign offers simple tips about the small things people can do to look after their mental wellbeing; for details, visit www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters.

The NHS is urgently calling for Black donors to give blood to help people with sickle cell disease as the demand for donations reaches record levels. About 250 donations are needed every day to help treat the blood disorder in England. But currently only about half of all hospital requests are being met with matched blood, the NHS says.