Unite/CPHVA conference

SOUTHPORT over Wednesday, 14 October 2009 to Friday, 16 October 2009, was being used by the Unite/CPHVA for a major conference. Joining Unite/CPHVA president, Lord Victor Adebowale; Unite/CPHVA chair, Angela Roberts; Unite joint general secretary, Derek Simpson and other representatives of the Unite/CPHVA on the stage, was Lord Laming. Also present were; The Health Secretary, Andy Burnham; Children's Secretary Ed Balls and Claire Bertschinger who was an International Red Cross Nurse, and who inspired Bob Geldof to put together the Band Aid charity. But it was not all talk as the delegates also protesting against NHS privatisation and even conducted workshops and masterclasses for members.

Our editor was so impressed by the workshops and masterclasses that he came away fascinated, and wanting more, just like many of those who officially took part.

The event also had a massive Exhibition, with local services, like Sefton NHS and other Sefton Health related groups on hand, along with many national and international businesses and groups. When all that was being taken in, a civic reception was also hosted by the Mayor of Sefton on the Wednesday, and for entertainment, a fantastic party was then held in Prince of Wales Hotel on the Thursday. "It has been a fantastic event", a group of local nurses from Southport informed us.

 That was backed up by many others who said it was one of their best ever conferences. One of the many officials commented, "Staff at the Ramada Hotel and also at Southport Theatre Complex could not do enough for us. It was truly fantastic. Also, the people in Southport have been so friendly and helpful, we would like to say thank you to all of you who made us welcome."

Let's hope they re-visit soon. We will have far more photographs and a small report in next week's issue about the event, but for the full coverage, go to commprac.com in December 2009. Also Community Practitioner news clips are now available on Unite/CPHVA'sPublic TV channel, see:- channel . . .

New Alcohol Profiles for England show levels of alcohol related harm in each Local Authority and Primary Care Trust

THE latest Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE 2009) are released by the North West Public Health Observatory, based in the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University.

This is the 4th annual publication of LAPE. The profiles contain 23 alcohol-related indicators for every local authority and primary care trust in England. These measure the impact of alcohol on local communities, and include the Government’s National Alcohol Indicator (NI39) – hospital admissions for alcohol-related harm. Using key indicators we calculate a list of those local authorities experiencing the highest and lowest levels of alcohol-related harm in England.

Key findings from the profiles:-

* Numbers of people being admitted to hospital in 2007/8 due to alcohol rose by 6% to 561,642 individuals or an increase of 31,641 people since 2006/07.

* Deaths in 2007/8 from chronic liver disease increased by 2.8% for men to 10,928 individuals and by 2.4% for women to 6,293 individuals.

* Latest figures for the National Alcohol Indicator (NI39) show that there were 863,257 admissions to hospital for alcohol-related harm in England in 2007/08, an 8% increase from the previous year or an additional 176 alcohol-related admissions every day.

* Claims for Incapacity Benefit /Severe Disablement Allowance due to alcoholism rose by 2.6% to 42,000 in 2007/2008, whilst deaths from transport accidents attributable to alcohol fell by 2% or a decrease of 59 deaths from the previous year.

* While there are variations in trends between local authority areas, 82% saw an increase in hospital admissions for alcohol-related harm in 2007/8, 29% had less than a 5% change and only 8% showed a decrease of over 5%.

* In general, those areas of England that are ranked high for one alcohol indicator are also high for others, therefore a single measure of alcohol-related harm was created to compare areas. With the exception of City of Kingston upon Hull and Middlesbrough, 8 of the 10 local authority areas with the highest levels of alcohol-related harm are in the North West, namely Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Rochdale, Halton, Tameside, Bolton and Oldham.

* The local authorities with the lowest levels of alcohol-related harm, mainly in the south of England, are Broadland, East Dorset, South Norfolk, Sevenoaks, South Northamptonshire, North Kesteven, West Devon, Wokingham, Three Rivers and Brentwood.

MR MOTIVATOR URGES MERSEYSIDERS TO GET ENERGIZED AND GET MOVING FOR RNID’S CYCLE CHALLENGE

LEGENDARY fitness instructor, Mr Motivator, is calling on Merseysiders to get fit, get energized and sign-up now for RNID’s London to Paris cycle challenge and raise vital funds for the charity’s work with hearing loss and hearing health.

The charity would like to hear from cyclists who are up for pedaling the 300km between the two capitals on 25 June 2010 to  28 June 2010.  Places will be awarded on a first come, first served basis to fundraisers who pay a registration fee of £150 and raising a minimum of £1100. People who sign up before 30 November 2009 will receive a 15% discount on their registration fee.

Mr Motivator says:- "Everybody say 'Yeah!' and use plenty of positive mental attitude to sign-up for RNID’s London to Paris cycle challenge and change the world for people who are deaf or hard of hearing!  I’m calling on the people of Merseyside to get fit and get motivated for this once in a lifetime experience and raise vital funds for RNID’s work creating a world where deafness or hearing loss don’t limit opportunity, and where people value their hearing."

If Mr Motivator has inspired you to take up RNID’s challenge, contact Louise Phillips, on telephone / textphone:- 0845 634 0687 (local rate), email or visit www.rnid.org.uk/pariscycle.

EURO-MPS ACCUSED OF "FAILING FREEDOM"

A North West Euro-MP has attacked his UKIP and Conservative counterparts for failing to support press freedom across Europe.

Liberal Democrat Chris Davies launched his attack after a motion specifically condemning the control of the Italian media by prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was defeated by the closest possible margin of votes, 338 to 338.

Opponents of the measure said that the European Union should not interfere in the business of individual countries that could be determined nationally.

But Davies accused them of demonstrating a skin deep commitment to freedom.

He said:- "The European Union is proud to proclaim its commitment to liberty and democracy, but once again we have failed to stand up for our principles or point the finger at those who let them down."