Hospital staff help patients quit smoking

A campaign to help smokers quit while they are patients in hospital has been launched by Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust. It is being led by stop smoking nurse Beverley Rothwell.

"Every smoker who is admitted to hospital will be offered help to stop smoking while they are in hospital followed by support in the community when they are discharged. We have built up a team of 15 staff champions who provide a link to the stop smoking team and support patients while they're on the wards." said Beverley, who works for NHS Sefton.

Elaine Downey, from NHS Central Lancashire stop smoking service, is supporting the campaign at Ormskirk hospital.

She added:- "It's never too late to stop smoking and the service we offer is free whether you are a patient or not. With the support we offer, deciding to stop smoking while you're a patient in hospital can really give your chances of quitting a boost."

The Trust's campaign is being supported with posters, leaflets and ward materials sponsored by pharmaceutical company Pfizer which promote hospital stop smoking services.

Both Beverley and Elaine are promoting the campaign at both hospitals since 12 July 2010.

Angela Kelly, Deputy Director of Nursing at the hospital trust, said:- "There is compelling evidence that programmes to stop smoking that begin during a hospital stay and include follow-up support for at least one month after discharge are effective."

Trust chairman Sir Ron Watson CBE said:- "The Trust is smokefree in both our buildings and throughout the hospital grounds. This excellent programme will support patients, visitors and staff who want to quit, improving their own health and the environment of everyone around them."

Anyone can get help to stop smoking by calling:- 0300 100 1000 (Sefton residents) or on:- 0800 328 6297 (West Lancashire).

14 YEAR OLD STILL MISSING - FENNICK KHOSHNAW

MERSEYSIDE Police are becoming increasingly concerned about the whereabouts of 14 year old Fennick Khoshnaw of Alder Road,
West Derby, who has not been seen since Wednesday, 14 July 2010. As soon as we have a picture we will put it out as Merseyside Police have told us that there is no picture available at this time. Fennick was last seen leaving school on Queens Drive at around 10.50am this morning and has not been in contact since. She is described as dark European, 5ft 4in tall, of slim build with long dark hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing her school uniform which is a bottle green blazer and skirt. Fennick has frequented the Kensington area. Officers would urge anyone who has seen Fennick since this morning to contact Merseyside Police:- 0151 709 6010 or the Missing Persons helpline on Missing Persons Helpline in confidence on:- 0500 700 700.

Passengers have their say on Merseyside’s buses

AS part of its drive to improve bus services and make a difference for passengers, the independent watchdog Passenger Focus has found out what over 1900 passengers in Merseyside think about their bus services. Overall satisfaction was 88%, with Arriva’s services rated 87% and Stagecoach’s 86%.

Satisfaction with key attributes are:-

► Getting a seat (89%)

► Length of time the journey took (86%)

► Journey‘s smoothness and freedom from jolting (79%)

► Length of time spent waiting for the bus (78%)

► Punctuality (75%)

This bus passenger satisfaction research which was published today is part of an ongoing nationwide programme of bus passenger satisfaction research in 14 areas – a mix of metropolitan, urban and rural areas to reflect the different type of
journeys that passengers make. The surveys took place in Cumbria, Manchester, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Medway (Kent), Stoke-on-Trent, Brighton, Plymouth, Swindon, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Hampshire and Shropshire.

Over 18,500 passengers participated in this detailed investigation which looked at many aspects of passengers’ journeys. This report is the biggest single survey of bus passenger views ever to be published in England.

Julie Warburton, Passenger Focus manager, said:- “Our research has found that most people are happy with many aspects of bus services in Merseyside. However, over a quarter (26%) of passengers were unhappy with the frequency of buses and more than a fifth (21%) of fare-paying passengers were also dissatisfied with value for money. Passenger Focus has explained these findings to Merseytravel, Arriva and Stagecoach and is pressing them to focus their efforts on delivering what passengers want."

FATAL RTC IN HESWALL AREA

MERSEYSIDE Police have confirm that the man who died on Tuesday, 13 July 2010, as a result of a road traffic collision on Telegraph Road, Heswall is 48 year old Paul Smith from the Heswall area. The cause of death cannot be established at this stage and a post mortem will be carried out shortly. Enquiries are ongoing into the incident. Merseyside Police are still appealing for information about the collision. Merseyside Police said that:- "At about 8.45am officers received reports that a silver Ford Mondeo being driven along Telegraph Road, near to a Tesco Superstore, in the direction of Thursaston had left the carriageway and collided with a tree. The 48 year old driver of the vehicle was taken to hospital for treatment where he later died. A passenger in the car received slight injuries. Anyone who may have witnessed the incident to are asked to contact them us on:- 0151 777 5771."