City nurse helps improve Hong Kong healthcare

A Liverpool nurse was invited to run a training session with a difference; It was in Hong Kong.

Margaret Carran, a Nurse Clinician for Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust, was invited to teach nursing staff in Hong Kong
how to set up and manage Walk-in Centres.

The trip was funded through organisation Advanced Nurse Education, which approached Liverpool Community Health to ask for the Trust’s assistance in giving Advanced Nurses at the Kwong Wah Hospital in Kowloon training and advice to enable them to set up nurse led and Walk-in Centre services throughout Hong Kong.

There are four NHS Walk-in Centres in Liverpool, providing fast and convenient access to NHS advice and treatment, including the only Children’s Walk-in Centre in the UK - Smithdown Children’s Walk-in Centre.

The Walk-in Centres provide consultations, advice and treatment for minor injuries and illnesses, as well as providing emergency contraception and advice and Chlamydia screening for under 25’s.

Liverpool Community Health sees, on average, 125,000 Walk-in Centre patients a year, helping to reduce A&E admissions at hospitals such as the Royal Liverpool Hospital and University Hospital Aintree.

Margaret was one of the pioneers of developing nurse led services within Liverpool, including what are now the Walk-in Centres in Garston and Old Swan.

She was also the first nurse in the UK to provide developmental assessment for Liverpool babies within nurse led community clinics.

The mixture of both clinical and professional credibility within Nurse led and Walk-in centre services made her the ideal candidate in forging international links with Hong Kong who are hoping to develop these same services within their own community.

Margaret, from Ainsdale in Southport, said:- “I was delighted to be asked to take part in this programme and loved showing the nurses in Hong Kong how they could improve the service they were giving to their patients. They were fascinated hearing about our experiences in the UK, and it was really interesting comparing the differences in the ways nurses in the two countries operate. As well as enjoying the teaching element of it, it was brilliant to see Hong Kong’s amazing culture which can be seen in every element of society – there was even a museum in the middle of the hospital.”

Are the Unions and Government threatening recovery?

IF you hear the government, they say we have to cut, but are we cutting too fast and too deep? Many claim there is no cash to meet demands for any wage demands, so what would be the long term effects on the chances of national recovery, if strike action follows if any such possible claims are refused? With what many see as the flagrant disregard for the plight of others on the part of high flying bankers and civil servants exacerbating the situation, can they be deterred? Commenting on the news that inflation has reached its highest level in two years, Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:- “The misery keeps piling on for families across the country. Food and gas prices are soaring. For low paid public sector workers stuck on a pay freeze for up to three years, making ends meet is a daily battle. It’s quite another story in the city, where all this trouble started. Barclay’s investments bankers are getting bumper salary rises. Other bankers are still getting huge bonuses. The government must take action – the bubble is going to burst. You cannot expect people to continue to put up with rising prices, job and pay cuts indefinitely.” Can we pull the rabbit out of the hat once more? So what are your views? Will this be a ‘Summer of Discontent’? How can we fix the mess we are in and get things back on track especially as much of our cash to be being taken out of the UK by foreign companies? However, we are traditionally a resolute nation and have risen to great challenges before. Email your views to:- news24@southportreporter.com.

RACEHORSE STEPS OUT AT HAYDOCK PARK ON THE £250,000 'TOTESPORT ROAD TO AINTREE'

LEADING Grand National fancy West End Rocker bids for the second part of a £250,000 bonus at Haydock Park Racecourse on Saturday, 19 February 2011 on the way to Aintree glory.  The quarter of a million pounds payout comes courtesy of the 'totesport Road to Aintree' scheme developed with Jockey Club Racecourses.  The 25-1 chance for the Grand National won the opening part of the challenge at Warwick Racecourse last month. This Saturday, he goes for the £75,000 totesport.com Grand National Trial at Haydock. If successful there and at Aintree, the bonus comes his way.  West End Rocker will be challenged in this weekend's three and a half mile race by Silver By Nature which is targeting a repeat win in Haydock Park's major mid-season jumps race.  More opposition comes in the form of Grand National-winning trainer Venetia Williams's Mobaasher as well as by Le Beau Bai.  Dickon White, Haydock Park's managing director, said:- "We're looking forward to a tremendously exciting start to the new totesport.com Grand National Trial. In recent years we have seen winners from our corresponding races such as Rambling Minster, Forest Gunner and Shotgun Willy go on to Aintree with live chances in the Grand National itself."  Other notable horses to have won the race in the past include Cool Ground, which won the 1992 renewal en route to winning the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup and Party Politics, which won at Haydock Park the year after his Grand National success.The Tote also sponsor another four races on Saturday's card, including the Rendlesham Hurdle, the Victor Ludorum Juvenile Novices' Hurdle and the Walrus Hunter Chase.  The opening race on Saturday, 19 February 2011, is at 1.45pm, with the finale at 5pm.

*Admission is £12 into the Newton Enclosure, £20 into Tattersalls, £30 into the County Enclosure, and £45 into the Premier Suite. Accompanied children aged under 18 enter free. Senior citizens and students, with appropriate identification, enter Tattersalls at half price. Further information can be found at:- www.haydock-park.co.uk where tickets can be purchased in advance. Tickets hotline:- 0844 579 3006.