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Make a splash at
Southport hospital
SOUTHPORT hospital is offering supervised
exercise classes in its very own swimming pool.
The pool is part of the North West Spinal Injuries Centre but is
available for 6 sessions a week to members of the public.
Class supervisor Lin Griffiths said:- "We cater for all
abilities, but the classes are ideal for people who are non-swimmers
or nervous in the water. The pool gently shelves from 3ft to
5ft deep and is kept at a constant 34C. Most of the sessions are
mixed sex but we have a ladies' only class on Monday."
There is a small charge of £3 per head for each session.
Anyone interested in taking part should call:- 01704 704059 and ask
for Lin or Sue Hall during the day or John Thompson at evenings and
the weekends. Consumers in the
North West may be entitled to compensation
CONSUMERS may be entitled
to compensation if they have lost money as a result of their
dealings with the two insurance brokers the Financial Services
Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has declared in default.
The FSCS is the UK's statutory compensation scheme for customers of
regulated financial services firms. A declaration of default means
the FSCS is satisfied the firms from Preston and Thornton-Cleveleys
are unable to pay claims for compensation themselves. This paves the
way for customers to apply to the FSCS for compensation. The FSCS
does not charge individual consumers for using its service.
Mark Oakes, Head of Communications at the FSCS says, "The
Financial Services Compensation Scheme is here to help consumers
when authorised firms go bust. We have already started paying
compensation in respect of this firm. However, anyone else who
believes they may be owed money as a result of their dealings with
the firm should contact our Initial Contact Team if they have not
yet applied for compensation."
For claims relating to insurance advice or arranging, the FSCS can
pay 90% of the value of a claim with no upper limit per person per
firm declared in default on or after 1 January 2010.
Since 2001, FSCS has protected more than 4.5m people and paid out
£26bn in compensation when financial services firms went bust. It is
independent and is funded by financial services firms.
The FSCS Initial Contact Team can be contacted on:- 0800 678 1100 or
020 7741 4100 or via:-
email. Further information
about the FSCS is available on its
website. |
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Pets at Home
Southport welcomes introduction of compulsory microchipping
PETS at Home Southport is
welcoming brand new Government legislation which will make it
compulsory for all dogs in England and Wales to be microchipped by
April 2016.
The new law, announced by the Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (DEFRA), details that it will be the responsibility of
dog owners to ensure their pet is microchipped and there will be
fines for non-compliance. It will also be an owner's responsibility
to keep their contact details up to date on the national microchip
database.
Pets at Home Southport has been offering microchipping to its
customers since 2012 and sees the service as a fundamental part of
caring for pets responsibly, as well as a way of ensuring owners are
less likely to go through the heartache of losing a pet permanently.
Amongst all of the 335 Pets at Home stores nationwide, there are
colleagues who are fully trained in all aspects of pet care,
including microchipping, making it incredibly convenient for pet
owners to drop in and make use of the service.
Colleagues at the store explained that for the majority of pet
owners, the 'peace of mind' guarantee is worth the associated cost.
The latest available figures show that there are 8.3million dogs in
Britain and more than half have already been microchipped (Pet Food
Manufacturers Associated (PFMA) survey 2011). According to DEFRA,
there are roughly 125,000 stray dogs in England and Wales and
roughly 6,000 healthy animals are destroyed every year because they
have no permanent home.
The new legislation is also cautiously welcomed by the RSPCA, which
signed a groundbreaking partnership deal with Pets at Home last
year. Both the petcare retailer and charity are united in promoting
responsible pet ownership, of which providing an accessible and
affordable microchipping service in all stores is a key component.
Store manager David Salisbury said:- "After a long period of
discussion, we're thrilled that the Government has recognised the
importance of microchipping in improving responsible dog ownership.
Not only will the new law give pet owners the security of knowing
they can trace their dogs should they ever go missing, it will also
make it easier for Police to tackle issues with dangerous dogs and
negligent owners. Microchipping is a simple, relatively painless and
essential procedure for ensuring the welfare of your pet. It's a
fool-proof method of keeping your pet safe."
The chip is roughly the size of a grain of rice, fits under the
dog's skin and contains information about its owner, making it
easier for both to be reunited should they become separated for
whatever reason.
At Pets at Home, when a chip is implanted, every pet is given a
unique code number, which is then stored along with the owner's
contact details on the UK's largest registration database, Petlog.
For more information on microchipping, please contact your local
Pets at Home store.
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