National Grid engineers where on standby to keep homes warm over Christmas
TEAMS of
National Grid engineers didn't clock off this Festive Season, as had
been on call to deal with gas emergencies across the North West.
Even on Christmas Day, they kept working to make sure that homes
stayed warm and the turkeys could be cooked to perfection. So, on
Christmas Day and if you had smelt gas, you could have called the
National Gas Emergency Service on:- 0800 111 999 as normal!
In 2013, National Grid engineers responded to 2,942 emergency calls
over the festive period across the region and 90 of these were on
Christmas Day:-
► Manchester, 265 calls.
► Manchester City Centre, 216 calls
► Macclesfield, 268 calls.
► Oldham, 187 calls.
► Wirral 150 calls.
► Liverpool City Centre, 154 calls.
► Southport/Bootle, 168 calls.
► Garston, 178 calls.
► Ellesmere Port, 133 calls.
► Crewe, 95 calls.
► St Helens, 190 calls.
► Accrington, 149 calls.
► Blackpool, 123 calls.
► Barrow, 30 calls.
► Kirby Lonsdale, 77 calls.
► Preston, 193 calls.
► Horwich, 202 calls.
► Wigan, 164 calls.
The company is urging people to make a note of the emergency number
and not to hesitate to call it if they have a problem with their gas
supply or suffer the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning:-
headaches, dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, collapse and loss of
consciousness. No what time of the year, you should always use
this number!
Faulty or badly maintained gas appliances can leak deadly carbon
monoxide (CO) gas, causing death or serious injury and householders
may be unaware of problems with appliances that haven't been used
for a while until they hit the 'on' button. Some 50
people a year die of carbon monoxide poisoning, but National Grid
has 3 simple life saving tips to keep people safe:-
► Ensure gas appliances are installed, maintained and fixed by a Gas
Safe registered engineer.
► Get your gas appliances checked annually by a Gas Safe registered
engineer.
► As a backup, buy and install an audible carbon monoxide detector.
They can be bought for as little as £15, are simple to install and
could save your life!
A list of Gas Safe Registered engineers, who are qualified to work
legally and safely on gas appliances, is available on the Gas Safe
website.
Further information
about the National Gas Emergency Service, along with advice about
gas safety and helpful videos, can be found
online.
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Hospital Alcohol Liaison Team support Dry January!
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THE Hospital
Alcohol Liaison Team (HALT) at Southport and Ormskirk
Hospital NHS Trust are encouraging staff and patients alike to take
part in:- "Dry January".
Dry January is an initiative by the charity Alcohol Concern that
encourages people to take a month off from alcohol following the
excess of the festive period. 'HALT' will be hosting a
stand at Southport hospital in the 1st week of January explaining
the benefits of going dry for January.
Research has shown that, after completing Dry January found that out
of 72% of participants had sustained reduced levels of harmful
drinking 6 months later. The 23% of people who had "harmful
alcohol consumption" when they started Dry January are now
in the "low risk" category 4% of participants were
still dry 6 months on Mandy Smith, Lead Alcohol Specialist Nurse,
said:- "People who have taken part in Dry January have
reported feeling healthier, losing weight, having more money and
taking up new hobbies. There are great benefits to be had from
taking part, even if it is just for the month!"
The 'HALT' team also works in partnership with
'Lifeline Sefton' and 'DISCOVER' West
Lancashire to provide support for those with alcohol dependency. For
more information on "Dry January". you can visit the
'HALT' team at Southport hospital, outside the
restaurant on the 1st floor, during the 1st week of January 2015.
You can also visit:-
dryjanuary.org.uk.
Santa captured on our Santa Cam
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THIS
image was taken by our annual Santa Cam of Santa whilst delivering presents
to us on Merseyside. This year we teamed up again with
EmailSanta.com and others to
help track his progress over Christmas Eve and into the morning of
Christmas Day. So did you see him on our Santa Cam? If
you did please let us know! The Santa Cam will be returning
again next Christmas, but we will be going even more high-tec!
This year we would like to say a very big thank you to Andy Johnson
for helping us to get the camera installed successfully. If
you missed him, we will be adding a video to our Facebook
Page on Monday, 29 December
2014.
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