Are you going to the FREE Keep Warm, Keep Well Over 50's Event in Southport?

WITH forecasts now predicting colder weather, an nPower warmth scheme available to vulnerable residents across England and Wales, including Merseyside, is encouraging people to keep an eye on vulnerable friends, family and neighbours who are ill and may be affected by the cold.

The scheme works with a range of community organisations, charities and Local Authorities to assist vulnerable homeowners with the funding and installation or repair of crucial heating measures in the home.

People may qualify for help if they have a long term illness, a low income with little or no savings and are unable to fully fund measures, such as a new boiler, themselves.

Sarah Heaney, nPower Health Through Warmth scheme manager, comments:- "With winter now here, and temperatures set to drop in the weeks ahead, it's important that people look out for the vulnerable in their communities. We're calling on residents in Merseyside to keep an eye on friends, family and neighbours, whose health could be made worse because of a broken down heating system."

Since being founded in 2000, more than 85,000 vulnerable residents across England and Wales, including 8,723 in Merseyside, have been referred to nPower Health Through Warmth for assistance with heating and insulation.

Eligible residents do not have to be, or become, an nPower customer to benefit from the scheme. 

For more information about the scheme or to find out if you or someone you know could be eligible for help repairing or replacing a broken boiler or heating system, contact Energy Projects Plus, who manage the scheme locally, on:- 0151 6394308 or visit:- HealthThroughWarmth.Com.

Mental health support teams to be established

A team of mental health support specialists is to be established in Liverpool schools after the City secured almost ₤2.5 million from the Government. Liverpool was named as 1 of 25 'trailblazer' areas by the Department of Health just before Christmas, and now a report to the Council's Cabinet is outlining more details of the scheme. The City Council will work with Liverpool's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Liverpool CAMHS Partnership, YPAS (Young Peoples Advisory Service) and local schools to transform children's mental health care. 3 area based teams will be established to support:- 120 Primary, 33 Secondary and 12 Special Schools, as well as 22 alternative education providers and Liverpool Community College. They will build on existing support from School Counsellors, Nurses and Educational Psychologists and the voluntary sector.

Cabinet member for children's social care, Cllr Barry Kushner, said:- "It is obviously good to get any additional resources from Government, and particularly for children's mental health.  The increase in the numbers of children as young as 7 with mental ill health is putting increasing pressure on Schools, early help and specialist services. We will work with our partners to build up our early help offer with the aim of stopping problems becoming crises.  This is an area of work which needs to be a funding priority for the Government and I hope more opportunities to secure money will be made available in the future."

Overall, the number of school pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs in Liverpool increased from 1,833 to 2,139, from 2015 to 2017, that is around 3% of the School population, and significantly higher than the national average. Liverpool has recently launched a number of new initiatives to tackle the issue, including:- Mental Health 1st Aid Champions, within every Secondary School, a mental health course developed for Primary Schools, dedicated sessions from specialists and the creation of a mental health toolkit.

Dr Fiona Lemmens, a Liverpool GP and Chair for NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said:- "We know that there is an increasing demand for the provision of mental health services for children and young people across Liverpool. The additional capacity and funding that this will bring to the City will help us to work closely with our partners in the Local Authority and education to ensure that children, young people, and their families, are able to access the mental health support they need at the earliest opportunity."

The teams will directly treat children with mild to moderate mental health issues and provide access to NHS services for those with more severe needs. The Department for Education is also funding training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges, who will work closely with the Mental Health Support Teams to ensure children and young people get the right help as soon as possible. Following recruitment and training, the aim is for the Mental Health Teams to be fully operational by December 2019. The report will be considered by Cabinet, on Friday, 11 January 2019.