News reports located on this page = 4.

Hospice hosts special visit from Liverpool's King of Swing

PATIENTS, volunteers and staff at St. Joseph's Hospice received a very special visitor this week from Liverpool's very own King of Swing, Asa Murphy. Asa, who also hosts a show on BBC Radio Merseyside, visited the Hospice along with his colleague, entertainer and compere Ronnie Orr. The pair toured the Hospice with clinical Director, Clare Waller, before putting on a very special acoustic performance for patients, volunteers and staff in the Hospice lounge. Asa and Ronnie have worked together for many years and together star in Asa's very own show, Buddy Holly Lives. During their visit to the Hospice, Asa played a fantastic medley of tunes from the show, which will be returning to the Epstein Theatre in June.

Asa and Ronnie will be supporting the Hospice yet again, on Friday, 21 June 2019, at its Midsummer Night Ball, when Asa will perform live with his swing band. The night will be compered by Ronnie who is all set to help the Hospice raise thousands of pounds during the evening. The Midsummer Night Ball takes place on the summer solstice at Liverpool's Crowne Plaza and it promises to be a night of glitz and glamour.  Tickets to the black tie event cost just ₤65 per person and include a drink on arrival, plus a delicious 3 course meal and live entertainment. There will also be a raffle and an auction with some incredible prizes.

Norma Young, head of fundraising for the Hospice, said:- "We were so grateful to Asa and Ronnie for coming to visit the Hospice; everyone had such a wonderful time signing and dancing along to some classic hits from Buddy Holy and we can't wait to hear Asa again at our Midsummer Ball, in June 2019. The Ball will be a fantastic celebration of the Hospice and our recent 'Good' rating from the Care Quality Commission. We are asking people to dig deep in support of the Hospice so that we can improve and develop our services and facilities and care for more local people who are in need of palliative and end of life care. Please book your tickets and show your support."

To buy tickets for the Midsummer Night Charity Ball, visit:- Jospice.Org.UK, call 0151 932 6044 or email:- Events@Jospice.Org.UK.

Stadler starts training people to service and maintain the new fleet of trains for the Liverpool City Region

AHEAD of the introduction of the new trains, training for Stadler employees who will look after them recently began in Switzerland. Spanning three months, the development programme also involves stints in:- East Anglia, Spain, Germany, and the company's 2 depots, located on Merseyside.

8 members of staff from the Birkenhead North depot, including 3 apprentices, spent 2 days, at 6 Stadler factories in Switzerland. The purpose of the trip was to introduce the team to the firm's range of vehicles, facilities and ways of working. The group visited Stadler's headquarters in Bussnang, as well as sites in Erlen, St Gallen, St Margrethen, Wil and Winterthur, seeing for themselves the various stages of building and maintaining a train.

They were educated in the manufacturing process, from the procurement of raw materials to the end product, included forging, milling, cleaning and painting. They observed quality inspections to ensure that components met both Stadler's high standards and customer specifications.

In the final leg of the trip, the group got a 1st glimpse of the new Merseyrail trains, which are being purchased by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and built to their specifications. They viewed the trains at different stages of assembly, learning about cabling, pipe work and other components, such as airconditioning
and battery boxes.

The group has just started a spell in East Anglia, where new Stadler trains will soon enter passenger service on the Greater Anglia network. At the end of May 2019, they will go to Stadler's Valencia plant, where the bogies for the new Liverpool City Region trains are being built. Then, they will head for Wildenrath in Germany to see them being tested. A 2nd group will start a similar training programme in August 2019.

Thomas Zweifel, programme director for Stadler Rail Service UK, commented:- "The group got off to an excellent start and clearly learned a lot about Stadler products and practices. Our vehicles are highly innovative, relying on very sophisticated technology. I am confident that by the end of the training, they will be well equipped to service and maintain the new trains. Running on the Merseyrail system, they are being tailormade for the Liverpool City Region."

Keith Chapman, technician at Stadler Rail Service UK, added:- "The couple of days spent at Stadler locations in Switzerland gave us a fantastic insight into what it's going to be like to work with the new trains. I gained such a lot of knowledge and seeing them at various stages of development in Altenrhein really brought the project to life for me. I'm excited about the rest of this training programme and already feel better prepared to maintain the new fleet."

The 1st new train for the Liverpool City Region is set to arrive on the patch for testing and commissioning later in 2019 The fleet will be introduced into passenger service from 2020. Merseyrail frequently tops industry league tables for performance, and Stadler, as maintainer of the current fleet, is proud to contribute to their success. While the new Stadler trains will be looked after in a very different way to the legacy fleet, with more emphasis on computer based diagnostics, every effort will be made to build on these healthy scores.

Nursing recruitment event for Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals

ON Saturday, 11 May 2019, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust will be hosting another nursing recruitment event, from 11am to 3pm. This will be at Southport hospital, in the Clinical Education Centre. Roles are available for band 5 Registered Nurses or Student Nurses, soon to qualify.  Teams will be on hand to answer questions about different departments and what it is like to work here. Advice will be available about career development and training. NHS Professionals will also be on hand for anyone looking for temporary roles with the nursing bank.  Interviews and advice will be available between:- 11am to 3pm, on a drop in basis. Or you can apply online beforehand via NHSjobs, and booked appointments will be confirmed.

Fiona Barnes, Deputy Director of Nursing explains:- "We are continually investing in new staff, with special focus on nurses; who play such a fundamental role in providing care to our patients. We find recruitment events this like make the job application process easier for busy nurses or students. Just pop along for an hour or so, and potentially go home with a job offer. We are in a much stronger position now than in recent years, with increased investment in staffing, facilities and our buildings to help us to improve our service to match increasing demands. We are keen to talk to nurses in the area about the opportunities ahead for our Trust and staff."

For more information please contact:- Penny.Sinclair1@NHS.Net or J.Needham2@NHS.Net.

Local Helpline needs you!

LANCASHIRE Care NHS Foundation Trust's Wellbeing and Mental Health Helpline is looking for caring and compassionate individuals who have an interest in mental health to volunteer within their busy listening service. The Wellbeing and Mental Health Helpline is currently looking for people who live in Lancashire, with an FY or PR postcode, and want to make a real difference to people's lives to provide a listening ear to callers in times of need. The service is looking for individuals that can spare 4 hours a fortnight to provide a listening and emotional support service for those concerned about their own mental health or that of someone they know. The Helpline is open Monday to Friday, 7pm to 11pm and Saturday and Sunday, 12 midday until midnight.

Lorraine Khalaf, Wellbeing and Mental Health Helpline Manager at Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust said:- "Volunteers are a necessity within the Wellbeing and Mental Health Helpline, especially during busy evening and weekend shifts. During these hours we receive a high volume of calls and it is important that we have volunteers to provide the listening ear and support our callers need. We truly value the contributions from each and every 1 of our volunteers and we recognise that they help us to provide excellent care and support to the people in Lancashire. By volunteering people are able to learn new skills, build on existing ones, meet new people and make a difference to so many lives in Lancashire!"

Those interested in becoming a volunteer will be required to complete a 4 week training package and full reference and DBS checks will be made. If you are interested in volunteering then please the Wellbeing and Mental Health Helpline for more information. To request an application pack please contact the helpline admin office on:- 01253 447905 or via going online. The closing date for applications is 31 May 2019.