Southport Lifeboat statement about the new Station's delay

Additional mental health support for Schools across Wirral

YOUNG people in Wirral will soon receive enhanced mental health and wellbeing support in Schools and Colleges following the announcement of new NHS funding. As part of NHS England's national investment into young people's mental health services, a partnership between local mental health provider CWP and Wirral Health and Care Commissioning (including Education) has been successful in a bid for additional funding to develop new Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) across Wirral.

The programme includes just under a ₤1million funding invested into local mental health provision and aims for Wirral MHSTs to be established by September 2020, in pilot Schools. MHSTs will deliver immediate advice and early intervention on mild to moderate mental health and emotional wellbeing issues, such as:- anxiety, behavioural difficulties or friendship issues, as well as providing help to staff within a School and College setting. The teams will act as a link with local children and young people's mental health services and be supervised by NHS staff.

Sheena Cumiskey, CWP Chief Executive, said:- "I'm delighted that, together with our local partners, we've been able to secure additional funding to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people in our communities. We know that 50% of mental health problems are established by age 14, and a key part of the NHS Long Term Plan is embedding mental health support in Schools and Colleges. It's wonderful to see health and education experts coming together to ensure our young people can receive the right support in the right place at the right time."

Simon Banks, Chief Officer, Wirral Health and Care Commissioning said:- "A key part of Wirral's approach to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people is to build resilience and address mental health concerns before they become severe. The investment in Mental Health Support Teams in Schools will enable more children to receive support and will help prevent mental health problems developing. This collaboration between Schools, Local Authority and the NHS is a great example of Wirral's focus on joint-working between agencies and reflects the wider partnership approach of Wirral Health and Care Commissioning."

For more information about CWP visit:- CWP.NHS.UK.

Cats Protection urgently needs donations and volunteers in Southport

THE opening of the new Cats Protection charity shop in Southport has been such a resounding success that staff are now appealing for donations to help replenish its shelves. The shop, on Lord Street, Southport, opened its door in August 2019, and staff have been delighted with how local people have embraced them. The cat charity is appealing for people to come forward with, good quality goods, particularly good quality 2nd hand clothes and fiction books, to help give local cats a brighter future. The shop is also on the lookout for volunteers to join its fledgling team.

"As a brand new shop we have been amazed at how welcoming people of the Town have been, with customers flocking in to check out our goods. Now we are urging people to have a clear out at home, where there must be unwanted gifts or clothes that are taking up valuable cupboard space which would really help us out. The revenue the shop generates is used to supply essential cat re-homing services. Without this support, we would have to turn away many unwanted cats." said shop manager Andrea Spruce.

Sadly many cats are still given up or abandoned every day, placing a heavy burden on the charity's services. Cats Protection has around 5,000 cats in its care at any one time across the country, all being looked after until loving new homes are found. Anyone interested in volunteering their time to work in the shop can email them or pop in for a chat. Cats Protection's Southport shop is part of the charity's national network of around 250 volunteer run branches, 36 centres and over 120 shops that together help around 200,000 cats and kittens each year.