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Your chance to
nominate charity for supermarket's Christmas appeal
ASDA Southport are calling
on customers to help choose the charities to benefit from its
Christmas appeal, called:- 'Give a Gift at Christmas.'
For 3 weeks Asda will be supporting 3 different charities, one a
week, around the themes of 'kids', 'warmth'
and 'food poverty'. This means any charity benefitting
local children, local homeless people or shelters, or food poverty,
are eligible to be nominated. Please nominate the charity at the
store's Community Life notice board, or ask to speak to Community
Life Champion, Sharon Gregory-Wareing. Chosen charities will be
announced in December 2013.
How energy
efficient is your home?
AS energy bills are rising
it is becoming increasingly important to find out how to cut the
cost of heating and lighting your home.
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are a way in which home
owners, tenants and house buyers; can find out how energy efficient
a property is. Buildings are given a rating from A (very efficient)
to G (inefficient) showing how costly it will be to heat and light,
and what its carbon dioxide emissions are likely to be.
The EPC also show what the energy efficiency rating could be if
improvements are made, highlighting cost-effective ways to achieve a
better rating such as switching to more energy-efficient light
bulbs.
Now Liverpool City Council, through its Trading Standards and
Environmental Health teams, have teamed up with Healthy Homes and
written to estate agents, landlords and letting agents offering
advice about EPCs and informing them about a number of changes that
have come into place this year.
All advertisements for either selling or renting a property must now
clearly show the energy rating of the building. This includes
advertising in newspapers, magazines or any written material
produced by landlords or estate/letting agents and on the internet.
Failure to include the EPC rating on an advert could result in a
£200 penalty charge notice, issued by Trading Standards. This
applies to anybody selling or renting property privately as well as
through an estate agent.
Councillor Tim Moore, cabinet member for transport and climate
change, said:- "EPCs allow tenants and house buyers to make
informed choices about prospective properties. As energy costs
spiral, EPCs are a powerful tool to help people find energy
efficient homes that will be warmer and less expensive to heat. It
is important that buyers, sellers and landlords are fully informed
about EPCs and have full information, so we are contacting those
involved in the property sector with advice on what they need to do
to comply with the latest regulations. A later phase of our campaign
to increase awareness of EPCs will focus on tenants. This will
increase the expectation and demand for this vital information so it
is important that property owners act now to ensure they meet with
the legal requirements."
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NWAS IS
ANSWERING THE CALL FOR INCREASED PUBLIC AWARENESS
BETWEEN 1 April and 30
September 2013, the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) saved
approximately 5,864 Ambulances from being sent out unnecessarily,
thanks to just one specific department... 'the Urgent Care
Desk.'
For many patients who call 999, Accident and Emergency departments
are not the right place for their treatment so this particular role
within the service is extremely important and ensures that patients
get the right care, in the right time and in the right place and
Ambulances are available for those who need them most.
The stats, published as part of NWAS's #Team999 campaign; which aims
to educate the public that not all calls to 999 require an
Ambulance, or result in a trip to hospital; highlights that there is
a significant need to educate the public across the North West about
when to call 999, and what might happen when they do.
Speaking about her role on the Urgent Care Desk, specialist
paramedic, Carol Robertson, one of the representatives of #Team999,
said:- "I often answer calls where people are ill but their
condition is not serious and can be treated at home. I've received
my fair share of unusual calls, including a patient who called with
a broken nail. We don't want to discourage people from calling 999,
but it's important they understand that calls can result in their
ailment being treated within the community or even at home, and they
won't necessarily receive an Ambulance response or be taken to
Hospital."
Between 1 April and 30 September 2013, the Urgent Care Desk referred
23% of their calls to an alternative care pathway, including being
given direct advice over the phone to allow patients to self care
(3% of calls), and being transferred (via phone) to another health
service (10% of calls).
The majority of the patients receiving call backs from the Urgent
Care Desk are over 65 years old, with the most common incidents
including falls, abdominal pains, back pain or generally unwell.
Carol continued:- "The Urgent Care Desk is an invaluable
resource and helps ensure all patients receive the right care, at
the right time, in the right place."
Over the next 6 months, the representatives of #Team999 will be
introduced one by one to enable the public to get a greater
understanding of their roles and the part they play within NWAS and
patients' lives.
The representatives will each take
part in activities and events including live Twitter Q&A sessions,
roadshows and short films; giving the public a glimpse into the day
to day responsibilities of the full team.
Carol concluded:- "Through
the various aspects of #Team999, we hope to raise public awareness
about the North West Ambulance Service so they receive treatment
which is appropriate to their needs and also frees up emergency
vehicles so they are more readily available for emergencies." |
