Become a COVID-19 Community Champion for Kent and Medway

Medway Council, Kent County Council and NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are encouraging residents to sign up to become COVID-19 Community Champions.

The community champions will share the latest government advice and coronavirus guidance with their local community, friends, family, neighbours, in their workplaces and on social media to advise others about how to stay safe during the ongoing pandemic and reduce the spread of the virus.

They will receive regular updates and fortnightly calls from Medway Council and Kent County Council’s public health teams to keep them informed of the latest guidance and the support available for vulnerable residents.

Medway Council, Kent County Council and the Kent and Medway CCG are working together to encourage residents to sign up.

Anyone can volunteer to become a champion and the councils are keen to recruit champions who are in contact with the residents who are at the highest risk of coronavirus including older residents and representatives from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.

Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Alan Jarrett, said:

“We have all been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and I have been proud to witness the strong community spirit that our residents have shown over the last six months. Now, as we head into winter, we must all continue to follow the latest government advice and guidance and do our bit to stop the virus from spreading. I would encourage residents to sign up to become COVID-19 Community Champions and help share advice and guidance to protect your loved ones, and your local communities.”

James Williams, Director of Public Health at Medway Council, said:

“We are doing all we can to stop the spread of coronavirus in Kent and Medway and it is crucial that we all work together to protect our loved ones. Becoming a COVID Community Champion will empower residents to remain up to date with the latest advice and guidance and share clear information to help their local communities. I would encourage residents to find out more about the scheme by Emailing abmchampions@medway.gov.uk.”

KCC Director of Public Health, Andrew Scott-Clark said:

“While we thank Kent’s residents for playing their part and following social guidelines to keep the rate here lower than other parts of the country, we know that Covid is still a severe health issue for vulnerable people in our communities and this is an opportunity for people to get involved in helping to keep their family, friends and relatives safe.”

Dr Navin Kumta, Clinical Chair at NHS Kent and Medway CCG, said:

“As well as sharing messages around the latest guidance to combat COVID-19, we really want to hear feedback from our champions. We need to know how the pandemic has affected specific communities and suggestions of how we can do things better. This is all about working together to manage coronavirus as best we can - it’s very much a two way process.”

To sign up to become a COVID Community Champion, and attend fortnightly meetings and receive regular updates, Email abmchampions@medway.gov.uk for Medway and phworkforcedevelopment@kent.gov.uk for Kent.

Medway Council

Free Online Training Sessions for Community Organisations and Health Volunteers in Swale and Medway

Understanding the NHS - Free online training sessions for community organisations and health volunteers in Swale and Medway.

The NHS in Kent and Medway is changing. ‘Primary Care Networks’ and ‘Integrated Care Partnerships’ are shifting the way health care services are delivered for local communities.

Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group, Medway Voluntary Action and the Public Engagement Agency are offering two further online information sessions for community organisations and health volunteers in Medway and Swale.

The purpose of these interactive events is to understand the different parts of the NHS and how they fit together.

The online sessions will be held on Thursday 15th October 15:00 - 16:30 and Tuesday 20th October 18:00 - 19:30. Places are limited.

To book a place, please Email Lisa at: involvingmedway@mva.org.uk as soon as possible.

NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group

Poolside Bar & Courtyard Christmas Party Night with P’ZAZ at Upchurch River Valley Golf Course

A night not to be missed!

Ticket only - £10.00 per person

7:30pm start

Food served until 8:00pm - Non-members welcome

Tickets available now from the Poolside Bar

Jenny Giles - Upchurch River Valley Golf Course

Telephone: 01634 360626

Enhanced NHS 111 Service Launches for Kent, Medway and Sussex

The NHS 111 service in Kent, Medway and Sussex has been enhanced and patients can now expect a more robust response with the same expert advice now delivered by a wider range of healthcare professionals.

GPs, paramedics, nurses, mental health professionals, dental nurses and pharmacists are all part of the new NHS 111 clinical assessment service, which launched on Thursday the 1st of October 2020.

People who call 111 - free from mobiles or landlines 24/7 - or access the service via www.111.nhs.uk will speak to call handlers and/or healthcare professionals who will be able to assess symptoms over the phone, issue prescriptions and directly book people into onward care appointments if they need one.

The new clinical assessment service is a result of a new contract for NHS 111 in Kent, Medway and Sussex. The new five-year contract was awarded to South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) as the lead provider, and they are working in conjunction with not-for-profit social enterprise Integrated Care 24 (IC24). SECAmb and IC24 already provided NHS111 to parts of the south east separately but will now work together to deliver a more joined-up service.

It is one of a number of improvements that Kent and Medway’s residents will experience if they use NHS 111 over the coming months.

If work goes to plan, by the end of the year, the service will also be able to book patients into a timeslot at an emergency department or urgent care service through NHS 111 First, if this is deemed the most appropriate service to help and support them.

There’s more information on the launch of the enhanced 111 clinical assessment service available on NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group’s website

NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group

St Mary's Church Fundraiser Sale

St Mary's Church

Fundraiser Sale

Saturday 10th October
Outside 3 Horsham Lane
10:00am - 11:30am

Homemade Cakes, Jam, Chutney, Produce,

Puzzles, Books, Bric-a-brac and more…

Due to current government COVID-19 rules,

we will only be able to have a few customers at a time.

Please be patient.

Mary Stone

The Blythswood Care Christmas Shoe Box Appeal 2020

Fill a shoe box for someone in need and bring joy this Christmas

Every year Blytheswood Care organize their shoe box appeal. This is a huge event which last Christmas saw over 220,000 shoe boxes delivered to adults and children living in extreme poverty across eastern Europe.

This is a wonderful way to bring love and care to those whose daily life is a dreadful struggle. The poverty in eastern Europe sees children living in sheds and rooms without heat and light. Children and adults who don't eat every day. Children without warm clothing or shoes. COVID-19 has added a terrible burden to these families and homeless people.

The simple things we can fill a shoe box with, like a hat, scarf and gloves, soap and flannel, toothbrush and toothpaste, sweets, stationery and other basic treats are precious to those who receive them.

There are 3 ways you can get involved:

1. Helping to check the boxes before they go on the lorries

There is a booking system for this, please phone Ralph: 07847 205431

The boxes will start being sorted from 26/10 at the Loknstore on Courtney Road, Gillingham. Everything will be cleaned down between checking sessions. The experience of checking boxes is amazing and humbling as you see for yourself how much love can be poured into a box.

2. Fill a box

Choose a recipient, male/female adult, male/female teen/child (with children you have to choose an age that your box is appropriate for).

We will be parked in the layby in Horsham Lane, Upchurch opposite the church on Wednesday the 11th of November between 10:30am and 11:30am, to pick up your shoe boxes.

Any questions, please Email me: gilliangay99@yahoo.co.uk

3. Collect items to go in the boxes we check

We are always short of scarves, gloves, flannels, kitchen utensils, candles, sewing kits and sweets. Or you can donate money online. It takes £3 to send every box to eastern Europe.

Please click on the following link for more information, heart-wrenching photos and keep scrolling down to see a short video which is a must to watch.

Link >> https://blythswood.org/shoeboxappeal

Thank you and bless you.

Gill Gay