Free cookery classes and fitness classes on the NHS...

In a bid to tackle the country's obesity crisis, the NHS have revealed they are going to start offering Brits free cookery classes and exercise classes. A radical new programme to help prevent the rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes, which is closely linked to obesity, it is set to be trailed in Birmingham, Bradford, Durham, Herefordshire, Kent, Manchester and London, and analysed, before it is introduced nationally.

NHS staff, including doctors and nurses, are being included in the scheme, with the head of health service stating that the NHS need to 'practice what they preach' and slim down themselves, before tackling the rest of the country's waistlines.

GPs will start to offer tests for pre-diabetes to those overweight patients, as well as free cookery lessons, exercise classes and online coaching to encourage weight loss. The trial scheme at Britain's largest hospital will be where thousands of staff are offered free Slimming World classes, and those who are classed as obese could be offered help from psychologists and specialist dieticians.

Preventing obesity can cut diabetes and save lives, and so rather than dealing with the effects of obesity and diabetes, it makes sense to spend time and money educating people on healthy living and ways of slimming down.

Around 2.5 million people in England suffer from type 2 diabetes, and that number is set to rise if nothing is done to educate people on how to live a healthier lifestyle.

If the programme goes well, it will be rolled out into other cities across the UK; watch this space!

Go Blue For Willen!

Go Blue for Willen week runs from the 2nd- 8th March this year, and is a week of fundraising for a very worthy cause.

Willen Hospice provides complex and individual care to adults affected by life limiting conditions and illnesses. They also provide a great deal of support to the family and friends of those affected. Less than a quarter of funding comes from the NHS, meaning that the rest needs to be raised from donations and the support of the local community. 

Go Blue for Willen week is an opportunity to help raise vital funds for the hospice. The week will include a variety of events and activities with the go blue theme, for all the family to get involved with. People will be encouraged to wear blue, bake blue and take part in the organised activities throughout the week.

There will also be collections taking place at Milton Keynes, Bletchley and Wolverton stations between the 2nd and 6th, and at Kingston Shopping Centre on the 7th-8th March.

Across the week a special auction will be held where people can take part in an online auction and bid on Willen Hospice's ebay page for some amazing items donated by local businesses. These include a day trip for five to Centre Parcs, a signed MK Dons football, a hamper with wine from Harrods, a weekend pass to a British super bike event, a giant teddy, a Burberry watch, a family pass to Snozone, a HD TV and an amazing digital hamper including Xbox and laptop. 

On Saturday 7th March there will be a day of activity at Walton High in Walnut Tree. From 8am-12pm, the Hospice will host its first ever fill-a-bag sale, where people can pay £10 for a bag which they can fill with second hand and retro clothes. Later in the afternoon will be the Willen Hospice 'Zumbathon', with two hours of Zumba with three local instructors for just £10.

People are being encouraged to get their workplaces and schools involved, with wearing an element of blue during the week and making a donation to Willen Hospice. Whether that be a pair of blue socks or a bright blue wig, there are plenty of ways of getting involved. Blue-themed baking is another way of making money, you could arrange a blue-cake competition, or just bake something blue and donate the money, you could hold a blue bake sale in the office and donate the money to Willen.

If you would like to make a donation, please text: GBFW15 £5 to 70070 donate £5 and help Willen Hospice continue to offer its specialist care and support to patients and their families.

For more information about getting involved, click here.

Race for 2015- Sign up now!

If your New Years resolution is to get fit and running, you might find it helpful to have something to aim for. Often the big events aren't noticed until the day, when you might find yourself wishing you'd signed up if you'd known about it (or being glad you didn't!). Why not make 2015 the year you sign up for a race or event, and give yourself the January kick-start to get up and out?! We've found a collection of local running events for you to choose from...

The Milton Keynes Half Marathon and Festival of running take place on the 8th March, which gives you just under 2 months to train if you start now! The races start on the central dual-carriageways of Milton Keynes and then continue around some great scenery. There are 5K, 10k, the half marathon and a new one for this year, the MK20 miler. This means you've got the choice with whether to aim high and train hard, or go for the shorter 5k, which will still be a challenge but a bit more fun and relaxed (you'd hope!) Entry fees vary depending on the distance, but prices start at £8 for the 5K. For more information, prices and to sign up, click here.

GP surgery ratings- How does your surgery compare?

Recent findings have been published online regarding the rating of GP surgeries. Nationwide rankings have been collected and compared, allowing patients to see how their surgery compares to others in the area. We decided to have a look at how some of the GP surgeries in the Olney area had rated...

[The percentage is the proportion of patients who would recommend the surgery, and some of the surgeries also have a 'band' to rate them overall, from data published by the Care Qulaity Commission (CQC), with band 6 being the highest (best rated) and band 1 the lowest.]

Cobbs Garden Surgery, Olney: Band 4, 96.1% - Among the best

Newport Pagnell medical centre: 80.2%

Denton Village surgery: Band 6, 89.1%- Among the best  

Harrold Medical Practice: Band 6, 80.5%

Kingfisher Surgery, Newport Pagnell: Band 1, 34.2% - The worst

Wollaston surgery: Band 6, 67.2% - Among the worst in percentage but among the best in the banding.

It's interesting to see how your surgery compares to others in the area. Equally, if you are looking for a new surgery to attend then this can be a particularly useful tool in helping you make an informed decision.

If you want to have a more detailed look, the percentage ratings were taken from the NHS website, and the bands can be found on the Care Quality Commission website.

Do these ratings surprise you at all? How does your surgery compare?

Could we lose our A & E?

Although we might not all visit A & E regularly (we hope!), it's reassuring to know it's there if and when we need it. However, recent reports are saying that Milton Keynes and Bedford A&Es could be shut down in order to try and save money under a services review. This would leave those in the area of these services (around 500,000 people) having to travel an extra 20 miles to get to the nearest accident and emergency centres- in either Northampton, Kettering or Luton.

The fact that the centre has 'emergency' in its name would imply the serious need for it to be near to a high percentage of the public, and while there are no plans decided yet, these are the fears which the review has raised. Having to travel 20 miles instead of maybe one or two could potentially mean the difference between life and death for some of the more serious health issues and accidents, and for those without transport access will be even more difficult and expensive.

In cases where people are taken further afield in order to receive more specialist care, it makes sense, but to demand all emergency patients to travel further will surely put more pressure on these specialist services. It seems the NHS want to try and save money and improve GP and community services to help prevent people from having to go to hospital in the first place, but if these improvements come at the cost of cutting other important services, is it really worth it?

Final decisions will be made in 2015, let's keep our fingers crossed to keep emergency healthcare local!