Community sports in Redlees Park, Isleworth

Last Saturday I went to the Urban Games at Redlees Park in Isleworth.

What a great event! About 300 youngsters, age 8-15 years old, had signed up to this free multi-sports event...where they got the chance to try out and get coached in a range of sports. This is an annual event organised by Hounslow's Sports Development Team.

The aim of this event was to give taster sessions in thirteen different sports ranging from football and rugby to canoeing and BMX racing. All sessions were linked to a local club, who were on hand to coach the sessions and provide information on how young people can join these clubs and thus promote lifelong participation. The aim was to provide young people with improved motivation and general fitness and an increased willingness to take part in sporting activities outside of school hours. It also aims to encourage young people to mix with people from other estates, thus improving the social cohesion within the local community. Unforunately I was not allowed to join in the different sports!

To motivate them, Jenny Copnall was there and spoke to them all. She is the British Cross Country Mountain Biking Champion.

This is a brilliant example of community action and creating opportunities for young people to get more interested in sport and health. We need more events like this.

Well done to everyone involved!


Photo: Mary with Cllr Pam Fisher, Cllr Lin Davies and Jenny Copnall (British Cross Country Mountain Biking Champion)

Day 1 at Party Conference

I arrived at the 2008 Conservative Party Conference today in Birmingham.

George Osborne (Shadow Chancellor) held a session on ways to ease the pain of the economic downturn, Liam Fox (Shadow Secretary of State for Defence) spoke about the need to honour our Armed Forces, and David Cameron promised to use the week to show how we will take Britain forward.

This evening I went to a dinner hosted by Cancer Research UK. 285,000 people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer this year. At least 2m people have been cured or are living with cancer but 1 in 4 people will die from the disease. Cancer continues to touch many people's lives.

We therefore need to:
a) provide access to world-class cancer services and treatment - 11 out of 12 European countries fund new cancer drugs and it would only cost £400m per year to get the UK up to the European average.
b) detect cancer earlier
c) prevent more cancers
d) tackle the unfairness of cancer inequalities
e) protect the UK's position at the forefront of international research

The priorities are to find ways to :
1. reduce smoking (1/4 of the population still smoke and 450 children start smoking every day)
2. diagnose cancer earlier so that people have a better chance of survival

We also need to address the issue of the postcode lottery.

Cancer will affect us or someone we care about one day... so it is incredibly important to continue making improvements in screening and available treatments.

Happy 60th birthday to the NHS

The NHS and medical science has certainly changed over the years ... since my mother was a sister in the Royal Infirmary and since I volunteered in my local hospital on Saturday mornings when I was in school (and that was some time ago!).

What does remain the same though is the skill of caring for patients and the commitment and dedication of nursing staff. Their aim as ever is to give the best care possible no matter who you are or where you come from.

Wishing the NHS a very happy 60th birthday and a big thank you to all those who work there!

Raising money for cancer

Cllrs Barbara Reid, Lin Davies, Paul Lynch and I attended a great event last week in memory of Premila Bhanderi. She was a former Hounslow councillor, who lost her battle with multiple myloma three years ago.

Her two daughters, Aarti and Jyoti, organised the Summer Sensation charity event at the Indian Gymkana Club in Thornbury Avenue in Osterley.

It was a fabulous evening, raising lots of money and enjoyed by everyone. Premila's daughters are great role models for what can be done in the local community - bringing people together to make a difference. She would be really proud of them!

Photo: Aarti Bhanderi, Mary, Jyoti Bhanderi, Cllr Barbara Reid and Cllr Lin Davies

The Healthy Hounslow Campaigners ...making progress

We are making good progress with the fabulous help of our nutritional therapist, Alli Godbold, from Chiswick.

We set out a few weeks ago to lose 40kg by Saturday 5th July. In the first few weeks, we have already lost 10kg. Not a bad start! (I shouldn't really say this since it is a team effort, but Paul Lynch is in the lead at the moment. Well done to him ...although he did have a hair cut and a beard trim so maybe that has made all the difference!)

The money raised from sponsorship will go to the Mulberry Centre in Isleworth, who do excellent work locally for those affected by cancer. We have raised £555 for them so far.

Everyone has made a fantastic effort to eat healthily and take some exercise. It is not easy to change the habits of a lifetime, but everyone has tried really hard and has managed to lose weight. We are on track for meeting our target of 40kg.

Alli is a tremendous support to us all and has been giving us superb advice, guidance and cooking lessons. The chicken curry was really good.

If you would like to get involved please do come and join us by calling 020 8994 1406 or by emailing me on mary@marymacleod.com. You will feel so much better if you do!.

Alternatively, just send us a donation!

Photo: (from left) Cllr Pam Fisher, Elizabeth Spillane, Cllr Lin Davies, Mary Macleod, Cllr Barbara Reid and Alli Godbold, our nutritional therapist

A huge step into the unknown...

There was a free vote today in the House of Commons to ban hybrid human animal embryos. The cross-party attempt to ban these embryos though was defeated by 336 votes to 176.

The bill would allow regulated research using hybrid or "admix" embryos, where the nuclei of human cells are inserted into animal eggs. The resulting embryos would be kept for up to 14 days to harvest stem cells. Scientists believe that it may make a difference to research into treatments for cancer and conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

This is one of the many ethical debates that will increasingly take place in medical science. It is one that makes me feel very uncomfortable. We don't have all the answers ... but perhaps we should be doing all we can, within extremely tight controls, to help those who have to suffer illnesses for which we currently have no cure.

My glimpse of life on the ward ...

What is life really like at the West Middlesex University Hospital?

Last week I got my chance to find out by going in for a day and shadowing different members of staff.

My aim was to listen and learn from people who work at the heart of healthcare on a daily basis. I wanted to see patient care for myself. I wanted to understand the challenges that they face. I wanted to find out what they thought the priorities in the NHS were. This was a great opportunity to see healthcare in action and meet the doctors, matrons, nurses, clinical directors, assistant directors and clinical site managers, who make it all possible.

What did I find? ...

I found a hospital that had made tremendous efforts to improve and be a real community hospital - treating more cases than ever before, patients being treated faster than they have in the past, improving the financial management, controlling infection and developing new services.

I found staff whose commitment and dedication was evident. Who really loved what they did and tried to find creative solutions to issues within their working environment. It was great also to attend the annual Nursing & Midwifery Awards and meet many of the nurses who do such a superb job every day.

I also visited a hospital patient, David Mills, who has been a patient for twelve weeks in the WHUH Rehab ward. His wife, Narelle, enthusiastically praised the hospital and said that she had been really impressed with the care, attention and therapies that David had received. She thought the nursing staff were outstanding, the Speech and Language Therapists were excellent, and Hounslow Crossroads, who had given them brilliant, caring support at home, were superb.

Thanks so much to Tara Donnelly (Chief Executive) and the staff members I shadowed, who allowed me to come in and disturb their day! I did appreciate the time they took as I believe it is so important that politicians (or aspiring ones like myself) understand what the key issues are and listen to ideas from those who are experts in their fields.

The NHS and patient care are at the top of my agenda. I want to ensure that NHS resources get to the front line where it is needed most. I want less bureaucracy, less targets and more doctors and nurses where they are needed. I want to allow hospitals the freedom to invest and improve services as they want to, given their experience within their local communities. This is not about party politics. Healthcare is about people’s lives, their well-being, their fears and their needs. We have to get healthcare right.

Photo:
Patient David Mills in the Rehabilitation Ward with nurses, Olusola Oduneye, (top left), Mabinty Leigh (second from right), Desire Kigenyi (right), Daniel Rodrigues (bottom left) and Mary.

A Healthy Day in Hounslow

I was delighted that Andrew Lansley MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health, was able to visit the constituency last Thursday.

We started the day by visiting the West Middlesex University Hospital (WMUH), to be briefed on current issues, challenges and progress. We visited several departments in the hospital, including Maternity, A&E and the recently opened West London Day Surgery Centre. The WMUH does not always get the credit it deserves .. but actually, it has become an award-winning, community hospital. Yes, it still has historical financial challenges and yes, there are still improvements to be made, but the staff have made real efforts to improve patient care, MRSA rates and financial management over the last year.

We then visited The Mulberry Centre, a local cancer support charity, which we are currently raising money for in our Healthy Hounslow Campaign. The Mulberry Centre recently won the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) local health award in recognition of excellence in community healthcare. They do fantastic work, as a drop-in centre for those who are affected by cancer. Since one in three people are likely to be diagnosed with cancer, it is so important that patients get the support, advice and treatment they need.

The final stop was GSK, to talk to Simon Jose, Head of GSK UK, and his team, about community involvement, the importance of research and development, and building science skills in schools. GSK is making huge investments in researching both medicines and vaccines for HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria, the World Health Organisation’s three priority diseases. They are also developing new treatments for cancer. It is great to have the headquarters of an organisation like GSK in Brentford, a company who not only made total community investments of £282m last year, but have also made a hands-on difference locally.

In healthcare, a lot has been achieved...but so much more still to do.

All in all ....a healthy day!


Photo (from left to right): Cllr Pam Fisher (Hounslow Lead Member for Adult Social Services and Health), Tara Donnelly (Chief Executive, West Middlesex University Hospital), Andrew Lansley MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Health), Janet Henry (Matron of the West London Day Surgery Centre), Mary Macleod (Conservative Parliamentary Candidate), Sue Ellen(Chairman of the Trust Board) and Sally Stephens (Campaign Co-ordinator)

The diet has started ...

We launched our Healthy Hounslow Campaign on Saturday ... so the diet has started!

Alli Godbold, our nutritional therapist, measured and weighed us and gave us all ideas on what we should now eat. She was brilliant and very supportive for what we are trying to do. We set our individual goals - so as a team, we will aim to lose 40kg.

I keep thinking only 10 weeks to go... but actually, this is meant to be changing my eating habits for a life time!

You are welcome to join in too!

Photo (from left): Cllr Pam Fisher, Cllr Lin Davies, Cllr Paul Lynch, Mary Macleod, Cllr Barbara Reid and Alli Godbold (Christine Quick was taking the photo but is part of the Healthy Campaign Team too)

Join our Healthy Hounslow Campaign ...

We are launching ‘A Healthier Hounslow’ community initiative this week. The aim is to raise awareness and show the importance of healthy eating and nutrition for improving personal health and wellbeing.

It will involve a ten week Healthy Eating Challenge for charity, where local volunteers will try and lose weight as a team, including me. Each person will set their own goal and weekly weigh-in sessions will take place in Chiswick. The group weight loss goal will be announced at the launch event on Saturday 19th April and sponsorship will be raised for the total group weight loss.

This is non-political and anyone can participate…. if you want to support The Mulberry Centre, or you need to lose weight or you just want to support a Healthy Eating Campaign.

The local charity benefiting from this campaign is The Mulberry Centre, which supports people affected by cancer and won the GSK local health award last year for excellence in community health care. I will be visiting them this week with Andrew Lansley MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health.

Also involved is Alli Godbold, a local nutritional therapist. She uses diet and nutritional supplements to help individuals achieve their optimal level of health and advises on many areas of health including coping with stress, fatigue, digestive disorders and weight problems. She will be giving the Healthy Eating Challengers weekly advice and cooking tips!

Do contact me if you would like to join with me and lose weight for a good cause! You can get in touch on 020 8994 1406 or mary@marymacleod.com or just come along to the launch on Saturday 19th April at 2pm at Carvosso’s, 210 Chiswick High Road. Before starting the 10 week challenge, do check with your doctor first.

Donations to our Healthy Hounslow Campaign, can be made on this blog - just look to the right!