Your Call - Issue 20

YOUR CALL.

Issue 20

Looking after you from door to door: A-Z guide of our patient transport service

“How I observe Ramadan.”

Meet Hassan nwas.nhs.uk

Raising awareness of hidden disabilities.

Meet Sarah

Welcome TO THE LATEST EDITION OF YOUR CALL. It’s the first edition of 2024, we thought a dose of your favourite magazine would be ideal for taking a few minutes to relax with a warming brew!

We have packed lots into this edition, including a special piece on Carly Parker who joined Team NWAS as a receptionist with dreams of becoming a paramedic one day - something she has fulfilled.

This leads us to one of the things we are asked about most – how do you start a career with NWAS? Many are keen to join us but don’t know where to begin. We have launched a new recruitment campaign ‘Careers with Heart’ that encapsulates the essence of who we are. It focuses on our compassionate workforce who all have one thing in common – we care, and we want you to join us. Carly’s article pinpoints where you can go for more information on starting your career with us.

We feel there is much about using our patient transport service (PTS) that remains unknown. We have created an A-Z of PTS which may come in handy if you have a relative or friend who may need us. We’ll be sharing lots more about PTS on our Facebook, X and Instagram pages too so don’t forget to give us a follow if you’re interested!

Also in this edition, we speak to Emergency Medical Advisor Nadia Wallace who shares her truly inspiring story of being diagnosed with incurable cancer. Nadia says that since the diagnosis, she feels she has finally started living her life.

Also in this issue...

HIDDEN DISABILITIES Apprentice Emergency Medical Technician Sarah Peers talks about how she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and how the mental health condition affected her life.

TALKING THYROID Apprentice Emergency Medical Technician Mollie Peters discusses her experience of having thyroid cancer.

“HOW I OBSERVE RAMADAN”.

NHS 111 Health Advisor Hassan Sheth tells us what this holy month means to him, and what it involves.

VIRTUAL CARE THROUGH VIDEO CALLS. We look at how we’re progressing using video calling with patients in our NHS 111 service.

Note: You may hear us refer to ourselves as NWAS throughout the edition, this is short for North West Ambulance Service.

Finally, don’t miss our interview with Volunteer Tyler Yan who talks about the forthcoming Chinese New Year celebrations and how our Chinese communities will be preparing.

Our stories are designed to educate and inspire, we hope you enjoy the read!

YOUR CALL MAGAZINE TEAM @nwasofficial @NWAmbulance

DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO SHARE WITH US? 2

If so, please get in touch by emailing: communications@nwas.nhs.uk.

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“Do I need a sign on my head to show that I, unfortunately, have a hidden disability?”

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition characterised by significant mood swings including manic highs and depressive lows.

Most people with bipolar disorder experience alternating episodes of mania and depression – Bipolar UK. After her bipolar disorder went undiagnosed for more than 20 years, Sarah Peers, Apprentice Emergency Medical Technician, wants to share her experience to raise awareness of mental health conditions.

Around one in every 100 people will be diagnosed with bipolar disorder at some point in their life and although it can occur at any age, it often develops between the ages of 15 and 19*. For Sarah, her diagnosis came at the age of 35, two decades after she believes she developed the condition. She explained: “I got my diagnosis of bipolar disorder in 2012. My psychiatrist said that he thought I had had this condition since I was 13 years old, but I had not been offered any help. I had gone under the radar.”

Sarah’s diagnosis journey was a long one. She said:

“Before diagnosis, I was very up and down in my mood and was being treated solely for depression. When I first sought help from my doctors, I went through six weeks of counselling before I was referred for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).”

CBT is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave. It’s most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression but can be useful for other mental and physical health problems.

Sarah continued: “Whilst undergoing CBT, I kept a mood diary as requested by the clinician. When she read it, she suggested that there was a lot more than depression going on with me. She referred me to Leigh Infirmary Mental Health Unit where I saw a care coordinator every week and had regular meetings with a

psychiatrist. I was also visited by the crisis team daily as I was suffering suicidal thoughts.”

Sarah was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed medication to help her manage day-today life. She said: “It took over a year to get a medication balance which was suitable for me but going to the gym, outdoor walking, and having hobbies helped to keep my mind occupied in a positive way to release good endorphins.

“Today, I’m a different person from when I was poorly.

When I look back, I do not recognise the person that I was. Nowadays I’m stable, I still take medication and don’t have episodes anymore. I’ve not been under the mental health service for many years as I self-manage my condition. I still have low days, but we all do, it’s normal.”

Sarah knows the importance of raising awareness of mental health conditions. Not only can it help other people going through similar situations, but it also helps educate people. Sarah explained: “I’ve had discrimination due to having bipolar disorder and had comments such as “I wouldn’t have thought you had bipolar?” Do I need a sign on my head to show that I, unfortunately, have this hidden disability? I also have been told “chin up”, to what purpose does that comment serve?”

Sarah, who joined NWAS in July last year, now champions hidden disabilities and has joined our staff Disability Network to use her experience to help others. She said: “I believe more people need to speak out, maybe we can help or even save someone by just talking and listening.

I know our lives are busy and we don’t have enough time in the day, but we do need time for ourselves as well as others. Good mental health is paramount for life.” *www.nhs.uk

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Turning dreams into reality -Carly’s story.

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Behind our blue flashing lights and sirens are over 7,000 people in 300 different roles who all have one thing in common – they care. Each person has a story to tell and a career journey they’ve been on, none more so than Practice Education Practitioner Carly Parker.

Carly joined the service almost 15 years ago and worked as a receptionist in our Manchester area office with dreams of one day becoming a paramedic. As a single parent with young children to look after, Carly couldn’t take a break from full-time work to pursue education. But Carly didn’t give up, she knew she would have to work hard to make her dream a reality.

A year later, Carly was successful in becoming an emergency medical dispatcher handling 999 calls. After just six months, she secured a promotion to resource dispatcher where she was responsible for allocating and dispatching ambulances to incidents.

Still set on her dream of becoming a paramedic, in 2013, Carly successfully became an emergency medical technician (EMT).

In 2016, seven years after joining the service, she got a place on the first internal paramedic development programme for EMTs where she studied at Edge Hill University, alongside working in her role.

After getting married to her now-husband Gary, who is also a paramedic, and being spurred on by her family, Carly qualified after two years of study and achieved a distinction grade in her diploma.

Carly said: “My proudest moment was receiving my paramedic registration. I had worked so hard to achieve this goal over many years.

“I joined the trust as a single parent and the struggles of working alongside studying full-time back then were unbelievable. I don’t know how I did it looking back.”

Inspired by her university lecturers who were former Team NWAS employees and supported and guided her through her studies, Carly continued to push herself to succeed and is now a practice education practitioner supporting other learners in their career journeys.

“The training and development opportunities at NWAS are fantastic. My diploma was fully funded and they’re also now funding my top-up degree alongside additional qualifications since joining the Education and Learning Team.

“NWAS is a fantastic employer with progression available at every level.”

If you’re interested in a career with us too, visit nwas.nhs.uk/careers to explore our roles and find an opportunity for you.

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RUGBY LEAGUE INSPIRED A NEW CAREER IN THE AMBULANCE SERVICE.

Mat Lofthouse began his apprenticeship with NWAS in 2021. Before that, he was a teacher, but it was an interest in rugby that helped him take the step towards a new future.

He joined a men’s mental fitness programme called Offload based at his local Super League club, Warrington Wolves, after pressures at work and home got too much.

It allowed him to take stock of life and make the brave decision to leave teaching and pursue a career in the ambulance service.

“I was a teacher for 26 years. I was working very long hours under a lot of stress and pressure, and that, linked with having to deal with a family member’s health issues, meant that life was becoming very difficult, and I began to suffer from anxiety and depression.

“I saw the advert for the Offload programme through my GP. After playing rugby union for 30 years, it felt like a less daunting opportunity for me to seek help. It took me a while to summon up the courage to go, but it was one of the best things I could have done.”

Offload is an initiative run by the Warrington Wolves Foundation.

Men meet and talk with current and former professional players to learn techniques to manage their own mental and physical health.

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Mat adds: “Offload was instrumental to me clarifying things and understanding that the main cause of my mental health issues was situational and in my control.

After talking with my family, we decided that a career change would be beneficial to my health. So, after some inquiries, and even though I was 46 at the time, I applied to train as an emergency medical technician at NWAS.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in the service so far, and I’ve found I’ve used a considerable number of transferable skills from my time as a teacher. I’m already working toward growing my clinical skills and becoming a fully trained paramedic.”

TALKING THYROID.

The thyroid gland is a small butterflyshaped organ located in the front of your neck, wrapped around your windpipe. It is responsible for controlling your vital bodily functions, like regulating metabolism and controlling heart, muscle, and digestive functions. It produces hormones that affect things such as your heart rate and body temperature.

Thyroid disease is a general term for a medical condition that keeps your thyroid from making the right number of hormones. When your body makes too little (hypothyroidism) or too much of these hormones (hyperthyroidism), it can cause unpleasant and potentially serious problems that may need treatment.

These two main disorders can be caused by a variety of conditions. They can also be passed down through families (inherited). One in 20 people in the UK have a thyroid problem, with women six times more likely to suffer from the condition than men.*

“Back then, I didn’t even know what a thyroid was.”

Six years ago, Mollie Peters knew something was wrong with her body. She had a visible lump in her neck, which she was told by her local hospital was a cyst.

“It didn’t feel right to me, as alongside the lump, I didn’t feel well. I had no energy, I felt weak, and I was irritable and anxious. My nails and my hair wouldn’t grow. I kept telling my mum that I didn’t feel right - you get to know your own body.”

Mollie returned to see her healthcare professional some years later as the cyst was still present. She had several examinations and tests including some blood tests for her thyroid function. Her results showed her thyroid was producing too much of its two main hormones and she was hyperthyroid, which explained her symptoms.

In an unusual twist of fate, her healthcare professional suspected that the lump in her neck was something more

serious than a cyst.

“Just before this happened, I had returned to Team NWAS as a call handler in our patient transport service (PTS) control room.

I used to be on the road as an ambulance care assistant for PTS two years previous and left to work with children and older adults. After rejoining NWAS, I had to reduce my hours as I couldn’t function past six in the evening. My management team was great in making reasonable adjustments for me.”

In summer last year, Mollie had a thyroidectomy to remove her thyroid. After she had it done, she was told that it was cancerous.

Mollie must now take a hormone replacement drug called levothyroxine as her thyroid is not there to produce the hormones her body needs. Without the medication, Mollie would have hypothyroidism which may include symptoms of tiredness, muscle aches, and weight gain.

Mollie will be on this drug for life as it keeps her well and enables her body to control vital functions.

“Every person who has a thyroid problem has a different journey. For me, my story is quite unusual as thyroid cancer rates in the UK are so rare, but having it removed was the best thing for me. The cancer was causing my thyroid to produce too many hormones which was making me so poorly. Now it isn’t there, and the cancerous cells are gone, I feel like a different person.”

Mollie is now an apprentice emergency medical technician 1 with us and wants to use her story to raise awareness of the importance of the thyroid. Whilst thyroid cancer is rare, Mollie’s sister has just found a lump in her throat and is currently awaiting the same tests, so she feels like it is an important message to share.

“Back then when I first became poorly, I didn’t even know what a thyroid was. A lot of people who I speak to have the same reaction I had; “So what is your thyroid? And what does it do?” If I can help to educate so people are aware of what the thyroid gland is, and I can help just one other person along the way, I’ll be happy.” *University of Aberdeen

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“Thanks to my diagnosis, I feel I have finally started living.”

After overcoming breast cancer in 2019, Emergency Medical Advisor Nadia Wallace thought that life couldn’t throw anymore at her. But on 31 October 2022, Nadia was diagnosed with incurable stage four secondary breast cancer which had spread to her liver and bone. Being told you have terminal cancer would send anyone’s world into meltdown but for Nadia, her diagnosis has made her appreciate life just that little bit more.

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Nadia was first diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2019. She said: “I had nine months of hormone therapy to shrink my tumour as it was already 20 centimetres - my own fault for not checking my boobs, but being a largerchested lady, I genuinely hadn’t noticed. After the therapy I had a mastectomy and full lymph node clearance, removing 32 nodes - 29 of those were affected by the cancer. I had sepsis following my surgery, then started chemotherapy in January 2020, followed by radiotherapy in May. I managed to catch COVID-19 three times during my treatment. So, all in all, it was a rough time.”

Following a challenging year, Nadia managed to get back on track. She started working at NWAS as an agency staff member in September 2021 and became a fully-fledged member in April 2022. Just six months later, life threw another curve ball at her.

Nadia had been off work due to experiencing dizziness following her fourth bout of COVID-19. She explained: “Initially my dizziness was put down to possible long COVID-19 or labyrinthitis. It was only when I had routine blood tests they found my liver function was awful and more tests were ordered. On 31 October 2022, my results came back and showed I had secondary breast cancer which had spread to my liver and bone, so stage four - treatable but incurable. Upon a CT scan, it was discovered that my entire skeletal system was affected by the cancer.”

Receiving a terminal diagnosis would be hard to handle for many people. For Nadia, it’s just another hurdle she was not going to let get her down. She explained: “Thanks to my diagnosis, I feel I have finally started living. We go through life dealing with whatever comes our way but never actually stop and take stock of things until we’re forced to. In the past year, I’ve done a lot of travelling around the UK, seeing places I’ve always wanted to see, such as the Kelpies in Falkirk. I have been twice in 12 months and will be going back as it’s my happy place.

I’ve reduced my working hours massively and have been spending a lot more time with my family making memories.”

A cancer diagnosis not only affects the patient but also their whole family. Nadia has six children and five grandchildren, and her family have found it difficult. She explained:

and physiotherapy all whilst continuing to work three days a week. She said: “I am on oral chemotherapy which I take at home, two weeks on, two weeks off. Recent scans have all been stable so all good so far. Mentally, I have good days and bad days but I’m coping as I have a large family who are incredibly supportive, and also my NWAS family of course. My work colleagues have been a huge support to me over the past year since my re-diagnosis. From helping me order a special chair, to reducing my hours and being so understanding when I’ve had off days. Even my supervisors and team leader just being there at times for me to have a whinge about family life, treatment and more.”

She added: “In October, some of my colleagues even joined me, two of my daughters and my grandson on the annual sponsored “Walk the Lights” in Blackpool. It raises funds for Rosemere Cancer Centre at Royal Preston Hospital where I receive all my treatments. That was great fun, a bit of a hard slog but their company and support kept me going to the end in a respectable time of two hours and thirty minutes.”

Nadia’s positive outlook on her diagnosis has inspired many of her colleagues, friends and family and for anyone who is currently battling cancer, Nadia has some advice: “Live each day as if it’s your last. Do what makes you happy. I could sit at home, staring at the four walls being miserable but where would that get me? Will it make this horrible diagnosis go away? Of course not, so I just carry on doing what makes me happy. Work is my little break away from the madness that is my life, which incidentally, I wouldn’t have any other way!”

“My family initially really struggled with my diagnosis. When you’re told you have stage four cancer the initial response is to panic and think you are about to die, but people don’t realise you can live for years with stage four sometimes, on the right treatment.”

In between travelling and spending time with her family, Nadia is undergoing treatment

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Looking after you from door to door.

For eligible patients who are unable to use public or other transport due to their medical conditions, we provide a vital, non-emergency service getting them safely and comfortably to hospitals or other healthcare centres. It’s our patient transport service or ‘PTS’ as you will hear us call it.

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Based on feedback we have had from patients and those who use our PTS, it is clear there are still things you would like to know about the service. We have put together an A-Z of information to help you when it comes to using the service.

Ambulance care assistants

They take care of you and ensure you have a safe journey to and from your appointment on our ambulances. They will always carry ID and introduce themselves to you on arrival. They have the skills, knowledge and experience to provide an efficient and effective service to suit your needs.

Booking with us

Making a booking is simple, free and easy and can usually be done through our booking centre number: 0800 032 3240. For renal dialysis and cancer patients call: 0800 028 9224. For patients living in Greater Manchester, you will need to contact your dedicated booking centre for first appointments only, visit our website: nwas.nhs.uk/pts.

Call us back

Please do this if you no longer need us because your appointment has been cancelled, or a friend or family member is taking you. By calling us back to let us know, we can help others who still need us to get to their appointment.

Digital enhancements

We’ve made digital improvements that will allow you to text us to cancel and we are working on enabling patients to make bookings online if they wish.

Eligibility

There is a set eligibility criteria that you would need to meet to use the service. You will be asked some simple questions each time you make a booking about your medical condition and your mobility.

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Feedback is essential

Service user feedback helps us to assess our service and make any necessary changes we can. Please let us know about your journey. You can feedback by visiting nwas.nhs.uk or by filling out friends and family test comment cards on our vehicles.

Greeting

We’ll arrive to greet you with a smile and if you need help getting booked into your clinic when you arrive, we can help you with that.

Hospital maps

We listened to feedback from our service and have created a handy list of hospital site maps to help you find where you need to go. They are available on our website: nwas.nhs.uk/pts.

Information

You can find out everything you need to know about our PTS service on our website nwas.nhs.uk/pts.

Journey with somebody

You may be eligible to have an escort accompany you on your journey but only if you have any specific requirements. Please let us know in advance if you need to travel with somebody else. This is because journeys are shared, and we have limited room on board our vehicles.

Keys at the ready

When starting your journey and being picked up from home, please make sure you’re ready to leave your house two hours before your appointment time with your keys, coat and bag at the ready.

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Late

There are times when we may be delayed longer than we want to be, we will do our best to get to you as soon as we can.

Mondays and Tuesdays

These are the busiest days for our call handlers. We only need a few days’ notice to make a booking for you if you’re eligible, so you may save time waiting on the phone if you call later in the week, unless your appointment is urgent.

Non-emergency ambulance

Whilst our PTS is not for emergency journeys, did you know our ambulance care assistants are trained in basic life support? You are in safe hands.

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Other options

Understanding

We understand the first time using our service can be quite daunting. We’ll provide transport that is comfortable and suitable for your mobility requirements. We’ll make sure you are properly secured in the ambulance with seatbelts or wheelchair restraints as appropriate.

Very busy

As you will understand our service is in high demand.

Please call us back if you no longer need to make the journey with us. By letting us know in plenty of time, it will help us to get to somebody else who still needs us.

Wait time may vary

After your appointment, you could wait up to 90 minutes to be collected. It isn’t our intention to leave you waiting, we pick up all our patients as quickly as we can.

If you have requested patient transport but don’t meet the eligibility criteria, it is important to us that you find a suitable local alternative transport provider. Our call handlers will provide you with helpful contact numbers.

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Planning our routes

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We have a dedicated team who plan all our journeys to make sure we can reach our patients in the quickest time possible, considering the number of journeys needed to be made each day.

Quality service

Our ambulances will be appropriately equipped and clean at all times, and in the event of a vehicle becoming dirty during use, it will be taken out of service until it has been cleaned. We will make sure that you are treated and cared for by our staff with dignity and have your religious and cultural beliefs respected.

Our patients need to get to hospitals and medical centres for all manner of appointments and not just X-rays!

You are our patients, and therefore you are our priority. We will do all we can to make your journey as comfortable as it can be.

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Your safety is important to us when we are on the roads. All our ambulance care assistants have a category C1 licence and have training for driving larger vehicles.

Reminder text

If you give us your mobile number, we will send a reminder text of your journey before your appointment.

Sharing is caring

On your journey, you will likely share your ambulance, taxi or volunteer car driver vehicle with other patients who also need us to take them to their appointments.

Taxi

You may be picked up by a taxi, an ambulance, or one of our volunteer car drivers, depending on your mobility.

We will ask you questions to help us determine which vehicle is best for you.

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NWAS charity chosen for a local fundraising initiative.

After one of our ambulance crews helped to save the life of a colleague and friend, staff at McMenon Engineering, in Workington, Cumbria, decided to support our official charity for the entirety of 2023 as their ‘Charity of the Year’ initiative.

Back in July 2022, Peter Gresty, Quality, Health, Safety and Environment/Facilities Manager at McMenon, woke up feeling unwell. His condition got worse as the day progressed until his wife called an ambulance, which arrived quickly.

Within minutes of the crew arriving, Peter collapsed going into full cardiac arrest, and had to be given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Peter’s daughter, who was a trainee nurse at the time, and the ambulance crew who attended, saved Peter’s life.

They managed to keep his heart pumping blood around his body to his brain with CPR until he had a return of spontaneous circulation after a very worrying 15 minutes.

After spending eight days in a coma at West Cumberland Hospital, Peter’s family were told to expect the worst, but he defied the odds. He was then transferred to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle where he underwent extensive tests. Six stents and an angioplasty later, he was discharged home in early August of that year. Peter said:

“I have made a full recovery and was signed off cardiac care in December 2022. Needless to say, I don’t have the words to thank the ambulance staff that attended to me that day.”

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As a thank you for the exceptional care Peter received, McMenon Engineering Services chose our NWAS charity as their Charity of the Year and raised an incredible sum of £1,200.

Recently, Peter presented the cheque to our Fundraising Manager Roya Armstrong, and Emergency Medical Technician Kerry Henderson, from Distington Ambulance Station.

Roya said: “The NWAS Charity provides support and enhancements to our services by funding lifesaving equipment and other projects to benefit the health, wellbeing and safety of patients, staff, and our communities.

“The charity is completely reliant upon generous donations and fundraising from the public, businesses, and grant funders along with support from our colleagues and volunteers. This means we can provide these important initiatives, which are all over and above what is funded through NHS budgets. The donations our charity receives do not subsidise the work of the North West Ambulance Service – they enhance it.

“The generous funds from McMenon Engineering Services will help make a difference and we can’t thank the team there enough.”

If you would like to support our NWAS Charity we have many exciting fundraising opportunities coming up in 2024, including the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge in June and places in the iconic Great North Run in September.

Please contact the Charity Team at: Charity.Office@nwas.nhs.uk to register your interest in any of our fundraising events or to make a donation.

OBSERVING RAMADAN AT NWAS.

In March, Muslims across the world will once again observe the holy month of Ramadan. It is an important month in the Islamic calendar in which Muslims fast for either 29 or 30 days, depending on the sighting of the moon.

This involves fasting from sunrise to sunset without food or water. The end of Ramadan is then marked with the celebration of Eid AlFitr.

There will be many of our colleagues across the region who will be observing Ramadan, one of those is Health Advisor and NHS 111 Wellbeing Champion Hassan Sheth. We caught up with Hassan to find out what this holy month means to him, what it involves, and how his colleagues help to support him through it.

Hassan said: “Ramadan allows me to focus my time on praying. It also puts into perspective how lucky I am to have access to food and water whilst millions around the world may not be in the same fortunate position.

“Like many other Muslims, I aim to increase the number of good deeds I do such as contributing more to charity. I attend special daily prayers at night known as Taraweeh

prayers which are 20 units of prayer in cycles of four that follow our night prayer (Isha), with the person leading the prayer reciting verses from the Quran by memory.”

Hassan will be fasting during his working hours, as they fall between sunrise and sunset. He explains how his colleagues show their respect: “Some of my colleagues that don’t observe Ramadan have taken on the challenge of fasting to show their support. One of the team managers also completed three days of fasting last year and then shared how much of a positive experience it was for them.

“Additionally, some of my colleagues won’t have any fluids whilst at their desks simply out of respect for those fasting around them, which is thoughtful.”

Ramadan starts conversations all over the world and the same can be said for in NWAS. Hassan said: “Myself and other Muslim colleagues get asked about Ramadan by members of the team from different backgrounds. It is nice to experience this and see that colleagues want to learn more about this special month.”

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“My Lunar New Year.”

- Volunteer Tyler Yan. Each year, around two billion people celebrate Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, across the globe – it is one of the largest cultural celebrations among East and South East Asian communities.

farmers looking to the moon as a guide for when to sow and harvest crops, led to celebrations of the Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year is a celebration of the start of new year in the Chinese traditional calendar (also known as the lunar calendar). The next Lunar New Year falls on 10 February 2024.

“I joined the NWAS PPP as a volunteer to help overcome some of the barriers the Chinese community might be facing, such as language and accessibility of the services.

I provide insights to NWAS from a mixed perspective of medical professionalism – my Chinese heritage and also being a medical professional, having graduated with a Medical Science Master’s Degree.

“Traditionally, the lunar calendar system is symbolised by 12 zodiac characters, this year the dragon is the symbol.

The order repeats so that every 12 years it would be Year of the Dragon. In my culture, the Year of the Dragon is a popular year to have babies as it is believed that babies will become as strong as a dragon when they grow up.

Tyler Yan, a university student and member of our Patient and Public Panels (PPP), tells us more about the Lunar New Year, and how the lunar calendar works. He also talks about what he does as a PPP member and a representative of our Chinese community to help develop the services we provide for patients.

“I often get asked why the Lunar New Year falls at a different time to New Year’s Eve. This is because the millennia of agricultural tradition in ancient China, with

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“Leading up to and on this day, every Chinese family will celebrate with different traditional practices depending on where they come from. Usually, families visit their relatives and bring blessings to each other. Some families make gyoza (dumplings) together, while some of them enjoy fireworks displays. It’s all about staying together and sharing and spending time with the family.

“Happy Chinese New Year to those celebrating!”

If you are interested in becoming a PPP member and want to make a difference in what we do like Tyler, visit: nwas.nhs.uk/panel.

Video calls took off during the pandemic – whether that was for meetings or seeing family and friends while we were in lockdown.

But did you know that we have been trialling the use of video calls between patients and our clinicians since 2019?

When patients call our NHS 111 service, their condition is assessed over the phone and in some cases, then passed to a clinical advisor – which could be a nurse or paramedic.

It is at this stage that we have been trialling video calls and so far, these have been successful.

NHS 111 Service Development Lead Ross Luckie said: “A simple way to explain the benefits of video consultation is to think about calls for skin complaints or rashes. How does a clinical advisor identify during a telephone call whether the problem requires further medical attention or whether it might be resolved by an over-the-counter cream.

“With video consultation, the clinical advisor can see the rash, ask questions, and note reactions. 42 percent of the video calls in the trial have been for patients with skin conditions, but they have also proved useful for patients with sore throats, minor wounds, bites and stings, and eye problems.”

Video calls are also used in our 999 service, where clinicians carry out further assessments of certain patients. Being able to see the patient helps the clinician decide whether an ambulance is required, or the patient could be cared for by another service in the community.

VIRTUAL CARE THROUGH VIDEO CALLS. Keeping more ambulances free to attend more urgent calls helps to ensure that the patient gets the right care, at the right time, in the right place for their condition. If an ambulance is required, the clinicians who have done the video call assessment can give the responding ambulance crews more information than they might have been able to if they’d only spoken to the patient on the telephone Ross adds:

“After initially working closely with NHS England to trial the technology, video consultation has proved it has a place within telephone triage settings. We are proud to have been part of this work which has resulted in the technology being made available to all NHS 111 services nationally.

“Results from the evaluation are positive and have helped show our team the benefits of using video consultation for appropriate calls. Use of the technology is still growing and I’m sure we’ll find other uses for video consultation to help us ensure patients always receive the most appropriate care.”

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