Health & Wellbeing

A soldier from Sutton Coldfield, in the West Midlands, was travelling on the M6 when a vehicle up ahead suddenly stopped. With no hazard lights on and the vehicle at a slight angle, the soldier knew something was wrong.

Sgt Richard Jennings, 32, had been on a 7-week Caving course with the Army Adventurous Training Group in Ripon and was travelling back to his base at the Joint Service Mountain Training Centre in Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, North Wales when the incident took place.

Pregnant women in Wolverhampton are being urged to get the Covid-19 vaccine as data shows that nearly 20% of the most critically ill coronavirus patients were pregnant women who have not been vaccinated. Although the overall risk to pregnant women and new-born babies from Covid-19 disease is low, in later pregnancy some women may become seriously unwell and could need hospital treatment.

Almost half of employees in the West Midlands would not talk to their employer if they were experiencing a health issue, having a detrimental impact on business performance and culture, according to new research from not-for-profit healthcare provider, Benenden Health.

As many as 45% of individuals in the region reported that they wouldn’t feel confident discussing any health issue with their employer, with many worrying about what it would mean for their career and relationships within the workplace.

Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice has raised an incredible £234,000 through its recent ‘Raise the Roof’ capital appeal which launched last spring. The appeal was launched after the charities annual buildings survey showed that the flat rooves of its Selly Oak based Inpatient Unit had deteriorated so badly, that patient bedrooms would be affected when the winter weather hit if not repaired in time.

Face coverings have been made mandatory for everyone working in the House of Commons except MPs.

In updated guidance, the Commons authorities said all staff, visitors, contractors and press must cover their faces to combat the spread of Covid.

A councillor is appealing for witnesses to come forward after a vital piece of medical equipment was stolen from a public park. Thieves stole a defibrillator – a device which gives a high energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest – from King George V Playing Fields in Wednesfield on September 30.

Responding to the Medical Schools Council (MSC) recommendation to increase the number of medical students by 5000 to a total of 14,500 graduating doctors per year, Dr Katherine Henderson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said:

“The NHS had widespread workforce shortages before the pandemic and these are at the root of the problems currently facing the NHS.

Leading charities and health organisations are urging public access defibrillator owners in the West Midlands to register their devices on a new national database, called The Circuit, which could help save thousands of lives from cardiac arrests in the coming years. 

There are around 3,700 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year in the West Midlands, but just one in 13 people survive.

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at twice the risk of developing type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes and taking the contraceptive pill can reduce the risk by over a quarter, finds a new University of Birmingham-led study.

PCOS affects 10% of women world-wide and has previously been associated with a number of other conditions, such as endometrial cancer, cardiovascular disease, and non-alcohol related fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

On World Osteoporosis Day, Wednesday 20 October 2021, the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) is publishing the biggest study for many years into life with the overlooked health condition.   

The findings provide a new insight into how life has changed since 2014 for the 3.5m people living with osteoporosis (weak bones).

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club have been praised by the city’s health chief for having 100% of the team and coaching staff vaccinated against Covid-19. The club is amongst only a handful of the 20 clubs in the Premier League who have publicly confirmed that all of their players and coaching staff are fully vaccinated against the deadly virus.

John Denley, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Director for Public Health, said: “It’s wonderful to see Wolves set such a shining example to their fans and to the wider Premier League, that the best way of protecting ourselves and others from the deadly virus is to get fully vaccinated.

“Players and staff like Head Coach Bruno Lage are great role models for our city and are leading the way in this. There aren’t many Premier League clubs who can say that all of the players and coaching staff have had their Covid-19 vaccinations.

“We are also grateful for the support the club has given to the vaccine rollout in Wolverhampton, from Bruno going on record to encourage others to get vaccinated, to hosting our vaccine bus which proved extremely popular each time it was there. The Wolves Foundation also kindly donated a signed team shirt as an extra incentive for people to get their jabs.”

Bruno Lage, Wolves Head Coach, previously said: "I arrived here with no vaccine and I’ve already taken both of them.

“All of my players have had theirs as well. Here at Wolves, it’s not a question. We all need to do the best thing to get back to normal life.

"That’s why I did it and that’s why all my players did it. It’s important for all the world, not only the players. The quicker we can return to normal, I think it will be good for everyone."

Speaking about the vaccine, Wolves player Ruben Neves added: “When we have something that can help us to have a normal life and there is no proof that it is bad, I think we just need to take it and think of all the people around us, because it will be really good for the people that take it, and the people they are around.”

Covid-19 vaccinations are available in Wolverhampton for anyone over the age of 16, either at walk-in vaccination clinics around the city, or by pre-booking an appointment. Details of walk-in clinics can be found at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/local-vaccine and vaccination appointments can be booked online at www.nhs.co.uk/covidvaccine or by calling NHS 119.

The latest figures show there were 332.8 new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the last seven days. That means 875 people in the city tested positive for the virus in that same period – though the true number of new cases will likely be higher.

To mark Qatar Airways’ continuous support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, passengers are being offered an exclusive ‘Think Pink’ experience in the sky as well in Hamad International Airport (HIA) lounges, including custom-designed limited-edition BRIC’S amenity kits and pink-themed special menus.

Designed by Qatar Airways in collaboration with the stylish Italian luggage brand – BRIC’S, the limited-edition amenity kits are made from vegan leather and are offered in two different designs – a pink and white kit for female passengers, and a black kit for male passengers, both with the iconic breast cancer ribbon prints.

One million COVID-19 tests have been processed at the new megalab in Leamington Spa using cutting-edge testing technology including top of the range robotics.

Opened in June 2021 the laboratory is part of the current Test and Trace network and is at the heart of the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) plans for managing COVID-19, including through scaled up genome sequencing capacity.

Schools, offices and community groups in Wolverhampton are being encouraged to say #HelloYellow today (Friday 8 October) and put on something yellow to let young people know they are not alone this World Mental Health Day.

The #HelloYellow campaign, created by Young Minds and supported by #YES, Wolverhampton’s Youth Engagement Strategy, and HeadStart Wolverhampton, aims to raise awareness of some of the issues that young people may face with their mental health and how to deal with them.

Wolverhampton Homes has made a planning application on behalf of City of Wolverhampton Council to convert a vacant city centre building into an additional multi-agency centre to support vulnerable people and people with a history of rough sleeping.

The British Society for Surgery of the Hand is excited to launch the crowd funder for its first ever book, Hands Re:Worked - a stunning montage of photographs celebrating hand patients, their inspiring stories and their hands, reclaimed with the help of surgery. Hands Re:Worked showcases a wide variety of inspiring patients' stories, from para-triathletes to stonemasons, Archbishops to survivors of terrorist attacks.