Businesses in Worcestershire are being encouraged by the NHS to help support the national winter health campaign by sharing important messages with their employees.
Winter conditions can be seriously bad for people’s health, especially for those aged 65 or over, and for people with long-term conditions. The NHS wants to help protect patients and those they care for this winter and so has launched a winter health campaign called Stay Well This Winter. The aim of the campaign is to give a consistent message across the country to help people take control of their health and wellbeing this winter.
The NHS ‘Stay Well This Winter’ campaign urges the public to:
- Make sure they get their flu vaccination if they are at risk of developing more serious complications from the virus (e.g. people aged 65 years of age or over, those with long-term conditions, pregnant women and young children)
- Keep themselves warm by heating their home to least 18 degrees C or (65F)
- Quickly seek help from their pharmacist if they start to feel unwell – even if it’s just a cough or a cold – before it gets more serious
- Make sure they get their prescription medicines before pharmacies close on Christmas Eve
- Always take their prescribed medicines as directed
- Look out for other people who may need a bit of extra help over winter, such as elderly neighbours or relatives
- Remember that A&E is for life-threatening conditions only and in many situations other healthcare options are more suitable, such as local pharmacies, GPs and Minor Injury Units (MIUs) or advice from NHS 111.
In recent weeks the three Worcestershire NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups have been working with partners to spread the messages as far and as wide as possible. The campaign is being backed up by national TV and radio advertising over the next month to further promote these winter messages.
Tom Grove, Head of Communications for NHS South Worcestershire CCG said: “The aim of this winter campaign is to reach out to as many people as possible and let them know the sorts of things they can do to help themselves stay healthy this coming winter. There are lots of things that local businesses can do to help spread the message such as directing them to the nearest pharmacy for help and advice if they come to work feeling a little under the weather, and encouraging their employees to get the flu jab if they are eligible.”
If businesses would like any Stay Well This Winter materials or articles to publish on their intranet sites or for emailing to staff please email the Worcestershire CCG Communications Team at ccgcomms@worcestershire.nhs.uk.
More information about the campaign, plus useful winter health advice can be found at www.nhs.uk/staywell or by searching Twitter using the hashtag #StayWellThisWinter.