Health & Wellbeing

Trevor Johnson has joined Acorns Children’s Hospice this week, as the charity’s new Chief Executive. Mr Johnson, who was previously CEO of Katharine House Hospice in Oxfordshire, replaces previous CEO Toby Porter, who stepped down in September 2022 after six years at the helm.

Speaking of the appointment, Matt Bullock, Acorns Director of People and Culture, and interim CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome Trevor to the charity – someone we know brings with them a wealth of knowledge and experience from within the children’s palliative care and charity sectors.

During yesterday’s World Kidney Day, Kidney Care UK, the UK's leading kidney patient support charity and Severn Trent, announced that they have joined forces to support more than a quarter of a million people with chronic kidney disease in the heart of the UK1.

Kidney Care UK provides a range of various support services to help the 3.5million people with kidney disease across the UK. Through the partnership with Severn Trent every kidney patient from the Bristol Channel to the Humber, and from mid-Wales to the East Midlands will be able to access help from the charity including with assistance with benefits, financial hardship grants, free counselling, free community support from the charity’s network of patient support and advocacy officers.

Over 700 Austin 7 owners from all over the world gathered to celebrate the centenary of the car's launch last summer, raising over £10,000 for Parkinson’s UK. Charlie Plain-Jones of Solihull, organised the celebration of the car, which was launched in July 1922. Charlie wanted to fundraise at the event for Parkinson’s UK as his father lived with the condition for many years.

A sponsored swimming challenge which raises vital funds for leading charity Diabetes UK returns this spring – and a call has gone out for people from Birmingham to sign up. Swim22 runs between 22 March and 22 June and involves swimming a total of 22 miles –the same distance as the English Channel. Participants can take on the challenge at their own pace, in their local pool or the open water, accumulating the miles across the course of the 12 weeks.

Former England rugby captain Matt Dawson MBE is supporting Bowel Cancer UK’s latest fundraising campaign, ActiveApril. Taking part is really simple.

Just get sponsored to walk, run or stretch every day in April, which happens to be Bowel Cancer Awareness Month. Supporters can choose how they take part, whether it’s a dance class, jogging to the top of the nearest hill, or aiming for the top of the stairs.

Refugees and asylum seekers of all ages residing in Sandwell will benefit from a specially designed wellbeing programme following a funding grant of £59,000. The grant, courtesy of Sandwell Council public health team, forms part of the Stronger Sandwell initiative that looks to build on Sandwell’s strengths, focussing on the ethos that nobody is left behind.

The charity Diabetes UK is providing support and advice for people in the Muslim community who live with diabetes, to help them stay healthy during Ramadan. 

This year, Ramadan will run for 29 or 30 days from on or around 22 March, ending with Eid al-Fitr, a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide. The Qur'an requires Muslims to fast during the month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset, but there are exceptions and people who are unwell or have medical conditions are not expected to fast. This includes people with diabetes. 

Following the success of the tenth anniversary Bike4Life Ride Out and Festival, the event will return for another year on Sunday 23rd April 2023, with a new sponsor in place. The Bike Insurer, a British motorbike insurance comparison site, has announced its support of the lifesaving Midlands Air Ambulance Charity by becoming the official headline event sponsor for the pre-hospital emergency service’s Bike4Life 2023 Ride Out and Festival.

Helen Harms from Smethwick, West Midlands, is running her first ever marathon this year to raise funds for Parkinson’s UK.

She will be taking part in the London Marathon on Sunday 23 April. A secondary school teacher, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2020, just before the first lockdown, and said that the charity was very important in helping her come to terms with her condition.

Marie Curie and supporters including Tom Jones, actress Alison Steadman and Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter are urging the nation to unite for a National Day of Reflection. Taking place one month from today, the aim is to provide a moment to remember loved ones who have died, support those who are grieving, and connect with each other.

In honour of World Music Therapy Day on March 1, Percussion Play is highlighting the healing power of music and championing music therapists around the world.

It has long been scientifically proven that listening to and creating music lifts people’s moods and creates a powerful sense of well-being. Outdoor activity has also been shown to enhance our mood, proven most recently during the pandemic when many embraced outdoor activities.

With children finishing school for the Half Term holiday, outdoor attractions including petting farms and zoos will be welcoming many families through their doors – so the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) West Midlands is urging people to take care and practice correct hand hygiene to avoid nasty stomach bugs.

The past few years have undoubtedly proved challenging for the UK’s farming industry. Continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit, a global pandemic, supply chain shortages, the war in Ukraine and now, issues with the egg and poultry sector have been impacting the mental health of those living and working in farming.

A researcher at the University of Wolverhampton is working in collaboration with Ochanomizu University in Japan to investigate how fatigue effects ballet dancers via Xsens motion capture suits.

Professor Matthew Wyon, Professor in Exercise Physiology at the University of Wolverhampton and former ballet dancer, Dr Mayumi Kuno-Mizumura at Ochanomizu University, Japan are working to discover the impact of fatigue on dancers’ quality and precision by the use of Xsens motion capture suits.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data released today shows a sharp increase in confirmed cases of Norovirus – the most common cause of vomiting and diarrhoea bugs.

National surveillance data shows laboratory reports of the virus are 66% higher than the average at this time of year. The biggest increase in laboratory confirmed norovirus has been seen in the 65 and over age group. 

Healthcare students at Birmingham City University (BCU) are set to benefit from new and upgraded teaching facilities, following a major investment of nearly £5 million.

The Professor Carol Doyle Simulation Centre is based at the University’s Seacole Building on its City South Campus in Edgbaston. The new and upgraded facilities will be fundamental to training the next generation of healthcare professionals, further enhancing BCU’s status as one of the country’s leading healthcare education providers.