Spread message, not your germs

HEALTH advice . . . Dr Brian Lewis, St Mary’s Medical Centre, Jacqui O’Reilly, associate director clinical leadership, Hazel Shaw, deputy director of Oldham Community Health Services, Claire Grindley, practice nurse Barley Clough Medical Centre, and Andrea Harper, staff nurse at the Royal Oldham Hospital get the messages across

A MAJOR campaign to keep everyone safe and well over Christmas has been launched by NHS Oldham.

The campaign aims to make sure residents know where to go to get the best treatment should they fall ill over the festive period.

Shauna Dixon, director of clinical leadership for NHS Oldham, said: “A major aim of the campaign is to support the NHS Oldham’s work to ensure health services are able to help people in need at a time when services tend to be under greater pressure.

“Illnesses such as the flu are more common during winter and older people, children and those with long-term conditions over the winter are more susceptible to being seriously affected by them.”

The campaign’s key message is: cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough and sneeze, dispose of the tissue as soon as possible and clean your hands as soon you can to help prevent the spread of germs.

This is also the message of the national Catch it, Kill it, Bin it campaign to raise awareness of the need for good hygiene practice.

Other messages of the winter campaign include staying warm with lots of layers of clothing, have plenty of hot food and drinks and make sure you stock up with essentials such as paracetamol, indigestion remedies and plasters.

Winter is the time when the norovirus infection — often referred to as “winter vomiting” — starts to become more common.

Symptoms include diarrhoea, projectile vomiting and fever. Patients are advised to get plenty of rest, drink plenty of water and try to stay at home for a speedy recovery.

The campaign is also trying to encourage people to drink sensibly and have safe sex as health services tend to see more people with sexually transmitted infections and alcohol-related accidents and violence over Christmas and New Year.

Health chiefs are advising revellers to beware of the influence alcohol and drugs may have over the ability to make sensible choices.

Women are not recommended to have more than three units a day and men four - a pint of lager and glass of wine has two units while a spirit measure contains one.