http://www.swindonlink.org Swindon LINk Reason Digital Feed maker on CMS Made Simple matt@reasondigital.com ( ) http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Mental health There are a variety of mental health services in Swindon, though we frequently hear from those who consider there should be more. Ensuring the mental wellbeing of the population is increasingly being seen as an integral part of successful and stable communities, and taboos are being broken down. What are your views and ideas about local services? Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:44:51 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Mental health http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=GP practices For many of us GP practices are the first and only contact we have with the National Health Service. There are 27 GP practices in the Borough of Swindon that serve nearly 220,000 of us. This section is devoted to news and your views about them. Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:41:20 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=GP practices http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Great Western Hospital For people in Swindon, and many in Wiltshire, the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust simply means the local hospital. For others across Wiltshire and parts of Bath and North East Somerset it now also means community health and maternity services. It's a crucial part of our local fabric and ensuring services are to the necessary standards of quality relies in part on you giving feedback and ideas about the service. Here is a good place to do that. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 13:11:46 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Great Western Hospital http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Complementary and Alternative Medicine The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine defines Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) as "a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products, that are not currently part of conventional medicine." The breadth of this grouping is wide: it covers both osteopathy and biofield therapies for example. Locally NHS Swindon does not normally fund CAMS, though some suggest they should. See below for the latest news and don't forget to add your comments. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 13:10:44 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Complementary and Alternative Medicine http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=HealthWatch In April 2013 LINk will stop and HealthWatch will start. Although nothing is yet definite, it looks as though it will be a different animal to LINk with a different organisation and wider powers. This section keeps you up-to date with all the latest developments and discussions. Feel free to add your own ideas. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 13:07:37 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=HealthWatch http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Vision and optometry Wed, 8 Feb 2012 13:04:29 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Vision and optometry http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Patient medical records The Government commissioned report states that patients should be allowed to view their whole medical history, study the results of diagnostic tests and see which drugs they have been prescribed. Ministers have already backed the idea. Patients can currently access their records, but have to apply for access and provide a legitimate reason. What do you think? Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:30:46 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Patient medical records http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Living independently Most of us would like to continue living independently as long as possible. Social services and the health service support people to do this if necessary. Do you think services allow people to continue to live independently? What could be improved to help more people do this? Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:36:16 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Living independently http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Care at home Many people in Swindon are cared for at home. At the moment many changes are taking place, such as a shift from council provision to private for some receiving care. Swindon LINk want to be sure that quality and dignity standards are adhered to in this period of change. Please tell us what your experiences are. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:00:11 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Care at home http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Diabetes Diabetes can affect different groups in different ways, some of whom are able to reduce the risk of getting it, while others cannot. Certain ethnic groups are more susceptible to it than others, while environmental factors also play a part. In other words it is complex. Swindon LINk participants have been going to the Diabetes Steering Group and reporting back here; feel free to comment below and make your opinions known. Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:11:42 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Diabetes http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Learning disabilities People with learning disabilities are fifty eight times more likely to die prematurely than those without. Whilst this figure is shocking, there are also many positive things happening locally. Services like One Step Ahead provide excellent support, education and services for adults whilst government grants have allowed projects like Aiming High for Disabled Children to develop better services and information for children. But how can we ensure children and adults alike continue to receive the care and support they need? What are your experiences of services at the moment? Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:09:25 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=Learning disabilities http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=End of life care "Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes" wrote Benjamin Franklin at the age of 83. Delay thinking about the sort of care and support you might want towards the end of your life and you may delay too long. So where do taxes come in? The coalition government is once again reviewing how care will be paid for in future: for most of us there are only two places the money can come from – our own pockets or general taxation. What are your views about care at or towards the end of life? Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:44:44 +0000 http://www.swindonlink.org/working-issue/?issue=End of life care