When Mark Hatfield, now 62, left the army in the 1990s, there was little mental health or wellbeing support for veterans, and after suffering for years with poor mental health, even feeling suicidal at times, he finally decided to seek help in his 50s, with the NHS Op COURAGE service. And this week, the NHS has […]

Thousands more people in the North West will be sent a home-testing kit to help detect signs of bowel cancer, as the NHS expands the lifesaving NHS Bowel Screening Programme to people aged 54 in England. Those aged 54 and over will now automatically receive a home-testing kit every two years by post when they […]

Record industrial action this week could see one of the most difficult starts to the year for health services across the country, the NHS in the North West has said today. Junior doctors strike from tomorrow (3rd) at 7am, until 7am on Tuesday (9th) – the longest consecutive strike action ever taken in the history […]

One of the North West’s top nurses has been recognised in this year’s New Year’s Honours list, as dozens of other dedicated NHS staff from the region and across the country are named for their contributions to healthcare. The honours have been awarded to an array of NHS staff in the North West including one […]

Strike action by junior doctors starting from today (Wednesday 20 December) will stretch healthcare services even further, as the NHS already faces winter challenges at the busiest time of the year, making it even more important for people to use NHS services wisely. Across the region, junior doctors are taking part in strike action from […]

THE FESTIVE season is almost upon us and the NHS in the North West is calling people to look out for frail and elderly relatives, friends and neighbours over Christmas and New Year. Many older people spend the Christmas period alone – and some will then deteriorate and end up requiring a hospital admission over […]

The NHS has set out how people in the North West will benefit from better access to life-saving vaccinations, following the success of initiatives already trialled in the region during the COVID-19 vaccination programme. The ambitious NHS vaccination strategy, published yesterday (Wednesday, 13 December) outlines how getting vaccinations will be made easier than ever before, […]

Hundreds of new staff have joined the emergency care workforce in the North West ahead of winter – including as paramedics and call handlers – with warnings of significant pressure due to winter viruses over the next few months. The numbers of both 999 and 111 call handlers nationally are up on last De cember […]

When John Gore, a 73-year-old patient from Cheshire, became ill with pneumonia recently, he thought he might have had to spend the lead up to Christmas in hospital. But thanks to the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust’s Hospital at Home service, he is receiving hospital-quality treatment in the comfort of his own home this […]

With Christmas fast approaching, the North West’s Chief Pharmacist is urging people to add ordering and collecting repeat prescriptions to their to-do lists. GP practices and pharmacies will have different opening hours over Christmas and New Year period and will be closed on Monday 25 December and Tuesday 26 December, then again over the New […]