YourHealth Newsletter October 2021
In this issue Stop smoking
What is
Stoptober
Dyslexia?
Your Health
Let’s start stopping:
Stoptober
Facts • Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK, killing an estimated 75,000 people each year • Smoking causes at least 15 different types of cancer: lung, larynx, oesophagus, oral cavity, nasopharynx, pharynx, bladder, pancreas, kidney, liver, stomach, bowel, cervix, leukaemia, and ovarian cancers • Half of all long-term smokers die early from smokingrelated diseases, including heart disease, lung cancer and chronic bronchitis
• Passive smoking: second-hand smoke is dangerous, especially for children. People who breathe in second-hand smoke regularly are more likely to get the same diseases as smokers • 506,100 hospital admissions were attributable to smoking (2020) • The cost to society of smoking is £14.7 billion a year and the cost of heartache and ill-health to families and individuals is infinite.
• Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals including tar and nicotine. Every time you smoke, they go straight into your body through your lungs
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Stoptober So let’s start stopping. Why quit?
How do I stop?
• Quitting can make a big difference to your health. It is never too late to stop smoking to greatly benefit your health
• Talk to your doctor or pharmacist. You can find help at your local doctor’s surgery, chemist or speak to your OH provider
• Many people have given up smoking. In 1972, c.50% adults in the UK were smokers. By 1990 this had fallen to c.30%. At present, c.14% of UK adults are smokers
• Find an NHS Stop Smoking Service in your nation. You can get face-to-face support to quit smoking free from the NHS. There’s more support than ever before.
• Quitting helps you live longer - men who quit smoking by the age of 30 add 10 years to their life. People who kick the habit at 60 add three years to their life
What happens to your body when you stop smoking?
• You’ll feel better and have more money to spend on other things that you enjoy
• After 20 minutes: pulse rate returns to normal
• Quitting lets you breathe more easily - your lung capacity improves by up to 10% within nine months • Quitting gives you more energy - within two to twelve weeks of stopping smoking, your blood circulation improves • Quitting can help you feel less stressed - replacing smoking with a healthier, better way of dealing with stress can give you some real benefits • Quitting improves fertility - the lining of the womb improves and men’s sperm can become more potent • Quitting slows facial ageing and can delay the appearance of wrinkles • Quitting means less tooth staining and horrid breath, reduced gum disease and prematurely lost teeth • Quitting protects your loved ones from second-hand smoke • Quitting smoking slows mental decline - it’s five times faster in smokers over 65 years of age • Quitting saves you money - just think what you can spend your savings on!
• After eight hours: nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in blood reduce by more than half and oxygen levels return to normal • After 48 hours: carbon monoxide is eliminated from the body. Lungs start to clear out mucus and other smoking debris • After 48 hours: there is no nicotine in the body. Ability to taste and smell is improved • After 72 hours: breathing becomes easier. Bronchial tubes begin to relax and energy levels increase • And over the next few years, your circulation improves, your risk of heart disease and lung cancer drop.
Sources & Help: England https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quitsmoking/findyour-local-stop-smoking-service/ Scotland http://www.healthscotland.scot/search?q=stop+smoking Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/healthyworking-wales/health-at-work-guidance/smoking/
• Help is available if you want to stop smoking but are finding it difficult.
Northern Ireland https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/news/help-available-ifyou-want-quit-smoking
It's never too late to benefit from stopping. Being smoke-free not only adds years to your life, it also greatly improves your chances of a disease-free, mobile, happier old age.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcoholdrugs-and-tobacco-commissioning-supportpack/tobacco-commissioning-support-pack-2019-to-2 020-principles-and-indicators
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/aboutIf you’re a smoker, stopping smoking is the single most important step you can take to protect the health of your cancer/causes-of-cancer/smoking-and-cancer https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stoptob heart. er-campaign-evaluation
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Your Health
What is
Dyslexia? Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty. It can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling. However, it does not only affect these skills. Dyslexia is actually about information processing. Dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear, which can affect learning and the acquisition of literacy skills. Dyslexia can also impact on other areas such as organisational skills. It is a specific learning difficulty but, unlike a learning disability, a person’s intelligence isn't affected. It's estimated up to one in every ten people in the UK have some degree of dyslexia. Dyslexia is a neurological difference and can have a significant impact during education, in the workplace and in everyday life. As each person is unique, so is everyone's experience of dyslexia. It can range from mild to severe, and it can co-occur with other learning differences. It usually runs in families and is a life-long condition. It is important to remember that there are positives to thinking differently. Many dyslexic people show strengths in areas such as reasoning and in visual and creative fields.
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What is dyslexia? What are the symptoms of dyslexia in adults? Each person with dyslexia will experience the condition in a way that is unique to them and, as such, each will have their own set of abilities and difficulties. However, if you know what to look for, there common signs that can help you to identify whether the difficulties being experienced could be indicative of dyslexia and would suggest that further investigation could be beneficial.
Do you: • Confuse visually similar words such as cat and cot • Spell erratically • Find it hard to scan or skim text • Read/write slowly • Need to re-read paragraphs to understand them
You can also speak to your OH department or GP to find out more about dyslexia screening. This can give an indication of dyslexia and assessment, which is a formal identification.
I’ve been diagnosed as dyslexic. What do I do now? Dyslexia is covered by the Equality Act 2010 and, as such, employers have a legal duty to ensure employees are not discriminated against. Employers must make reasonable adjustments to the workplace to enable the member of staff to carry out their role to a satisfactory standard. You do not need to have had a diagnostic assessment in order for reasonable adjustments to be put in place in the workplace. A workplace needs assessment will help to determine the reasonable adjustments which will best support you.
• Find it hard to listen and maintain focus • Find it hard to concentrate if there are distractions • Feel sensations of mental overload/switching off • Have difficulty telling left from right • Get confused when given several instructions at once • Have difficulty organising thoughts on paper • Often forget conversations or important dates • Have difficulty with personal organisation, time management and prioritising tasks • Avoid certain types of work or study • Find some tasks really easy but unexpectedly challenged by others • Have poor self-esteem, especially if dyslexic difficulties have not been identified in earlier life.
Examples of reasonable adjustments: Reading: • Give verbal as well as written instructions • Highlight important points in documents • Use voicemail rather than written memos • Supply screen-reading software or a Reading Pen • Print resources on coloured paper and change background colour of computer screens and presentations.
Reading and writing: • Allow plenty of time to read and complete a task
• Discuss the material with the employee, giving Take a look at the adult dyslexia checklist summaries and/or key points https://cdn.bdadyslexia.org.uk/documents/Advice/Adu • Present information in other formats, e.g. audio or lt-16/Adult-Checklist.pdf?mtime=20190409151233 video, drawings, diagrams and flowcharts • Offer/use mind-mapping software • Offer/use digital recorders • Offer/use speech to text software • Ask someone else to take the minutes of meetings.
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What is dyslexia? Spelling and grammar:
Organisational tips:
• Spell checker on all computers
• Ensure that work areas are organised, neat and tidy
• Offer assistive text software on all applications, where possible.
• Keep items where they can be clearly see, for example shelves and bulletin boards
Computer work:
• Ensure the team returns important items to the same place each time
• Change background colour of screen to suit individual preference
• Colour code items, if appropriate
• Supply anti-glare screen filter
• Organising workflow
• Allow frequent breaks, at least every hour
• Prioritise important tasks
• Alternate computer work with other tasks where possible
• Create a daily, dated “To Do” list
• Avoid continuous all day computer work.
• Write a layout for regular tasks with appropriate prompts, for example for meetings or taking notes
Verbal communication: • Give instructions one at a time, slowly and clearly without distractions • Write down important information or encourage the employee to take notes • Write a memo outlining a plan of action • Provide a digital recorder to record presentations/training • Check understanding.
Concentration: • Make sure there is a quiet space available away from distractions such as doors, busy phones, loud machinery
• Ensure work areas are well lit
• Use and share diaries
• Build planning time into each day.
Supporting directional difficulties: • Always try to use the same route • Show the route and visible landmarks • Give time to practise going from one place to another • Supply detailed maps • Supply GPS car navigation system.
Sources https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia/ https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/
• Allocate a private workspace if possible • Allow an employee to work from home occasionally, if possible • Use a “do not disturb” sign when tasks require intense concentration • If interrupting, allow the person to pause and write down what they are doing to refer to when resuming work.
Appointments and deadlines: • Remind the person of important deadlines and review priorities regularly • Encourage the employee to use the daily calendar and alarm features on his/her computer or work phone.
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YourHealth Newsletter October 2021
In this issue
Cancer Screening
Your Health
Cancer
Screening Cancer screening is used to try to identify those at higher risk of cancer, so steps can be taken to reduce their risk or provide medical intervention. In the UK we routinely screen for three types of cancer. Cancer screening aims to detect cancer early, thereby maximising the chances of successful treatment and recovery:
• Bowel cancer • Breast cancer • Cervical cancer.
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Cancer Screening The NHS bowel cancer screening programme
NHS breast cancer screening programme
The programme offers screening every two years to all men and women aged 60 to 74.
The UK's programme was launched in 1987 based on the recommendations of the Forrest Committee, in an attempt to detect early, nonpalpable (cannot be felt), local disease.
Those registered with a GP will be sent a screening kit. People older than this can ask for a screening kit every two years, by calling the free helpline on 0800 707 6060. Other points: • People in the invitation age range are automatically sent an invitation, then a bowel screening kit, so they can do the test at home • After the first screening test, they will be sent another invitation and screening kit every two years until they reach 74
The programme’s goals are: • To invite three-yearly, all women in the 50-70 year age group for mammography in static or mobile units, with the option of self-referral for older women • To recall all women with mammographically detected abnormalities for further investigation in specialist assessment units.
In women over 50 years of age (as risk increases with • An abnormal result (positive test for blood in the poo) will age), mammographic screening has been shown to mean the patient will be offered colonoscopy (examination reduce the mortality from breast cancer by at least 25%. of the large bowel using a fibre-optic camera). Women over the age of 70 are also entitled to screening and can arrange an appointment through their GP or An important objective of the screening programme is to make sure those invited attend. The expected effectiveness local screening unit. The NHS is in the process of extending the programme as a trial, offering screening of the bowel screening programme in reducing bowel to some women aged 47 to 73. cancer mortality requires a minimum uptake of 52%. After ten years, the UK screening programme is expected to Find out more information about bowel cancer produce a reduction of 1,250 breast cancer deaths annually, screening: with each woman in whom death from breast cancer is https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/healthprofessional/awareness-and-prevention/be-clear-on-cancer prevented, surviving, on average, an extra 20 years. If your GP suspects you may have bowel cancer, they will arrange for you to see a specialist. Depending on your symptoms and other factors, this may be an urgent referral. With an urgent referral, you should see a specialist within two weeks.
Mammographic screening, where x-ray images of the breast are taken, is the most commonly available way of finding a change in your breast tissue at an early stage. However, you should be aware that a mammogram may fail to detect some breast cancers.
To learn more about bowel cancer:
Women with a higher than average risk of developing breast cancer may be offered screening and genetic testing for the condition.
https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bowel-cancer/
Find out more about breast cancer, including different types, treatment, and living with breast cancer: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/breast-cancer/ Northern Ireland https://breastcancernow.org/ https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/bowel-cancerhttps://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/breast-cancer screening https://breastcancernow.org/information-support/havei-got-breast-cancer/signs-symptoms-breast-cancer Scotland: http://www.healthscotland.scot/healthtopics/screening/bowelNorthern Ireland: screening#:~:text=Scotland%20has%20a%20higher% https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/search?query=breast+cancer 20rate%20of%20bowel%20cancer,onwards%20the%20 Scotland: http://www.healthscotland.scot/healthrisk%20of%20bowel%20cancer%20is%20higher. topics/screening/breast-screening Wales: https://phw.nhs.wales/services-andWales: https://phw.nhs.wales/services-andteams/screening/breast-screening/about-breast-screening/ teams/screening/bowel-screening/ https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/aboutcancer/bowel-cancer
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Cancer Screening NHS cervical screening programme Cervical cancer is cancer in the cervix, the opening of the womb from the vagina. It is possible for anyone with a cervix (women, trans men, people who are non-binary who were assigned female at birth, and cis gender women) of any age to develop cervical cancer. Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by human papilloma virus (HPV). This is a very common virus, which can be passed on through any type of sexual contact, with a man* or a woman.* There are more than a hundred types of HPV, many of which are harmless. However, some types can cause abnormal changes to the cells of the cervix, which can eventually lead to cervical cancer. There is a huge move to HPV screening for cervical cancer as cervical cancer is highly unlikely where HPV is not detected. This means that no additional screening should be needed where negative and the test is generally more comfortable. Other risk factors for cervical cancer include other sexually transmitted infections, smoking, the contraceptive pill, how many children you have had and when you have had them, family history and certain previous cancers. The best way to protect yourself from cervical cancer is by attending your cervical screening appointment (previously known as a “smear test”). The screening program in the UK: • Aims to reduce the incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer through a screening programme for people aged 24.5 to 64 who have a cervix • Individuals are invited for their first screening test at the age of 24.5 years. Individuals under this age who have symptoms, are concerned about their sexual health or are worried about their risk of developing cervical cancer, should contact their GP or their local genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinic • Between the ages of 24.5 to 49, individuals are offered cervical screening every three years • Between the ages of 50 and 64, individuals are offered cervical screening every five years.
Cervical screening checks the health of your cervix. It is not a test for cancer; it is a test to help prevent cancer, In the test, cells are collected, put onto a slide and the cells are then analysed carefully in a laboratory for signs of pre cancer/changes, etc. You should be sent a letter confirming when it is your time for your screening appointment. Contact your GP if you think that you may be overdue. During cervical screening, a small sample of cells is taken from a cervix and checked under a microscope for abnormalities. In some areas, the screening sample is first checked for human papilloma virus (HPV). An abnormal cervical screening test result does not mean you have cancer. Most abnormal results are either due to signs of HPV, the presence of treatable precancerous cells, or both, rather than cancer itself. You will get the results by letter, usually in about two to six weeks. The letter will explain what happens next. Find out more about cervical cancer: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/aboutcancer/cervical-cancer https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-cancer/ Scotland: http://www.healthscotland.scot/healthtopics/screening/cervical-screening Northern Ireland: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/conditions/cervical-cancer Wales: https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/cervicalscreening-wales/what-is-cervical-screening/ *Includes men, women, trans men, trans women, people who are non-binary who were assigned female or male at birth, and cis gender women or men.
Cancer Screening Population Screening Timeline
These apply in England. Check the NHS/health service in your nation to see if these ranges apply to you.
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Your Health References: http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/bowel/ (accessed December 19th 2012) PHE Screening Blog (July 2016) - We're getting ready for bowel screening Bowel cancer screening programme standards: valid for data collected from 1 April 2018 (Updated July 26th 2019) Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer Screening (February 2006). Screening for Breat Cancer in England: Past and Future.Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer Screening. NHSBSP Publication No 61. Moss SM et al. Effect of mammographic screening from age 40 years on breast cancer mortality at 10 years' follow-up: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2006 Dec 9;368(9552):2053-60. Armstrong K et al. Screening mammography in women 40 to 49 years of age: a systematic review for the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2007 Apr 3;146(7):516-26. NHS Digital (February 2019). Breast Screening Programme England, 2017-18 WalboomersJM(1), Jacobs MV, Manos MM, Bosch FX. J Pathol. 1999 Sep;189(1):12-9. Human papillomavirus is a necessary cause of invasive cervical cancer worldwide. Kitchener et al. Lancet Oncol 2009, Ronco et al. Lancet Oncol 2006, Ronco et al. JNCI 2006, Rijkaart et al. Lancet Oncol 2012 Public Health England (PHE). Primary High Risk HPV Testing with Cytology Triage. NHS Cervical Screening Programme (Accessed November 16th 2020)
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