Gay and Living in Blackpool?

posted: 10/02/2011

Blackpool NHS is asking gay men and LBT residents to join their survey about your NHS. Gay and bi men in Blackpool, with or without HIV, can help make a difference.

The NHS, like all public bodies must create Equality Action Plans by April and HIV should be part of these, particularly in a town like Blackpool – both HIV prevention and HIV treatment and care.
 

Equality Action Plans must take these five steps

• Survey how service affects the protected groups (people with HIV are treated as ‘disabled,’ and LGBT are another protected group)
• Consult widely, involve people – that’s why they want your views now in this survey
• Assess the impact of their current policies and practice
• Use this evidence to decide action objectives and priorities
• Take the actions

The Blackpool NHS survey is to find out if different groups of people are treated unfairly and is secure and anonymous. Please take part before Monday 28 February. The survey takes about 5 minutes here on SurveyMonkey.

More information on the Blackpool NHS consultation please email Lorraine Moffat
 

Body Positive Blackpool Saved

posted: 05/10/2010

Body Positive in Blackpool has been saved by two local councillors who donated £6,500. Body Positive in Blackpool feared it would only survive until next year after it discovered its employee Bianca Campbell had stolen £4,127 using its bank card to buy things for her own botox company, Fresh Face.
Redundancies and cuts

As a result of Campbell's theft and a £15,000 cut in local authority funding, Body Positive Blackpool made two staff redundant and cut its services.  But last week the charity was giving a reprieve after Labour councillors Simon Blackburn and Gary Coleman donated £6,500 to keep the charity running.
Bianca Campbell, who was sacked in March when her theft was discovered, pleaded guilty to fraud at Preston Crown Court.
 

The court heard Campbell used a Body Positive Blackpool bankcard to order products for her own business. Campbell was given a total of six months prison, suspended for a year, with 12 months supervision.
 

Body Positive Blackpool 
 

Source
 

HIV Tests at Casualty

posted: 27/07/2010

Every person who goes to London A&E departments could soon be tested for HIV under plans being considered by NHS London. In the first move of its kind, the HIV checks could become routine at emergency units and will be offered to any adult attending casualty. The move is being rolled out at Chelsea & Westminster NHS foundation trust following a hugely successful Department of Health funded study at the south-west London hospital.
 

2 people diagnosed every month at one A&E

It comes because of the numbers of people with HIV and the rise in HIV across London. The pilot HIV testing at Chelsea and Westminster’s A&E department found nearly half a dozen new people with HIV in only three months.
 

The Health Protection Agency recently recommended that the NHS should as a matter of routine do a HIV healthcare check everyone when they go to an A&E department in any areas with higher rates of HIV. Now a number of other health trusts are already seriously considering this.
 

North West Too?

In NW England, Manchester, Salford and Blackpool have rates of HIV high enough to justify routine HIV screening in A&E.
 

Better Health and prevention

HIV testing at A&E is one way to improve the health of people with undiagnosed HIV. New figures show that at least one in every four people with HIV do not know they have HIV. Late diagnosis worsens people’s health and shortens people’s lives. Undiagnosed HIV means people don't get the treatment they need for good health and people may be passing on HIV unwittingly to their sexual partners.
 

Under 18s

Dr Rachael Jones, from Chelsea and Westminster hospital, said she has treated nearly a dozen patients under 18 in the last three years in West London but this was just “the tip of the iceberg”.
The consultant blamed ministers for focusing on underage pregnancy instead of on safer sex and said HIV tests should be routine for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation. She said: “For a long time it was men having sex with men presenting with the virus. Now we're seeing teenagers coming through for the first time with HIV. It only takes one episode of unprotected sex for them to become infected.”
Dr Jones said that the “Don't die of ignorance” shock campaign of the Eighties failed to have a lasting impact and that many teenagers do not even know what HIV is.
 

Source 
 

World AIDS Day - Lancashire

posted: 28/10/2009

World AIDS Day (1 December) is being made a red letter day across Lancashire. Here’s the events we already know about.

Pantomine and Cabaret
25 November Red Ribbon Pantomine @ Twaites Theatre Blackburn
27 November Red Ribbon Cabaret @ 53 degrees, UCLAN, Preston
Full details here

Ormskirk Clubbing
WAD 1st December
Outrageous club in Ormskirk, WAD fundraiser for CLASS (CLASS provide HIV support from Preston for people in central Lancashire)

HIV Vigil - Preston and Blackburn
WAD Vigil, 7.30pm St Johns Minster, Church Street, Preston
WAD Vigil, 7.30pm (to be confirmed) Blackburn Cathedral, Blackburn

Event
Friday 4th December, Preston FLAG Market (Market Square) Celebrating life with HIV event - we've not been told when - email Andy Thompson the LGBT community worker at SHIVER 

Schools and Colleges Awareness - Blackpool
From 6 December there’s a week of awareness in several schools as part of the 'Respect' week. There will be speakers on ‘respect’ issues such as domestic violence, homophobic bullying and sexual health.
A speaker living with HIV will give an informal talk on Friday 4 December to 6th form students who are being trained as teenage peer educators, and to the whole sixth form in the following week.

iPhone quiz prize for school and college students
lAndy Thompson, SHIVER’s LGBT worker and a colleague will give short talks on HIV at several school assemblies. A free Q&A quiz about HIV will award the winner an iPhone and is already drawing much student interest, promoted by the poster produced by the 6th form to advertise it.

Teenage peer educators The teenage peer educators are making a short film for these school assemblies which will include sound bites and clips from programmes popular with teens, such as Holyoaks which has a current Malachy and HIV storyline. 

Red Ribbons for donations will be widely available at the schools and colleges during this fortnight.

Video at Blackpool council customer centre
On a continuous display loop is a short video presentation in the Customer First Centre of Blackpool borough council; this will run for two weeks from 23rd November to 6 December.
 

This short video will also be shown in all the local LGBT venues on and around the 1st.

Mardi Gras club vigil - Blackpool
A short service and vigil will be held in the Blackpool gay club Mardi Gras on the Saturday 28 November and on Tuesday 1 December
 

Flying Handbag - Blackpool

There’s a charity all-dayer at the Flying Handbag on Sunday the 6 December to raise money for next year. £2 on the door.

Blackpool - Caring with Confidence

posted: 29/07/2009

Caring with Confidence is a knowledge and skills based programme which aims to help carers make a positive difference to their life and that of the person they care for. Carers can mix and match how they further develop their knowledge and skills - by taking part in one or more free, local group sessions.

HIV, stigma and general training courses

A course is offered in Blackpool and could be helpful to people caring for people living with HIV. This is a general course for all carers, not  a course just for people caring for others living with HIV. We suggest you think about whether you will say anything about HIV, and about the person you are caring for, in this course. It may be awkward to take part because of HIV stigma and confidentiality. We suggest you check with the course arranger how this will be dealt with, and what you can expect.

Caring with Confidence is part of the Government's 'New Deal for Carers' - an initiative aimed at improving support for carers. These are courses are being delivered by SHIVER staff, part of Drugline Lancashire, based on Dixon Road in Blackpool.

Similar courses are run eg in Manchester by LGF. You can search the Caring with Confidence website for courses in other districts.

The website also offers online sessions and self-study workbooks, if you don't want to, or cannot do a course.

These are the August and September dates in Blackpool

Lorraine Moffat
SHIVER Project Manager
102 Dickson Road
Blackpool
FY1 2BU

Tel: 01253 311431
Mobile: 07944340130
Fax: 01253 296662
email
www.druglinelancs.co.uk

Caring with Confidence