NHS Facebook Live session on Cancer Facts and Fictions will now take place on Wednesday 25 November, 6-7.30pm at
You’ll hear from trusted clinicians and cancer specialists who will advise on cancer prevention & symptoms
Category Archives: Keeping Safe
‘Big Energy Saving Winter Event’ Thursday 26th November 2020 @11am
Worried about energy bills this winter? Green Doctors are here to help!
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This is a free service aiming to tackle fuel poverty & promote affordable warmth by advising households on ways to reduce energy costs (Provided by Groundwork Yorkshire). They have helped many people save over £300 per year on their energy costs.
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They also help you to ensure house repairs are undertaken and provide advice on various benefits, all for free.
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Call 0113 238 0601 to speak to a member of their team
You can learn more about energy saving tips for yourself by joining the: ‘Big Energy Saving’ Event
This is a UK-wide campaign delivered by Citizens Advice, Energy Saving Trust and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) that aims to help you cut your energy bills and access financial support you may be entitled to.
The impact of Covid-19 on energy usage over the coming months is expected to be greater than ever, and energy bills are a big worry for many this winter. Green Doctors are a team of expert energy advisers offering free support to vulnerable residents all year round to help them get on top of energy debt, switch provider, access grants and manage their energy use in the home.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/big-energy-saving-winter-tickets-127303204311?aff=erelexpmlt
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Warning to Royal Mail customers over new e-mail con that can be hard to spot
From Leeds Live
With Christmas just around the corner a convincing scam email has been circulated that is targeting users, the Express reports.
It is asking people to pay just a £1.99 fee for an undelivered item of mail – but while the sum might seem small, what they actually want is bank account details.
Now Local Neighborhood Watch schemes have issued a warning urging customers to be extra careful about the new phishing scam.
It comes after a message that was recently received by a Royal Mail customer. The email claimed that Royal Mail had tried to deliver a letter unsuccessfully. And it simply asked the resident to pay a fee of £1.99 in order to redeliver the item.
To do this, they were encouraged to enter bank details online in order to complete the transaction. Both the low fee and the style of the email made the recipient think it could be legitimate.
Just to be on the safe side, however, they contacted fraud experts first – and were warned off.
The email was sent to a homeowner in the Buckinghamshire area – and now customers across the UK have been urged to be careful.
Ray Walsh, digital privacy expert at ProPrivacy, said: “Anybody who receives an email claiming to be from the Royal Mail must remember that they will not ever be asked to pay a redelivery fee.
“Never input your bank or card information after following a link on any email that claims it is from the Royal Mail, because it will result in your card details being stolen by criminals.
“If you have reason to believe that you may have been tricked, it is essential that you contact your bank and cancel your card at once. Additionally, check your statements for any signs of unauthorised transactions.”
The Royal Mail has also got advice for anyone who thinks they could be getting tricked.
A statement on its website said: “If you receive a suspicious email or discover a Royal Mail-branded website which you think is fraudulent, please let us know by contacting us.
“If you have been the victim of a payment scam, you can get a crime reference number by reporting it to your local police station.”
Please keep yourself safe and if you have anything you are unsure of just get in touch with family, friends, or even our ourselves to talk it through. We need to keep vigilant together.
https://personal.help.royalmail.com/…/answe…/detail/a_id/303
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Additional guidance and support for vulnerable people during lockdown
The government has revised its guidance on those over 60 or who are deemed to be clinically vulnerable and could be at higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus. If you fall into this category, you should:
- be especially careful to follow the rules and minimise your contacts with others
- continue to wash your hands carefully and more frequently than usual and maintain thorough cleaning of frequently touched areas in your home and/or workspace.
There is support available if you need it. Please contact us at Caring Together if you need any help or advice, or for more information about other support available in the city see: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/coronavirus/people-and-communities
Current information on who is classed as ‘vulnerable’ or clinically extremely vulnerable is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november#protecting-people-more-at-risk-from-coronavirus. (If you fall into the latter category you should have received a letter giving you detailed guidance)
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Council Services during Lockdown
For four weeks until Wednesday 2 December the Government is asking people to stay at home, except for specific purposes; not to gather with others they don’t live with, except for specific purposes and is closing some businesses and venues.
Residents can leave home for essential reasons such as food shopping, accessing health or critical public services, to work (if unable to work from home), for education or providing care for a vulnerable person.
Leeds City Council parks remain open and people can take unlimited exercise – with members of their own household, on their own or with one other person from outside their household.
Below explains how the new rulings and guidance will impact services here in Leeds and is a summary with full details available at www.leeds.gov.uk/coronavirus/our-services.
Services planned to remain open:
- Parks, playgrounds and the Arium, plus car parks and public toilets in parks.
- Waste services will remain operational but likely to be under pressures.
- Household waste recycling centres will stay open.
- Bulky waste collection and forestry continues and litter bins will be emptied as staffing allows
- Cafes are able to offer takeaways.
- Funeral services will continue with a maximum capacity of 30 people.
- The contact centre will continue to operate. As many community hubs as possible will remain open.
- Civil Registrations Offices remain open.
- There will be street support for rough sleepers.
- Food supplies: Fareshare have a new extended warehouse operational. The council has assigned £50k if they need to purchase more food. 300 bags of food a week will increase to 1000 on Thursday.
- Social care continues, day services are being reviewed.
- Schools and children and young person settings (incl childcare such as Little Owls).
- Parks and playground maintenance, responsive highway and winter maintenance, catering and cleaning to support those council venues remaining open; responsive and planned maintenance of council buildings.
Services planned to close or see significant change:
- Visitor attractions, including museums and galleries, and venues, will close for the duration of the lockdown period.
- Leisure centres and golf courses and will close in line with Government guidance.
- Weddings and civil partnerships will be postponed during the lockdown period.
- General access to libraries will cease but click-and-collect services may be allowed.
- Face-to-face Welfare Rights service will cease. Doorstep visits can continue.
- Market stalls selling non-essential item will need to close.
Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, said:
“Once again the people of Leeds, along with the rest of England, are being asked to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives. I know how difficult this will be for local people and businesses who have continued to face unparalleled challenges this year, but the safety of our residents must take priority until we can gain control of this relentless virus. It has been amazing to see the city pull together this year and I know we can do it again.
“The darker nights will no doubt make this lockdown tougher for many people and it is important we all take care of ourselves and look out for friends, family members, colleagues and neighbours who may be struggling. The council is here to offer help to any person or business who needs it and there is a range of support and resources available online.”
The council will continue to work with partners across the city to ensure services are delivered as effectively as possible and to support the most vulnerable members of communities.
Information and support for residents can be found here: www.leeds.gov.uk/coronavirus.
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NHS Services during the pandemic
Information from NHS in Leeds:
Your GP practice is still open, although initial contact should always be by telephone or online consultation. You will be seen face-to-face if necessary. Our staff are working hard in these difficult times, so remember to be #BeKind 
Thank you for your patience.
Your NHS is working hard to maintain a wide range of services despite a significant increase in demands from Covid. It may take longer to treat you than we would normally want or expect.
Find out more, including how to access the right service: bit.ly/3nWuDqa
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‘Remembrance Day Commemorations’
Dear all, see below a message from Leeds City Council – note the dates below
Our annual Remembrance Sunday commemorations will look very different this year, due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
Due to the risks posed there won’t be the usual service or military parade at Victoria Gardens in Leeds. People are being urged to undertake their own acts of remembrance at home by observing the national two minute silence, displaying an image of a poppy in their windows and watching the pre-recorded Act of Remembrance and wreath laying ceremony with the Lord Mayor, Lord-Lieutenant and Royal British Legion.
Residents can download an image of a poppy from the Royal British Legion website to display in your windows to remember those who died. You can also donate to the poppy appeal as a one off donation or a regular gift. https://www.
Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Eileen Taylor said:
“Remembrance Sunday is a time when our city comes together to honour the heroic efforts, achievements and sacrifices made by so many of our armed forces during times of conflict.
It fills me with great pride to still be laying a wreath as part of a pre-recorded event on behalf of the city as part of this year’s commemoration. I would like to encourage the people of Leeds to take the time to remember from the safety of their own homes the ultimate sacrifice paid by those to whom we owe so much.
I am immensely disappointed not to be able to gather in person this year, but I am sure you will understand that the protection of all those who would usually have taken part or supported the event is our highest priority.”
Cllr Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council said:
“This year has seen the marking of the 75th Anniversaries of VE and VJ Day through virtual events as well as marking Armed Forces Day virtually too.
Our priority in the current climate is to prevent the rising spread of infection and even though there will be no public event in the city centre, we would encourage people to pay their respects at their local memorials at any time during Remembrance Week while maintaining social distancing.”
Our council buildings will be lit up in red from Friday 6 November in honour of our brave service personnel who have lost their lives in times of conflict and the gates to the war memorial on Victoria Gardens will be open throughout the week of Remembrance (Friday 6-Thursday 12 November) for individuals or families who wish to lay a wreath.
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‘Online Cancer Awareness information’ from Leeds Cancer Aware and NHS Leeds
Below is a link to a video from today’s ‘Online Cancer Awareness Session’ covering the importance of early cancer detection. They noted that many people have been avoiding contacting their G.P during lockdown and that this has led to an increase in cancers being detected at a later stage than would have happened normally.
The aim of the project who made the video is to encourage the people of Leeds to make use of the free NHS cancer screening services that are available i.e. bowel, breast, lung, prostate and cervical cancers, as well as helping the public to recognise early signs and symptoms and raise awareness of the importance of early detection and the need to contact their G.P.
Spotting Signs and Symptoms of Cancer – click on link (may have select sound)
Furthermore the NHS Leeds are hosting a Facebook Live Session on Cancer Facts and Fictions on Wednesday 4 November at 6pm, this will look at cancer facts and fictions.
This second session is part of a number of online health education sessions that the CCG will be looking to hold in response to feedback from local people looking for trusted information online. You’ll hear from trusted clinicians and cancer specialists who will give clear and reliable guidance on cancer prevention and worrying symptoms.
Join the Facebook Live session on Wednesday 4 November from 6 to 7.30pm on NHS Leeds CCG Facebook page www.facebook.com/nhsleeds
Questions to the speakers can be sent in advance of the live session, they can be sent by email leedsccg.comms@nhs.net or by Facebook www.facebook.com/nhsleeds or Twitter https://twitter.com/nhsleeds
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New National Covid Restrictions from Thursday
Following the Prime Ministers announcement last night, we will try to summarise the new rules as they apply to our area:
1.The announcement of the new rules means that West Yorkshire will NOT move to Tier 3 on Monday.
West Yorkshire Council Leaders said “For our residents and businesses, we must clear up understandable confusion: the region will now NOT be moving into Tier Three (Very High) measures on Monday as planned; we will remain in Tier Two (High) restrictions, and then follow the national measures from Thursday 5 November until Wednesday 2 December.” Full statement from the council leaders is here: West Yorkshire Council Leaders Statement 31st October
2. From Thursday the national measures will apply – a summary is below
- People will be told to stay at home except for education, work (if it can’t be done from home), exercise and recreation, medical reasons, shopping for food and other essentials, or to care for others
- All pubs and restaurants will have to close (takeaways and deliveries can continue)
- All non-essential shops will have to close (supermarkets can sell non-essential goods)
- Households will not be allowed to mix with others indoors, or in private gardens
- Individuals can meet one person from outside their household in an outside public space
- Support bubbles for people who live alone and households made up of single parents and children can continue
- Children will be able to move between homes if their parents are separated
- Schools, colleges and universities will remain open
- Workplaces will be asked to stay open if people cannot work from home – including construction and manufacturing
- Outdoor exercise and recreation will be allowed, but gyms will have to close
- Shielding as practised in the spring will not currently be reintroduced. The clinically vulnerable, or those over the age of 60, should be especially careful to follow the rules and minimise contacts with others. Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable should not only minimise their contacts with others, but also not go to work if they are unable to work from home.
Full government rules and guidance is here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november
3. After 2 December, different regions will return to the tiers one to three, depending upon the rates of infection.
This is all subject to approval by Parliament when they vote on Wednesday
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Shared Moments: ‘Halloween’ Saturday 31st October 2020
Dear all,
I was out on a walk last week and came across this amazing garden display for Halloween. It was in Woodhouse, LS6 near the ridge. Not sure they got the message regarding social distancing!! Stay safe everyone.
