VE DAY 80TH ANNIVERSARY

Today we remember and celebrate VE Day — marking the end of World War II in Europe and honouring the bravery and sacrifice of those who served. St Wulfstan Surgery is proud to be a Veteran Friendly Accredited Practice, and today we pause to reflect on the courage of past generations and express our heartfelt gratitude.

#VEDay #LestWeForget #ThankYouVeterans

Kooth - a free, safe, and anonymous online mental health and wellbeing support service available to 11-25 year olds across Coventry and Warwickshire

Kooth is a free, safe, and anonymous online mental health and wellbeing support service available to young people across Coventry and Warwickshire

Kooth is commissioned by CWICB and the councils, and provides immediate access to professional support and self-help resources without the need for a referral.

 

Key Features of Kooth:

  • 24/7 Access: Young people can log in anytime to explore a range of self-help tools, articles, and activities tailored to their wellbeing.

  • Professional Support: One-to-one chat sessions with qualified counsellors and emotional wellbeing practitioners are available Monday to Friday (12pm–10pm) and weekends (6pm–10pm).

  • Peer Support Community: Young people can engage with moderated discussion boards and share experiences in a safe space.

  • Self-Help Tools: A wealth of digital resources, including mood trackers and goal-setting activities, are available to support mental wellbeing.

 

Who Can Access Kooth?

Kooth is available to all 11-25-year-olds in Coventry and Warwickshire. Young people can self-refer by simply signing up at www.kooth.com  — no GP referral is needed.

Coventry and Warwickshire Safe Haven

Safe Haven is a place for you if you have feelings of mental health distress. You can call them. Better still, drop-in to see them and talk to them

The Safe Haven service provides a free, safe, and supportive space for individuals aged 16+ experiencing mental health distress or crisis in Coventry and Warwickshire. Designed as an alternative to A&E, Safe Haven offers compassionate, out-of-hours support every night of the year to those in need of immediate help.

How to get in touch with Safe Haven:

For more information, please visit their website:

Spring 2025 COVID-19 Vaccinations

People aged 75 years and older, residents in care homes, and those aged 6 months and over with a weakened immune system will be offered a dose of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine this spring

Who is being offered a spring vaccine?

COVID-19 is more serious in older people and in people with certain underlying health conditions. For these reasons, people aged 75 years and over, those in care homes for older adults, and those aged 6 months and over with a weakened immune system are being offered a spring dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

If you are turning 75 years of age between April and June, you do not have to wait until your birthday, you can attend when you are called for vaccination.

Which vaccine will you be offered?

You will be given a booster dose of a vaccine made by Pfizer or Moderna and approved in the UK. These vaccines have been updated since the original vaccines and target a different COVID-19 variant. These updated vaccines boost protection well, and give slightly higher levels of antibody against the more recent strains of COVID-19 (Omicron).

St Wulfstan Surgery Covid Vaccination clinic dates:

Saturday 5th April - 8am - 2:30pm

Friday 25th April - 5pm - 7pm

Saturday 26th April 8am - 2:30pm

Invitations will be sent to all eligible patients in the next few days. Don’t hesitate! Vaccinate!

FREE 65 + Movement to Music programme in Kenilworth

Arts Uplift has a dementia-friendly Ageing Well programme that is still running, and now more places are available on the Movement to Music Programme in Kenilworth.

Movement to music involves simple stretching and dance-based movements set to popular music and is great fun as well as a gentle way to exercise. It can be done seated. Everyone is welcome.


Find out more about Arts Uplift here:

VETERANS MOVING FORWARDS: BUILDING A BRIGHTER FUTURE

A new FREE `Veterans Moving Forwards: Building a Brighter Future’ course, which has been created by Help for Heroes and will be co-delivered by Coventry & Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust tutors of the Recovery Academy, together with ex veterans from the CWPT OpCourage Team.

 The first course is scheduled to start on Tuesday 29th April at Bulkington Community Centre and full details can be found on their website:  https://recoveryandwellbeing.co.uk/Enrolment.  

In case you haven’t heard of the Academy before, they deliver over 70 FREE courses aimed to support anyone over the age of 18 living in Coventry & Warwickshire with their mental health and wellbeing. 

Caring Together Warwickshire conference - Wednesday 12th March 2025

The Caring Together Warwickshire conference will be held on Wednesday 12 March, from 9:30am - 1:30pm at the Benn Hall, Rugby.

Unpaid carers can be any age, and look after or support someone close to them. This could be a family member, colleague or even a neighbour.

This event is organised in partnership with Caring Together Warwickshire and will provide an opportunity to connect local Carers with organisations that are there to offer advice and support.

The conference will also provide carers with an update on what is happening locally and an opportunity to listen and share experiences. It will also give insight to understand what currently matters most in a carer's role.

The event will include guest speakers and stalls from providers such as Age UK, Healthwatch, and Alzheimer’s Society, who will be available to give further information about local offers of support. There will also be round table discussions to discuss relevant topics.

For more information on the support available to Carers in Warwickshire, visit:

Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2025

Eating disorders can affect anyone. This is the message for Eating Disorders Awareness Week (24 February – 3 March 2025), organised by BEAT

This year’s Eating Disorders Week is focused on how eating disorders can affect anyone, to raise awareness of some of the complex mental health conditions & how people can get the support they need. Breaking down the stigma around eating disorders is key in helping people feel comfortable to reach out for support & increase the chance of recovery.

Right now, at least 1.25 million people in the UK are living with an eating disorder. An eating disorder can be anything from: AFRID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder), anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and/or OSFED (Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder) – all of which are complex mental health conditions that are often misunderstood & undiagnosed, which can prevent people from reaching out for help.

A recent survey carried out by BEAT to 1900 people showed:

  • 4 in 5 people thought greater public awareness would make them feel more comfortable to talk about their eating disorder

  • 2 in 3 people would not feel comfortable talking to a teacher about the eating disorder

  • 2 in 3 people would not feel comfortable talking to their line manager

  • 2 in 3 people would not feel comfortable talking to a colleague about their eating disorder

Source: BEAT 2025

BEAT provides specialist UK wide support & has a variety of useful resources whether you have an eating disorder yourself or you would like to support someone you know who is struggling.

Visit their website: www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/ or get in touch using their helpline: 0808 801 0677.

You can also speak to your GP for a referral to specialist eating disorder services, there are services available for adults & for children & young people.

Young people can also access support online via anonymous counselling, chat and discussion forums from Kooth (age 16-25) & Qwell (aged 26+). Visit the website below for more information.