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The Editor |
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Managing Director,
Mrs Susan Pattrick |
| My Featured Charity | |
The common perception is of 'Shaking Palsy' type tremors in the hands and head and its true many people do have those symptoms. But there are many others, and the PD Society is at the forefront of exploration and research to try to find answers to many questions. How is it caused? Why are the symptoms so different? Why do some people respond to some medication, others not respond to any? What role does dementia play? Can diet and exercise make a difference.
- 120,000 people in the UK have Parkinson's; one in 500 of the general population
- seven million people in the UK are touched by Parkinson's
- 4,000,000 people worldwide are estimated to have Parkinson's disease
- 10,000 people are diagnosed each year in the UK
- Most people are diagnosed over the age of 60
- one in 20 people with Parkinson's is under the age of 40 when first diagnosed.
To find out more visit their website... |
| Nomitations | |
Please feel free to nominate a future charity of the month here...
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Greetings!
So here we are with a hung parliament. Possibly the worst of all possible results. Let's just hope that whatever the outcome, wouldn't it be nice for a new government to take a more active role in the help and promotion of people with disabilities? We'll just have to wait and see.
Thank you for your nominations for 'charity of the month'. I will endeavour to feature them over the fullness of time, but we did have quite a few so it may take time to get through them all.
This month the featured charity is the Parkinson's Disease Society and by connection Christine Barrett is also my inspirational person of the month. |
| Emergency Services SMS messaging trial | | |
emergencySMS
A new service is being trialled that lets deaf, hard of hearing and speech-impaired people in the UK send an SMS text message to the UK 999 service where it will be passed to the police, ambulance, fire rescue, or coastguard.
Simply by sending an SMS message to 999 you can call for help and the emergency services will be able to reply to you.
If this trial service is a success then the service will be launched during 2010.
You will need to register your mobile phone before using the trial emergencySMS service, click here for more information. |
| Macmillan Volunteers required... | | Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. They are a source of support: providing practical, medical, emotional, and financial support.
 Thousands of volunteers dedicate time & energy to improving the lives of people affected by cancer. 2 million people are living with Cancer in the UK today and this number is going to increase to 4 million in the next 20 years. Volunteers come in all shapes, sizes, and ages and do a multitude of tasks from collecting to managing events, PR and admin. Visit the website to see how you can help make a difference - www.macmillan.org.uk |
| Inspirational People - Christine Barrett | |
 Christine Barrett has Parkinson's Disease, however in her words, she chooses to 'live with it' rather than 'suffer from it'. Medication makes a huge difference to her life, but even so, some days are good, others not. No-one knows why. Keeping up with new discoveries in drugs and other therapies takes time and money.
When first diagnosed, Christine declared that one of her aims would be to raise the profile of PD. She sailed the Mediterranean in a 'tall ship' and climbed its mast to collect sponsorship money (only to discover, when she came down that Italian customs officers had closed the bar!). Her daughter has also trekked in Ecuador, and another daughter held a craft fair, all to raise money.
In Christine's words "It is degenerative and I need to make plans for my care. The PD Society can help me do that. And when I'm gone it can arrange for my bits to be examined to see what can be learned for the future of others. Not a bad deal, eh?". |
| Macula Degeneration | |
 Colin Dexter is best known as the creator of Inspector Morse. Others will know him because he suffers from Macular Degeneration, and although little is heard about it, it is Britain's leading cause of blindness. In this article published in the Daily Mail, Colin discusses how a jab in the eyeball made all the difference. Read more... |
| Recruiting? - Mind what you say... | | With the job market seemingly starting to pick up a little, I thought it worth reminding everyone of their responsibility to avoid discrimination in the workplace when it comes to the recruitment process.
The law is very clear on this matter and states that discrimination will not be tolerated. The onus is totally on the employer to ensure that any recruitment advertisement must be compliant with the anti discrimination laws.
SMP Consultancy is well versed in these matters and will be happy to offer advice and guidance for your next recruitment campaign. It's just not worth the risk as the negative publicity can be quite damaging. |
| Census 2011 - Want to get involved? | |  Capita Resourcing is recruiting Census field staff on behalf of the ONS and has already begun to advertise some Census jobs.
Many census jobs will be available over the next year and ONS is keen to work with Colchester residents and community groups due to their vast local knowledge. So please take the opportunity to look at the job vacancies and pay scales. If you are interested in these jobs and would like to pre-register your interest, please visit www.censusjobs.co.uk and apply directly online. For further information and if you would like to learn more about the Census and how you can be involved you can visit the official 2011 Census website at www.comms.census.gov.uk. |
| Tinnitus Treatment | |  Munster University in Germany has been testing a method of music therapy providing tinnitus sufferers with reduced noises in their ears. The therapy works by people listening to their favourite music with the notes that match the frequency of the ringing in their ears being taken out.
Participants were asked to take part in this unique therapy for a year. After this time, they said the noise of the tinnitus had been reduced.
The researchers at the University of Munster said the inexpensive treatment could be used alongside other techniques to relieve stress caused by tinnitus.
The research paper was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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| To offend or not to offend - by Barry Gilheany | | | Regular columnist Barry Gilheany discusses the political correctness or otherwise of disablist language and the media. In this article he reviews the recent debates caused by the use of certain terminology on television shows and by comedians. Read more ... |
| And Finally - Go Grab a Coffee ... | |
If you've got a spare few minutes, here's a rather funny 10 question quiz looking at the dating game. It's billed as 'The Dating Etiquette Quiz' and supposedly just for women, but I think the men will enjoy it too! Click here... |
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