The Clap for Carers campaign is set to return once again this Thursday after the UK was plunged into the third national lockdown of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Can you remember back to Thursday 26th March 2020?
At 8pm on this very date, the UK stepped outside their front doors, stood on their balconies, and took to the streets to unite in thunderous applause as a mark of support for our health heroes, carers and key workers.
There seemed to be a sense of collective agreement that it was a genuinely moving moment that touched so many across the country and began to make us realise that we really are all in this together – and it was a great success.
So successful in fact, that it continued to take place every week, on the same day, at the same time, and began to take on a life of its own.
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During the first wave, millions of people came out of their homes to cheer, bang pots and applaud, but the campaign eventually faded after several months. That was until this week though when organiser Annemarie Plas has revealed it will return once again this Thursday, and this time, with a new twist.
It will now be now known as #ClapForHeroes in honour of everyone who has been affected by the pandemic, including NHS workers, parents, and people who have been shielding.
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Ms Plas – who was originally inspired to set up Clap For Carers by similar campaigns in her home country of the Netherlands, and in France and Spain – has asked people to express their gratitude to all carers by opening windows and clapping at the same time each week.
We are bringing back the 8pm applause, in our 3rd lockdown I hope it can lift the spirit, of all of us. Carers teacher, homeschooling parents, those who shield and ALL who is pushing through this difficult time! Please join & share!#clapforheroespic.twitter.com/Tl27BlzqlH
She said: “It will be different this time, it’s not a surprise to us what will happen, but it will still be bloody challenging. My hope is that it will have the same response, to set it up in a day is a bit of a challenge, but I will be going out with a spoon and a pan to activate people on my street.
“I was waiting to start it up for the anniversary in March, but life is full of surprises and we entered another lockdown on Monday.
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“We want to include all the heroes of the NHS who work tirelessly round the clock and all the jobs around that [and] we want to applaud all those people who are shielding. I haven’t hugged my father in a year because he is vulnerable so it will be for him and others going through the same.
“The heroes include parents with children who now have had their schools closed after one day and will now have to juggle work with childcare.”
But not everyone is pleased to see the campaign return.
Since Ms Plas’ announcement earlier on today, a debate has begun on social media and it has seen people point out a series of major problems and criticisms.
One Twitter user responded: “No. Stop with the empty gestures and fight for real change with pay and protection.”, and a second asked: “‘Heroes’ or underpaid workers who put their lives at risk and are snubbed repeatedly by government?”
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“It’s a hard pass from me, not because I don’t have the utmost respect for them, it’s a toothless gesture and vacuous,” a third agreed.
Another chipped in with: “Nobody wants this. NHS staff don’t need empty applause, they need everyone to stay at home, wear masks etc. and they need better wages. But, you go ahead and clappy clap clap if you need the attention.”
“Clapping is not about thanking: clapping should be a celebration. You don’t celebrate the sacrifice of frontline health workers. You don’t celebrate the fact we clapped the last time to thank them & worked hard to protect the NHS & now the government has made things far worse.” another concluded.
Where do you stand?
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NHS to start screening patient health records in a bid to catch one of the most ‘lethal’ cancers
Hundreds of GP practices will begin combing patient records to offer urgent tests to those most at risk of one of the deadliest cancers.
It’s all in a bid to catch pancreatic cancer sooner rather than later.
Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most-common cause of cancer deaths in the UK each year, with only 7% of people living for five years or more after diagnosis.
Most people with pancreatic cancer only recognise symptoms when their disease is at a late stage, so this is why the NHS wants to reach out to people as early as possible through its new screening initiative so they can get the best treatment available to them.
GP teams are set to start scouring online patients records to identify people over 60 who have the key early warning signs of pancreatic cancer – including being recently diagnosed with diabetes and sudden weight loss, as it’s said that around half of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have been diagnosed with diabetes recently.
The symptoms of pancreatic cancer are usually not noticed until it’s at an advanced stage, so we need to find new ways to pick it up.
We’re working to seek people out who might be unwell without any symptoms, so we can provide people with the most effective treatment. https://t.co/6rlFVGN6UW
Even if a patient’s weight is not recorded, GP teams will reach out to patients to check they have not ‘unexpectedly slimmed down’ and offer them tests if they have new onset diabetes.
More than 300 GP practices across England will begin using the initiative – with dozens rolling it out now, and the rest due to be up and running in the autumn.
While GP teams already know the signs to look for, this new screening scheme provides almost £2 million in targeted funding to help practices reach out to those most at-risk and give patients the best chance of being diagnosed earlier.
NHS is starting to screen patient health records in a bid to catch one of the most ‘lethal’ cancers / Credit: RawPixel
When the practices taking part in the three-year pilot find the signs and symptoms they’re looking for, they will then contact patients and send them for urgent blood tests and CT scans to rule out cancer.
“Pancreatic cancer is responsible for so many deaths, because patients don’t usually notice symptoms until the cancer is at an advanced stage, which is why we need to find new ways to pick it up,” commented Professor Peter Johnson, who is the NHS’s National Clinical Director for Cancer.
Health Minister, Karin Smyth, added: “As someone who has faced cancer personally, I know all too well the fear that comes with a diagnosis and the precious value of catching it early.
“This targeted approach to identify people at risk of one of the most lethal cancers could give more people a fighting chance and spare the heartbreak of countless families.”
Featured Image – RDNE (via Pexels)
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Chester Zoo named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors
Congratulations are in order, yet again, for Chester Zoo… as this time it’s been named one of England’s most popular attractions.
Merely months after being named the UK’s best zoo for the second year running, thanks to receiving more than 11,000 ‘excellent’ reviews from TripAdvisor, Chester Zoo has now got itself another prestigious title, as a major VisitEngland (VE) report has ranked it the third most-visited ‘paid for’ attraction in England – and the most visited outside of London.
The national tourist board for England gathered information from a total of 1,373 attractions across the country, and ranked the UK’s biggest charity zoo as the third overall in terms of popularity, with a whopping 1.9 million visitors in 2024 alone.
The Tower of London took top spot with 2.9 million visitors, while the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew was second place with 2.3 million visitors.
When it comes to free attractions, on the other hand, it wad the British Museum that claimed the top spot with 6.5 million visitors, while the Natural History Museum (5.9 million visitors) took second place, and the Tate Modern (4.6 million visitors) got third.
So as you can see, the south and London in particular is a pretty dominating force in England’s tourism industry – which is why it’s even more impressive to see Chester Zoo ranked so highly.
The new VE title also comes after the zoo was recently given £4 million of lottery funding to help ‘transform’ the local environment and restore wildlife habitats across the Cheshire and wider North West region.
Not only that, but if course follows Chester Zoo’s unveiling of its new immersive experience named Heart of Africa, which is the the largest zoo habitat ever created in the UK and is home to 57 iconic African species.
Chester Zoo has been named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors / Credit: Chester Zoo
“As a major international wildlife charity, everything we do is focused on supporting global conservation,” commented Chester Zoo’s Commercial Director, Dom Strange.
“Whether it’s caring for highly-threatened animals and plants, making scientific discoveries, influencing Government environmental policies, impacting the National Curriculum to better connect young people with nature, or our conservation efforts in around 20 countries, we’re fully committed to protecting endangered species for the future.
“But none of this would be possible without our visitors.
“Every person who comes to the zoo for a fun and inspiring day out is helping to fund our vital work, so we want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us and helped us to rank so highly in VisitEngland’s latest report.”
Emily Sergeant -
6th January 2021 
