Thousands of hospital appointments are being cancelled up and down the country because of the Queen’s upcoming funeral, it is being reported.
The funeral, which is due to take place on 19 September, has been declared a national Bank Holiday. As a result, a number of NHS trusts have said that appointments will be postponed according to independent global media platform openDemocracy.
Whilst Covid-19 vaccinations and emergency appointments will reportedly continue, some trusts have said that they will be cancelling treatments including hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery, maternity checks and some cancer treatments.
Surgeries in Manchester have begun sending out messages to registered patients this afternoon, The Manc can reveal.
The City Health Centre, housed on Market Street above Boots, told its patients: “The practise will be closed on Monday, 19 September, on the occasion of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral.
“Please order your repeat prescriptions as soon as possible before the bank holiday weekend.”
it continued: “If you require medical advice or attention that cannot wait until the practise is open, please call 111 or visit www.111.nhs.uk. For medical emergencies please dial 999.”
Doctors at one central London hospital trust were reportedly told: “The day of the State Funeral will be treated as a bank holiday so please go ahead and start rescheduling patients.”
The news follows years of growing backlog, with data from the British Medical Association (BMA) in July 2022 showing the NHS had hit an all-time record high of people waiting for treatment with over 6.84 million people on its list.
The figures also show that 377,689 patients have been waiting over one year for treatment – over 365 times the 1,032 people waiting over a year pre-pandemic in July 2019 – and that 2.67 million patients had been waiting over 18 weeks for treatment.
According to openDemocracy, a number of patients who had already been waiting for appointments have seen them cancelled again due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Following the announcement of the Queen’s death on 8 September, a text from NHS providers informed a pregnant woman that as a result of “unforeseen circumstances” her appointment had been cancelled and that another date “will be rescheduled shortly”.
Meanwhile, Bedfordshire Hospitals Foundation Trust told patients on Monday: “Following the announcement of the plans for the late Her Majesty The Queen’s state funeral on Monday 19 September 2022, some non-urgent planned care appointments/procedures across Bedfordshire Hospitals will be postponed. We will contact all relevant patients if their appointment or procedure is to be re-scheduled.”
Elsewhere in Liverpool, the Women’s Hospital has already warned patients to expect changes on the day of the late Monarch’s funeral.
Feature image – SnapStock / Royal Free NHS
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Live football to be prescribed by some GPs to help treat patients with depression
Danny Jones
Live football looks set to be prescribed by a section of the NHS in an effort to try and help people suffering from depression.
As part of the experimental new wellbeing and mental healthcare initiative, GPs across the UK could soon be able to suggest watching football in person as part of their wider treatment plans.
While it may sound like a somewhat unorthodox approach, it’s sparked plenty of conversation on social media and is already gathering some steam up and down the country.
The scheme is being pioneered by Labour MP, Dr Simon Opher, the representative for Stroud, as well as Ecotricity owner and green industrialist, Dale Vince.
Today we’ve announced Football On Prescription. Football clubs up and down the country and up and down the leagues can take part in this – and I hope they will. Mental health is a big issue, as are loneliness and isolation. One of the superpowers of football is its inclusivity -… pic.twitter.com/OWNOag6Fcc
‘Prescribed footy’, to coin a somewhat jarring colloquialism, is set to be rolled out to relevant patients across the Gloucestershire region diagnosed with depression and some other mental health conditions.
Those on the receiving end of these prescriptions will be offered free tickets to watch local National League side, Forest Green Rovers (FGR), based in the town of Nailsworth.
Vince, who founded Ecotricity – formerly known as Renewable Energy Company – back in 1995, bought Forest Green back in 2010 and is just passionate about football and mental health as the push for clean energy and environmental causes.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio in an interview on Tuesday, 22 July, the 64-year-old Norfolk-born OBE said: “We just do the things that we see, that we think could be done, should be done, that will help; whether it’s helping our planet, our country – people here [in Gloucestershire]…
“When you attend football matches, particularly regularly, you find yourself a part of something, a part of a group of people with a common purpose. It’s a wonderful social experience that we think would be really good for people suffering from mental health problems.”
Despite some doubters and detractors questioning his motives online and in the media, he insists the sentiment is purely altruistic, and FGR hope to aligning itself with big causes like mental health, even making the first fully vegan-certified football kits ahead of the 2025/26 season.
He also went on to add, “We also won’t take adverts or sponsorship from gambling companies: they do great harm in our society.”
As for Dr Opher, he has continued to champion ‘social prescribing’ across his medical and political career, backing it as a viable alternative to common medication such as antidepressants for some individuals with mild-moderate depression.
The live football on presecption concept has been met with plenty of pushback online, including lots of discourse surrounding priorities and the NHS remaining underfunded, but only time will tell how well these early trials go.
What do you make of the idea of football being put forward as an aid for depression and do you think it should be considered by the NHS at large?
Rochdale will be hosting its FIRST EVER comedy festival later this year
Thomas Melia
There’s a comedy festival making its way to Rochdale for the first time ever, and it’s taking place over 10 days this autumn.
Rochdale is preparing for barrels of laughter, as the borough about to host a comedy festival for the first time ever later this year, as part of its events programme for being crowned Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
The lineup features some well-renowned names in the comedy world, many of whom have received awards and recognition along the way.
You can expect appearances from Lou Conran, who features as a regular support act for Sarah Millican, Tez Ilyas, from ‘Man Like Mobeen’, and TV comedy legend Mick Miller.
There’s even some Britain’s Got Talent alumni in the form of last year’s finalist Alex Mitchell and 2017 semi-finalist Jonny Awsum.
Tez Ilyaz and Lou Conran are just two of the acts listed for Rochdale Comedy Festival / Credit: Supplied
The lineup also includes Robin Ince, co-host and creator of Sony Gold Award winning BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage, and a whole host of stand-up acts who are all gearing up ready to make Rochdale giggle.
If you’re after pursuing a comedy career of your own, you’re in luck as, The Frog and Bucket performer Dave Williams will be on hand to teach you some of the skills he’s learnt after 25 years in comedy.
“Us northerners are famous for our sense of humour and there’s a big appetite for comedy,” commented Councillor Sue Smith, who is the cabinet member for communities and co-operation at Rochdale Borough Council.
Rochdale Comedy Festival has an array of comedians taking part including Jonny Awsum and Mick Miller / Credit: Supplied
“I’m happy to see Rochdale Comedy Festival launching during our year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture.
“It will bring together communities and give new comedians a chance to shine.”
So whether you’re in need of a cheer up, or you’re a comedy aficianado, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to crack a smile at Rochdale Comedy Festival, as it’s happening across 10 days this September and October.
Rochdale Comedy Festival is taking place from 26 September through to 5 October in various venues across the Greater Manchester borough- with tickets soon to be releasedHERE.
Featured Images – Supplied (via Publicity Pictures) / Unsplash
Georgina Pellant -
13th September 2022 
