Heatwave Help for Vulnerable Patients
BCHC Charity was able to provide summer support bags for patients struggling to cope with heatwaves, thanks to an almost £10,000 grant from the Sutton Coldfield Neighbourhood Network Scheme (NNS).
For the past three years BCHC Charity has received support from various funders in Birmingham to provide winter wellbeing bags to vulnerable patients across the city. Sutton Coldfield NNS approached the charity to discuss the possibility of a summer version of these bags, as it is well known that vulnerable people are disproportionately affected by heatwave temperatures.
Although summer may seem a distant memory, the UK saw high temperatures throughout the summer season, including highs of 29° in Birmingham during July and August. The bags each contained high protection sunscreen, a handheld fan with batteries/charger, a cooling mask, mist spray, a 2-in-1 shampoo and shower gel, a flannel, roll-on deodorant, a reusable water bottle, an ice cube try, and a bottle of squash. Leaflets were also included to give NHS approved advice on the dangers of going out in the sun when it’s very hot, the importance of staying hydrated, and recognising heat stroke.
215 bags were provided for patients, working with a variety of local groups and BCHC teams across the Sutton Coldfield constituency to distribute them to those most in need of support during the summer months.
A further 100 bags were given out to those aged 18-49yrs with learning disabilities, which also included two fidget toys. Dr Laura Carrington, a Clinical Psychologist at the Jaffray Centre who cares for people across Sutton Coldfield, explained, “Higher temperatures can lead to heightened sensory sensitivities and difficulties in self-regulation, so the fidget toys are a very welcome addition to the wellbeing bags.
The feedback from service users is definitely positive when they have received a bag. One psychologist said that she used some of the items in the bags therapeutically e.g. thinking together with the service user how she could use the fidget items to help activate her soothing system and manage her anxiety”.
BCHC Charity worked with the Lisieux Trust, a registered charity that supports people with learning disabilities and autism to live more independent lives, to distribute the bags. Alison O’Meara, the Head of Operations at the trust, told us that “These bags are a great reminder to our adults with learning disabilities about useful items needed for the summer months. It will ensure that they are applying protection with sunscreen, encouraging them to keep cool and to drink more, which is important in the summer.”
Karen Jennings and Samantha Kelly (pictured) from the YMCA in Sutton Coldfield collected 40 bags for their students who are in supported living on-site. They combined the bags with an educational session to help the students understand the importance of staying safe in the sun, and the students were so pleased they created 2 videos to share on social media. Karen said: “Thanks so much for the summer support bags, they absolutely loved them! We did a sun safety session with a quiz and a word search and then presented everyone with their bags… You can see how much they loved them. Our group just love being filmed and their smiles just show it!”