After 3 major Abdominal Operations, my last being 10 hours long at Liverpool Women's i lost part of my bowel ending in a permenant Ostomy (A Colostomy)... because my bowel and bladder had fused to my stomach wall, again. This last happened in 2013... my bladder was handled too much and as a result not only am i incontinent due to Stoma, but i do not have full bladder control. I have worked long hours all my life and paid my taxes. I was horrified to find when i first asked that you have to purchase incontinence liners from a pharmacy. This is outrageous as i am now declared unfit to work, and am on much reduced income. These items are also expensive. When so much on prescription is prescribed to people who self inflict harm on themselves through smoking, alcohol and drug misuse and obesity... they get items on prescription... yet people who are incontinent through no fault of their own do not. It is stressful enough having a stoma to be bladder incontinent as well. I am shouting for every incontinent person. What about the elderly on pensions too. Most unfair!

Yesterday, my wife and I received a letter from "Everyone Health" in relation to our son's measurements which were obtained at his school, as part of the National Child Measurement Programme. We were firstly amazed by the fact that our son (Charlie) who is a very healthy, very active five year old, was classed as "Very Overweight". We all like to see the best in our children, but I am pretty sure that anyone who meets Charlie would NOT consider him to be overweight. Our son is very active - attending swimming, football and karate classes. Couple that with the fact that he is always active at home, and that he nearly always chooses the healthy food option (for example preferring fruit instead of biscuits for a snack), I would suggest that Charlie is a very healthy child. The letter we received about Charlie being "very overweight" was very condescending. It explains that "Charlie is in the minority of children across the country who are overweight or very overweight for their age. 3 out of 4 children in Reception year have a healthier weight than Charlie............ It is important to be aware that when a child has excess weight for their age it can lead to health problems............... being overweight can also lead to low self-esteem and poor confidence.............. Your school nurse or doctor can also provide further advice and support on how to help your child achieve and maintain a healthier weight". So, here is the big problem. BMI is a very outdated method of calculating healthy weight. My son isn't the tallest boy in his age group, but he is very strong. He certainly is not carrying an abnormal amount of fat. BMI does not take into account what the weight actually is (for example bone, muscle or fat). This, therefore, makes the whole reading unreliable. So, what do I do....... should I follow the advice in the letter and make an appointment with our already overburdened GP, or do we need to take the time to see how to get things changed. What if everyone who received this letter made appointments with their GP. It would be ridiculous. It is time for the Government to change the methods used in the National Child Measurement Programme. I am massive advocate of ensuring that children have a healthy start to life. Yes, this starts with having a healthy body, but what about a healthy mind too. We have not shared the content of the letter with our son but, if we did, he would be quite upset. Do we really want a nation of children who are being branded as "fat" at the age of 5 years old? This really could cause mental anguish in our young people, and we are well aware of the implications of "fat shaming" people - potentially causing eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia - which are probably more life threatening than being overweight at that age. If Charlies letter was a one-off then I would probably just shut up, and move on. I know, however, that this scheme has been upsetting parents for years. I have two nephews, of Afro-Caribbean heritage who were identified, a few years ago by this scheme, as being obese. This was totally ridiculous. They are both very active and very muscular boys with virtually no fat! I, therefore, appeal to the Minister of State for Health to step-up and make a change. Yes, we should be making sure that our children are healthy, and happy, but let’s do it the right way. Parents do not need a condescending letter, and children do not need branding as fat when the information has been gathered using out dated methods. Thank you for reading!

It will have a huge impact on the local economy, and a big impact on addiction recovery. One of Scotland's largest Alcoholics Anonymous meeting meets on Sunday mornings in Garnethill. The introduction of parking charges will have a very damaging effect on attendance, and may rob Glasgow of a group which has been meeting for nearly 50 years, and which has seen thousands of alcoholics start on the road to recovery. This campaign is not affiated to or endorsed by Alcoholics Anonymous. AA has a strict policy of avoiding controversy in order that it can be seen to be open to all.

Automatic tendering is allowing private companies to quietly undermine the public ownership of the NHS. These private contracts are being forced on the NHS because this government legislation is a sneaky method of bringing in privatisation. (A perfect example of this was the £14 million contract given to QE Facilities Ltd to replace a free service Solihull Blood Bikes (WSBB) on April 1 2019) If we allow this to continue we will end up with an American style health system where only the wealthy will be treated.

The charity Together for Short Lives warns children's hospices in England will be forced to cut services or shut unless the NHS increases its funding. According to Together for Short Lives, children's hospices in England each spend an average of £3.7m per year - which works out as a total annual spend across the country of £125m. Their spending has increased by 4.5% since 2016/17, it said. But the percentage which the state contributes has fallen from 27% to 21% in five years, the report said - and hospices have been forced to use their reserve funds or stop services (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk) This is a terrible indictment of the welfare state under this government where hospices for sick children are severely underfunded, leaving them to seek funds from ordinary people often performing feats to raise money to support hospices. This is the role of government in a civilised and human society where sick children in this situation deserve dignity and humanity from the state in their sadly short lives. The Secretary of State should act now and at the very least increase the percentage of funding his department contributes to hospices to its previous level and show it has some humanity when it comes to supporting organisations looking after very sick and dying children.

Many foods in super markets contain hidden sugars when explicitly saying they are unsweetened. For example some Supermarket unsweetened Almond Milk contains Maltodextrin which has a higher Glycemic Index than Golden Syrup. However it doesn't end there. Nearly every processed deli-meat has Dextrose in it. And doesn't end there either. Nearly every food item in supermarkets these days contains hidden sugars. The result is more people becoming obese even when trying to eat a healthy diet. The nation is suffering from a fatty liver epidemic that is creating type 2 diabetics and the thing is this can be avoided if people are educated via correct labelling to make the right choices. Some people are resisting. There are those who eat a Ketogenic, Carnivore or Vegan diet who stay clear from any additives but unknowingly also fall victim time to time by misleading advertising. Health professionals such as Dr David Unwin are shouting through the roof tops about the diabetics epidemic but the real scream comes from liver. Urgent action needs to be taken and it will only happen when enough people call the supermarkets out on polluting the nations health.

Mental health is one of the front campaigns that our government are highlighting recently advising ‘its good to talk’. That’s great but to who. Our NHS mental health sector has no money to deliver enough quality and qualified people to talk to. The waiting lists are horrendous. People are suffering, families don’t understand, friends are few and far between. Yes, it’s good to talk, talking can resolve many a problem, but if there is nobody we can rely on and the mental health services can not provide this support then WHO ARE WE SUPPOSED TO TALK TO? no good talking to a wall. People suffering do not want to pick up the phone and talk to a stranger, it’s hard enough picking up the phone when it’s someone we know. Provide a service where people can be seen within days/weeks not months/years

There has been a massive increase in people taking their lives from anxiety and depression in the last few years. People are always blaming themselves wondering what they could have done. One thing to consider is how difficult it is to go and get help to begin with when going through these issues, to then have to pay £9 for a prescription, which a lot of people can't afford on top of their busy lives, taking care of themselves and even children. If you cant afford such prescriptions then you are then left struggling. People are offered free counselling but it doesnt work for everyone and therefore why cant we make the other options free?

The toilets that are being closed were considered necessary in the past when the population of Tendring was smaller, now it has increased. It is a basic human right to be able to use a toilet when one needs to, residents with health issues like IBS and prostate problems are being denied that basic human right along with postmen and women, other mobile workers and holiday makers. The impact on health of being made to wait to use a toilet, is well documented and the fear of not being able to find a toilet in time is increasing social isolation and loneliness amongst vulnerable people, this is turn leads to more health problems. Tendring District Council should now use the money that they have gained from land sales of the existing toilet closures to build new facilities, the residents of Tendring do not accept that this is not possible

Every year more than 100,000 people die in care, that’s almost one person dying every 5 minutes. That’s someone’s Mum, Dad, Son, Daughter, Brother or Sister. Families are left devastated, often without answers and many are prevented from finding out what happened. The victims (and their families), many of whom have been forcibly imprisoned into care through NHS England’s 54 specialist mental health trusts, deserve better. Cases of misdiagnosis are common. Leading to life changing conditions such as PTSD for those trapped, forcibly drugged, threatened, assaulted by those responsible for their care and their inactions, often due to the many complex pressures of the job imposed by those at the highest levels. We are funding a new charitable trust: • Giving all patients the care they deserve. Ensuring cases of misdiagnosis are reduced by prioritising those needing care. • Independently review the unverified medical records, fabricated statements, false allegations & hearsay used to ‘section’ people (using the MHA). • Ultimately, drastically reduce the 100,000+ deaths (to realistic targets to be agreed). Change legislation to make it illegal to detain a person, without a thorough investigation to the allegations of poor mental health without first performing due diligence on their claims. • Develop the technologies needed to support a person through their care. Giving the person the ability to follow simple processes to challenge their detention and present their evidence clearly if they claim a misdiagnosis is being made. • Fully independent legal support to challenge the decisions and compensate victims of misdiagnosis or where their health further deteriorated or ended in their death. Further details here in the press: Denis Campbell for The Guardian on 27th Nov 2018 NHS to look into deaths of 100,000 mental health patients a year https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/27/nhs-deaths-mental-health-patients-england#QBAIN

- If women are given the facility to have segregated sessions, men should be given the same - Protects religious beliefs: Muslims do not consider mixed sessions to be permissible - Gives a chance for pupils to get active and stay fit - Brings community together

Football is the national game. In its many formats it can help with fitness, general mental and physical wellbeing as well as ensuring kids (and adults) maintain an active social circle in a world increasingly dominated by insular activities such as gaming and on demand TV and film. FA football centres featuring quality 3g pitches and changing facilities are still too expensive and few and far between for many to utilise on a regular basis. Grass roots football suffers with constant postponements due to weather conditions throughout the winter. Access to more all weather 3g facilities can help alleviate this issue too The FA recognise the above issues and have pursued the sale of the national stadium (Wembley) with the aim of addressing these issues. This 1% donation could alleviate the need to pursue a sale of Wembley.