Somerset West & Taunton is urging owners of public buildings and volunteer-run premises to service their water and air conditioning systems before re-opening to staff and the public. 
 
Any water systems lying dormant during the COVID-19 emergency are likely to have increased levels of bacteria present, which means there’s a heightened risk of Legionnaires' disease.
 
Shops and offices, hairdressers, beauty salons, hotels, pubs and restaurants, sports centres, gyms, residential buildings, campsites - anywhere that has a water supply and is currently shut down - are being reminded to check and maintain their systems.
 
The Council’s environmental health team is contacting local businesses directly to advise that whilst it may not be high on their priority list during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important ensure all water systems are managed safely at this time.
 
Water systems that are not being used and maintained effectively are very likely to have increased levels of bacteria present.  Experts say that it is far better to maintain a water system than to try and treat a water system which has gone out of control.
 
Legionnaires' disease is a lung infection caught by inhaling droplets of water from air conditioning units, shower heads or hot tubs.
 
Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease are similar to COVID-19 and include high temperature, feverishness and chills, cough, muscle pains, headache, and pneumonia. Its name originates from a deadly 1976 outbreak of the disease at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.
More about the symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease can be found here: www.hse.gov.uk/legionnaires/symptoms.htm
 
Guidance and procedures by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease on how to best manage Legionella in building water systems during the COVID-19 outbreak can be found here:

Taunton based insurance claims handling provider, Claims Consortium Group have launched their FREE community wellbeing hub: www.loveourcommunity.co.uk
 
Bringing together invaluable advice, support, resources and educational guides to help during the Covid-19 global pandemic; the community hub is a free tool for everyone to use. The site features handy tips and advice across a range of topics including looking after your mental and physical wellbeing, home-schooling and mindfulness. The site will also feature guest articles from local and industry experts and is being constantly added to. Just as the name suggests, this is a community resource for everyone, and Claims Consortium Group are actively encouraging people to get in touch if they would like to contribute some content. Whether it’s a stand alone piece or a series – please get in touch via hello@loveourcommunity.co.uk.
 
The resources were initially developed to support Claims Consortium Group’s 300-strong team who are all now working from home. Since the content proved so helpful, the company wanted to make it freely available to all, and the wellbeing hub was born. Packed full of free resources provided by a range of award-winning expert contributors and curated in an easy to navigate format, the content has been developed by certified trainers and industry experts, including Mental Health First Aid England trainers.
 
Claims Consortium Group Founder and CEO, Jeremy Hyams, comments, “During this global pandemic, we are all focussed on looking after the wellbeing of our businesses, our customers and our people, and this is absolutely central to how we operate as a business. To support our staff, we wanted to provide as many tools as we could to help make it a little bit easier. We believe there has never been a better moment for us all to pull together and support one another, and this wellbeing resource is just one way we hope to help during this challenging time.”
 
For more information and to check out the new resource hub, please visit: www.loveourcommunity.co.uk

Today we are delighted to launch our first, in a series of short videos, where we chat to the people behind their Somerset business. We get a chance to find out what they do, how they do it and more importantly, why they do it. Informal chats are recorded via Zoom and offer a chance to share tips, information and advice.

In this video, we meet Becky Wright New Leaf Life Design The principle upon with New Leaf is founded is one of enabling people to flourish by overcoming the issues that can affect their working life, their relationships, personal well-being and the ability to contribute positively to their community.

Becky is a Mental Health First Aid instructor and she delivers Adult Mental Health First Aid Courses and Mental Health Trainer in the South West area. She is a fully qualified and accredited counsellor / psychotherapist, and New Leaf provide a unique form of coaching called Life Design. Through this innovative approach, which integrates counselling and coaching, she optimises wellness to enhance the lives of private individuals and improve productivity and staff performance in SMEs.

Find out more: https://www.newleaf.uk.com/
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If you would like to take part in 'Meet the Business' then please send us a message or email info@wordgetsaround.co.uk
#meetthebusiness

Luckily, Mr Walker had been referred to experts in this field and they were able to arrange laser treatment at Musgrove Park Hospital that very day, saving his eyesight and removing the pain.

Talking about his experience, Mr Walker said: “Approximately 6 weeks ago I had what I can only describe as the headache from hell arrive from out of nowhere. I am a person who doesn't normally get headaches at all so this scared me enough to see my GP straight away. They shared my concern and sent me to MPH the same day and I had a CT scan and ECG. I was prescribed painkillers which were changed several times over the next 6 weeks but none had any effect on reducing pain.

“I had never heard of ACES until my Doctor suggested it. I phoned the next day and had an appointment within 45 minutes. I was seen by Sarah Farrant. She was so reassuring and within a few minutes found the problem and said she could get it fixed the same day and I would no longer need to take medication (not that it worked).

“Sure enough I was seen at MPH eye unit the same day where I had laser treatment to my eye. I left there pain free and have remained so ever since. Sarah completely changed my life when she diagnosed my condition and got me my treatment and I can never thank her enough. This service needs more publicity to make more people aware. I would hate to think that someone else was suffering a headache like mine and be unaware of the help available so locally.
 
“Sarah Farrant I sincerely thank you for your skill, knowledge and friendly attitude which put me at ease.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Earlam and Christopher have taken on the task of triaging all patients with eye emergencies to relieve pressure on the NHS. The ACES scheme is available to support anyone with urgent eye problems who are registered with a GP practice in Somerset.

They are also accepting and offering help to people who hadn’t previously been patients of theirs should their opticians have closed due to Coronavirus. Anyone needing help should telephone in the first instance to 01823 272061.