Massage Warehouse
Massage and complementary therapists in Thanet have joined colleagues across the UK for #MassageTherapistsTogether.
The campaign donates free treatments to say thank you to NHS Heroes who have worked through the pandemic. From September 1, NHS frontline workers will be able to register for a free treatment of their choice with a therapist in their area.
From Massage to Reflexology to Reiki, NHS workers can use an interactive map to find a therapist near them. Easy to use they only need to type in their postcode to find therapists nearby who are donating treatments. Currently, over Some 1200 therapists have signed up to donate up to five free treatments each, donating more than 5000 free treatments.
Professional organisations, such as the Federation of Holistic Therapies (FHT) and the General Council for Soft Tissue Therapies (GCMT) are both backing the campaign and helping organisers Massage Warehouse spread the word.
Greg Coughlan, founder of Massage Warehouse, adds: “There are countless stories about life on the frontlines of Covid-19 and the NHS staff working tirelessly to turn the tide. We are all aware the pressure staff are under is immense and the physical and mental stress this will have on their long-term health. We wanted to do our bit to help.
“The #MassageTherapistsTogether campaign will provide a fantastic opportunity for NHS Frontline workers to experience a free treatment while being repaid (at least a little) for their hard work and dedication as our nation’s unsung heroes.”
Any therapists still wishing to sign up to the campaign can find all the details at:
https://www.massagewarehouse.co.uk/pages/massage-therapists-supporting-nhs-workers
Any NHS doctors or nurses looking for a donated treatment can find a therapist on the interactive map:
https://www.massagewarehouse.co.uk/pages/nhsmassagetherapistfinder
Sainsbury’s Westwood
POW! Thanet
POW! Thanet is offering two free online training sessions via Zoom for artists and art organisations.
The two sessions are ‘Marketing for artists and arts organisations’, run by POW!’s Marketing and Media Manager, Katie Hogben (above) on Wednesday, September 16; and ‘Risk assessments made easy’, run by POW!’s Production Manager, Darryn De La Soul on Wednesday, September 23.
POW! Thanet is providing the Continuing Professional Development events for free as the POW! team are passionate about assisting artists to improve their business skills and become professionally successful. These sessions are funded by Arts Council England. The sessions will each be an hour long and there will be the opportunity to ask questions at the end.
To sign up for a free place on these sessions register here: https://mailchi.mp/5a704df565a2/artists-cpd-events-2020
For further information, email [email protected]
Rotary – End Polio Now campaign
On August 25 Nigeria and therefore Africa was declared free of Polio leaving just Pakistan and Afghanistan with the disease. In 1987 there were around 350,000 cases a year, reduced in 2020 to 102.
Margate Rotary is proud to have supported End Polio Now for many years with various fundraising events and Crocus planting in Thanet.
Thank you to everyone who supported us with this campaign.
Save Our NHS in Kent
It’s Time To Blow The Whistle, is a meeting called by Save Our NHS In Kent (SONIK) and will include people who have first hand experience of major cultural problems inside the NHS.
Speakers at the meeting will include Derek Richford, grandfather of baby Harry, whose death in the East Kent hospitals trust was, according to the coroner, “wholly avoidable”. Also speaking will be a number of NHS staff who have laid their careers on the line by raising safety issues in their hospitals and health campaigner Dr Bob Gill who has taken a lead in supporting whistleblowers.
Candy Gregory of SONIK said: “These people will paint a scary picture of an organisation where doctors, nurses, midwives and paramedics etc are afraid to speak out even though they see poor practice.”
Candy, a former nurse who is now an independent Thanet councillor, believes the whistleblowers’ stories are equally relevant to hospitals in east Kent and nationally.
She said: “The recent extraordinary action the Care Quality Commission has taken against East Kent hospitals trust over the high number of their patients contracting Covid-19 highlights only the latest in a series of disastrous management failures since 2014. Confidence in our local hospitals is now at rock bottom level — just when we need it to be at its highest.”
Candy believes the culture of ‘cover-ups’ stems from senior management teams and hopes the meeting will encourage all whistleblowers to come forward.
She said: “Two of our speakers have a unique perspectives on whistle blowing and hope to present an aid which will allow whistleblowers to operate with safety on the night.”
The meeting “It’s Time To Blow The Whistle” will be held via Zoom at 6pm on Wednesday, September 9. Details of how to attend are on saveournhskent.org.uk .
People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES)
Wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is, for the first time, running its Living with Mammals survey during autumn, from Monday, August 31 until Sunday, November 29. This is the second time the survey has taken place this year, following a successful spring survey which proved popular during lockdown.
The survey, which usually only takes place once a year, asks people to record the presence of mammals in their gardens or local green spaces online. PTES saw record breaking numbers of volunteers taking part earlier this year. The charity wants to encourage those with a newfound love for wildlife-watching to join those who submit records every year and take part again this autumn.
Volunteers across the UK are asked to spend a little time each week looking out for wild mammals (or signs such as footprints or droppings) in gardens, local parks or other green spaces. Volunteers can record their sightings at www.ptes.org/LwM. Comparing the results with those from earlier surveys will enable conservationists to better understand how wild mammal populations nationwide are changing.
