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FEATURE20 FocusYOUR TOWN NEEDS YOU!!"#$%&''()*$+(''$,-(.&/0$123$456758$!"#$%&''()*$+(''$#&*'9$,-(.&/0$123$:5;<=<$Do you have a family story from the Second World War? Doyou have a family member that can speak about theirexperiences during the Second World War? Are you a schoolthat will be researching this era with their pupils? If so weneed you!On Friday may the 8 th 2020 the charity run South WoodhamFerrers Village Hall, Field and Community Bar will becommemorating VE day. We want this to be a truly localevent, going back in time to show how the British peoplecarried on through the most telling of times. Personal stories,memorabilia, and anything in fact that will show what wenton and how this great country carried on!We want to run a traditional day, with sack races, tug of war,egg and spoon. Baking competitions, craft etc. So if youhave a stall that would be appropriate, and would like to takepart, please contact us!While this day is predominately for VE day, we would alsolike to fully acknowledge VJ day too, so again, if you, yourfamily or friends have a story to tell, we would like to displayGREENPARTYCandidate forMaldonJanet DineJanet Dine is a Professorof International EconomicDevelopment Law at QueenMary University of London. Sheis a former barrister whopracticed at the English Bar dealing with criminal andcommercial cases.Janet is acutely aware of the seriousness of the climateemergency and the damaging effects of the currenteconomic system. Our persistent focus on economicgrowth is devastating the planet and leading to enormousinequality. Janet believes that humans must be custodiansof the planet, not plunderers of nature, and this is reflectedin her policymaking.As the local voice for Green politics, Janet is desperatelyconcerned about poverty, international trade and thedegradation of the planet. Local issues are also of highimportance to Janet, who has lived in the Maldonconstituency for 10 years.Among Janet’s priorities are:• calling for a transparent new policy on social housing• focusing on the renovation of existing homes, over theconstruction of new ones• improving the quality of transportation and increasing theuse of electric buses throughout the district• supporting initiatives like insulation and the installation ofsolar panels• advocating for health, happiness and environmentalconsciousness across the DistrictJanet said, “I am thrilled to represent the Maldon DistrictGreen Party in this general election. My principles reflectthose of the majority at this time of climate crisis andpolitical uncertainty. I hope I can count on the support oflocal residents in my attempt to improve our constituencyfor all.”MEET THE GREEN PARTY PARLIAMENTARYCANDIDATE JANET DINEIf you would like to meet Janet she will be at ClubWoodham between on Saturday 23rd Novemberbetween 10am and 12 noon. Please come and askquestions and say Hello. If you have special concernsabout things you would like Janet to work on in theconstituency then bring your questions along and join usfor a coffee/tea.Promoting Janet Dine and the Maldon District Green Partyall at 163, Honeysuckle Way, Witham,Essex.CM8 2YD. Published by Phillip Hughes, 163, Honeysuckle Way,FOCUS
FOCUS ON HEALTH0South Focus Woodham FocusSouth Woodham Focus 21DOES CANNABIS HELP MENTAL HEALTH? Cannabis is rarely out ofthe news these days and some of the coverage gives the impression thatit can cure everything from in-growing toenails to 'bad wind'. A recentheadline in The Guardian claims: "Risks of cannabis use for mental healthtreatment outweigh benefits." This was picked up by other news outletsfollowing publication in The Lancet of a study on the treatment of mentalhealth conditions using medical cannabis.So is there anything in this? Bazian has checked it out for the NHS andopines. "Medical cannabis is being increasingly used to treat variousconditions, including chronic pain, epilepsy and certain mental healthconditions such as depression and anxiety. There has been considerablemedia coverage in recent years reporting people's difficulty in accessingthese medicines.Now a large-scale review has looked at the evidence for the use ofmedical cannabis to treat mental health conditions. Researchers saidmost of the 83 studies they reviewed were small and of poor quality.They found no evidence that medical cannabis improved depression,psychosis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), posttraumaticstress disorder (PTSD) or Tourette's syndrome. Some trialsfound a small improvement in anxiety symptoms, but the quality of theevidence was very low.The use of medical cannabis was also associated with side effects,including worsening of mental health symptoms. There is currently notenough evidence to support the use of medical cannabis to treat mentalhealth conditions. More high-quality research is needed.We do know that regular use of "street cannabis" – especially the verystrong skunk kind of cannabis – can increases your risk of developing apsychotic illness, such as schizophrenia."So what's the bottom line? NHS advice is that: "It is important to see adoctor if you are suffering from symptoms of depression, anxiety or anyother mental health condition. While there is currently no evidence tosupport the use of medical cannabis for these conditions, there are manysafe and effective psychological therapies and medicines available thatare backed by strong evidence."When I told my mom I wanted to grow up and be a comedian, she saidyou can’t do both. Jimmy CarrNOVEMBER is the time some of us chose to grow a moustache - the'Movember' campaign aims to raise awareness of men's health issues,such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide.This is also 'Lung Cancer Awareness Month' during which we arereminded that some 75% of people are diagnosed at stage III or IV ofthe disease, which is far too late. Early diagnosis greatly improves theoutcome - so healthcare professionals are encouraged to be on the alertfor the signs and symptoms of lung cancer so that their patients arereferred earlier into the lung cancer pathways.There are fancy ways of picking up tumours early such as use of"biomolecular markers, autofluorescence bronchoscopy, low-dose spiraland high-resolution computed tomography, endobronchialultrasonography" etc ... so it's likely to be a rapidly developing field. The'Holy Grail', though, would be a simple blood test that we could use ingeneral practice to make the diagnosis ... but we're not quite there yet.Needless to say you should seek medical advice promptly if you suspectyou have the condition, particularly if you are a smoker. According to theAmerican Cancer Society, the most common symptoms of lung cancerare:A cough that does not go away or gets worse.Coughing up blood or rust-coloured sputum (spit or phlegm)Chest pain that is often worse with deep breathing, coughing, orlaughing.Hoarseness.Weight loss and loss of appetite.Shortness of breath.Feeling tired or weak.For more info Google: 'Lung cancer - Symptoms - NHS'MARIE CURIE has launched a major public facing campaign toencourage more people to talk about death and dying, saying that: "Alltoo often families feel deeply unprepared and distressed when facingthe last chapter of life, either for themselves or their loved ones. Ournew campaign aims to support people and their loved ones to haveconversations, wherever stage they may be at. To talk about what’simportant to them and their future planning, for when the time comes."M.C. goes on to explain that: "Death and dying is still widely a taboosubject in our society and because of that, many of us feel deeplyunprepared and distressed when having to face end of life. The end oflife journey can feel uncharted, chaotic, painful, frightening, for ourselvesand our loved ones. But talking and feeling as prepared as possible forthe end of life can make a difference in the experience we have whenwe come to face it either for ourselves or our loved ones."According to M.C. the underlying problem is that many people "may notknow where to start" or what may be helpful to them to talk about inorder to plan and prepare for a good end of life.There is also emphasis on supporting healthcare professionals to giveend-of-life care. My experience of this was somewhat atypical by today'sstandards - but, by and large, those on the receiving end seemed to likeit. It mostly worked well ... in most cases, I'd known the patient and thefamily for years so we just slipped seamlessly into the terminal carephase. Decisions were made by consensus.I'd give them my mobile number so they could contact me directly -including in the evenings and at weekends (but not while I was asleep.)This was not an encumbrance because, by the end of my career, we wereon first name terms with most of our patients. I could, therefore, dealwith most eventualities in a matter of minutes whereas somebody newto the situation would take forever to sort things out. One of the mostimportant roles was simply to boost the morale of the nearest anddearest who often felt they were floundering even when they were doinga great job.As for district nurses - we had a really good team based in SWF. Theyknew all the patients and they worked well together ... but they wereso messed around/badly treated that, one by one, they left. Forexample, their base was transferred from Woodham to Maldon withoutany discussion with the local clinicians - I ended up giving them a key tothe surgery so, at weekends, they didn't have to eat their sandwiches inthe car or drive back to Maldon for an attenuated lunch break. We'progressed' from face-to-face contact with our colleagues to the newanonymous/impersonal system beloved of the 21st century NHS.Everything was done via a call centre - there was virtually no directinteraction.As for the patient's perspective, once in a blue moon things went a bitpear shape. The worst example involved a lovely lady, a retiredheadmistress, whose husband was terminal. After weeks of havingdifferent bright eyed people turning up on her doorstep every day("Hello I'm Sally" - "Hallo I'm George" - "Hello I'm Sue" ... she had noidea who or what they were) they all converged on her house the daybefore her husband died. I believe she counted at least 20 people ... sheran out of teacups! At around 5.30pm the last of them left - leaving herexhausted. Having a small number of people you get to know well is theanswer.This was a very unusual state of affairs, however. Usually the healthcareprofessionals involved, including those from the hospice, worked welltogether as a team. Many of us prefer to die at home and, in the rightcircumstances this can be beneficial to the families left behind as theyrightly feel that they have done everything possible.My friend was told by her doctor that she was morbidly obese… as ifshe doesn’t have enough on her plate! Jimmy CarrPR SCARE: Now that the dust is beginning to settle on the opening ofthe Crouch Vale Health Centre, the building itself seems to have beenwell received thus far. Patients have also applauded the sterling effortsof the staff to overcome the impossible odds created by the NHS'decision makers' who, from their ivory towers in some distant universe,decreed the manner in which the move was to be conducted. 'Lions ledby donkeys' is the one expression used in this context that is printable.As for public relations, however, the NHS has done for PR whatChernobyl did for the reputation of nuclear power. After a very longperiod of silence, the 'communications' team made every effort to keepthe decision makers well out of sight, thereby shutting down debate,and making informed discussion about key areas impossible. The icingon the cake was the decision to sneak in the closure of the Health Clinicin the town centre.All in all, the matter was handled so badly that rumours are circulatingthat Prince Andrew was commissioned at the outset to plan andcoordinate the task of winning over public opinion. The worry is that,having got his foot in the door, the local NHS will continue to make useof his services. Fortunately, however, a spokesman for The Palace hasbrought a measure of reassurance: "We have locked him in a cupboardunder the stairs and won't be letting him out for the foreseeable future."Dr JohnFOCUS
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Page 3 and 4: South Focus Woodham Focus 3FAMILY H
Page 5 and 6: FOCUSSouth Focus Woodham Focus5In l
Page 7 and 8: South Woodham Ferrers £135,000•
Page 9 and 10: FOCUSFEATURESouth Focus Woodham Foc
Page 11 and 12: South Focus Woodham Focus11STILL DA
Page 13 and 14: FOCUSSouth Focus Woodham Focus13!!!
Page 15 and 16: FOCUSFocus15Woodville Primary Schoo
Page 17 and 18: FocusCONGRATULATIONS17To Mummy, Wis
Page 19: FOCUSFocusLETTERS PAGE19Over toyou.
Page 23 and 24: FOCUSSITUATIONS VACANTSouth Woodham
Page 25 and 26: 0South Focus Woodham FocusSouth Woo
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Page 31 and 32: FOCUSTRADE PAGESSouth Focus Woodham

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