Non Medical support for heart patients and carers
Redditch Hale and Hearties Heart Support Group
Redditch Hale and Hearties Heart Support Group
News and Events 2024
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David Volrath is the new chairman of the club.
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Chairman request
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For those who were unable to come to the AGM on Wednesday 9th October can I advise that not all of the Committee Members were standing for re-election.
After consideration, Anne Brooks thought it was an appropriate time for her to step down from the Management Committee and her role as Secretary to Redditch Hale & Hearties.
Anne has held this position for 6 years and also covered the role of Treasurer throughout the time of the pandemic. A truly remarkable task which has seen us through some very difficult times. We are very grateful for all she has done and will miss her greatly.
Although having stood down, Anne has offered to remain working with the committee until December to assist the settling in of her replacement. This leaves us with the task of finding a replacement.
The main duties of the Secretary consist:
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The preparation and issue of the agenda for Management and Group meetings and to keep the minutes of Group meetings
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To deal with Group correspondence and to collate and circulate any information within the Group that may be required
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To ensure Data Protection requirements are adhered to.
A more detailed list of the duties of the Secretary's role is available, copies of which are available from the exercise session briefcases. Please ask if you would like one for yourself or someone else who might be interested in filling the position.
If you feel this is a role you may be interested in, please speak to a member of the Committee. It may be that you know of someone outside the Group who might be interested, in which case, again please speak to a Committee Member.
The role provided by the Secretary is one which really is beneficial to the successful running of a Group and can prove very rewarding. Whoever takes on the position will receive every assistance from the rest of the Committee.
In addition, we have 2 further vacant places for Committee Members. It would be good for these to be taken up by active Members from the exercise classes ensuring we have the representation from those attending the classes. Duties will involve attendance at probably 6 (2-hourly) meetings over the year and any special meetings if they are necessary plus a small number of email conversations.
Please give serious consideration to who might fill these positions, in particular to that of Secretary.
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-> September 2024 - Newsletter.
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Group Meetings
The next Group Meeting will be the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday 9th October 2024, 7.30 pm at St John’s Church Hall, Greenlands Avenue, Redditch B98 7PZ. Only Members will be allowed to vote on any issues that arise at the AGM but partners/spouses/friends are more than welcome to attend for the coffee and cake that follows. The agenda is:
1. Welcome
2. Apologies
3. Minutes of last General Meeting
4. Annual Report
5. Treasurer’s Report
6. Resignation of the Committee
7. Election of the Committee
8. Any Other Business
9. Close
Should any Member have anything they wish to raise at the AGM, please notify any of the Committee Members, in writing, by Wednesday 2nd October. Minutes of the 2023 AGM, along with a financial report for the period 1.9.2023 – 31.8.2024, will be readily available on the evening.
The final Group Meeting for 2024 is the Christmas carols, sherry & mince pie, plus the Grand Raffle on Wednesday 11th December 2024. More information to follow in the coming months.
Public Liability Insurance
We are delighted to report that Hale & Hearties have secured their own Public Liability Insurance which began on 1st September (start of H&H financial year). It brings to a close H&H’s 27-year affiliation with the BHF. This year only, the British Heart Foundation have offered a £150 donation towards the cost of the first year’s insurance, which we have claimed.
World Heart Day – Sunday 29th September
World Restart a Heart Day – Wednesday 16th October
A topic dear to all our hearts and the hearts of our loved ones. Celebrate in style with an extra 20-minute exercise work-out.
Mature Drivers Course
Some of us were fortunate to attend a ‘Mature Drivers’ course. Whilst none of us think our driving is bad, if you see it advertised then it’s well worth attending – if only for the free Highway Code. The Road Safety Team did say they would try and offer more. Some links that you might find useful:
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Older Drivers Forum: https://olderdriversforum.com/
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Gov.UK – Reportable medical conditions: www.gov.uk/driving-medical-conditions
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IAM RoadSmart – Mature Driver Review course: https://www.iamroadsmart.com/courses/mature-driver-review
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Age UK – Driving as you get older:
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https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/travel-hobbies/driving/
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Group Meetings are as follows:
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​Wednesday 10th April -
Wednesday 12th June, changed from the 26th
Wednesday 14th August 2024 – Social evening and Quiz (new date added)
Wednesday 9th October (AGM),
Wednesday 11th December (Christmas)
Details of guest speakers shown further down in the appropriate month..
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January:
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17th - Newsletter
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Happy New Year to all our members.
This week we had our first H&H Committee meeting for 2024 and wanted to pass on a few items to you. Firstly, welcome to Jo Hartland to the Committee. Jo volunteers with the Rehab team at the Alexandra Hospital and works hard to encourage new members to H&H. The current Committee members are: David Volrath, Chairman; Martin Stansbie, Treasurer; Anne Brooks, Secretary and Committee Members June Spillane, David Munro, Peggy Blunn and Jo Hartland.
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The venue for the Group Meetings will be St John’s Church Hall, Greenlands Avenue, Redditch
B98 7PZ. We are in the process of finalising speakers for the April and June meetings.
Emergency Contact Details
Over the next few weeks, we will be asking members if they are happy to let H&H retain emergency contact details. This came about following a discussion about what would happen if someone had an accident, or were taken ill, and would we know who to contact.
This is purely voluntary and we will use the same process we did for the GDPR forms in that you will receive an envelope with a form for you, and your emergency contact, to complete. Seal the envelope and hand it back in to class.
Your information (name, address, phone etc.) are not stored on a computer and only accessible to the Committee member that need to access this information. It will be the same with the emergency contact details.
Medication
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Each exercise class always has a defibrillator and a first aid kit. The only other items we carry are generic glucose tablets (available to buy as a non-prescription item). If you need any other medication such as a GTN spray, please ensure you bring your own to class.
H&H Clothing
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We have a number of very nice t/shirts, polo shirts and sweatshirts all with the H&H logo on them. Over the coming weeks we will be bringing these to the classes should you have any Christmas money you would like to spend.
British Heart Foundation News
February is ‘Heart Month’ for BHF and they are having a big push for fund raising. If you wish to take part, go on to the BHF web site for activities you can get involved in.
1st
Exercise class start dates
Greenlands/St Johns - Wednesday 3rd
Bromsgrove - Friday 5th
Oakenshaw - Friday 5th
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February:
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March:
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April:
10th - Group meeting.
A quick update on Group Meeting. 44 people attended, 32 of whom are active members and 12 guests.
Dr Brian Olwell, gave a presentation on the types of images which can be of the heart and an explanation which type is used for what condition.
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We apologise for the technology hold up at the start of the evening. The learning we are taking from that is to ask presenters for their presentation in advance so we can load it onto the H&H laptop (which works with our projector), or that they bring it on a USB stick. The up-side of the delay was that we had plenty of time to chat and eat cake!
A huge thank you to Anne Plews and Chris Whittaker for making the tea and coffee. It's not easy in a new venue when you don't know how everything works and they did a fantastic job of keeping us refreshed whilst we waited to get started.
Our next Group Meeting is Wednesday 12th June, 7.30pm, at Greenlands. Jane McBryde is coming to talk to us about medication.
We look forward to seeing you there.
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May:
May 2024 Newsletter
Group Meetings for 2024 are as follows:
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Wednesday 12th June 2024. (Changed from 26th June) Huge thank you to Jane MacBryde for stepping in to cover for Jake Williams who has been rostered to work on 26th June. This talk is about ‘medication’.
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Wednesday 14th August 2024 – Social evening and Quiz (new date added)
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Wednesday 9th October 2024 (AGM)
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Wednesday 11th December 2024 (Christmas carols, sherry & mince pie)
The venue for all Group Meetings is St John’s Church Hall, Greenlands Avenue, Redditch
B98 7PZ. Entrance fee is £3 per person. Spouses/partners/friends are more than welcome.
Public Liability Insurance
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) have notified us that from 1st October 2024, they will no longer offer free Public Liability Insurance (PLI) to Affiliated Heart Support Groups such as Redditch Hale & Hearties. Why? The reason is that the requirements of their insurance policy have changed, and now require the BHF to exercise increased oversight over Heart Support Groups. This is something they have consistently tried to prevent as they believe that groups should be governed independently, guided by their organisers.
BHF have offered a ‘one off’ payment of £150 towards the cost of each Affiliated Heart Support Group’s first year of insurance.
Redditch Hale & Hearties have been affiliated to BHF since H&H’s inception. BHF plan to set up a new ‘Independent Group Network’ that does not require formal affiliation.
The Committee are currently looking into finding a PLI provider (not as easy as it first sounds). Rest assured that we do not envisage having to close, or alter, our fantastic Heart Support Group. The only difference is the cost which we will have to cover. We will keep you updated in the coming months.
H&H Committee
It is with deep regret that June Spillane has resigned from the H&H Committee. On behalf of all we would like to offer a huge and massive thank you to June for all that she has contributed over her 25+ years on the Committee.
We are always open to new Members for the Committee. If you wish to know what it involves then please, just ask any of the current members – David Volrath (Greenlands & Oakenshaw), David Munro (Greenlands), Martin Stansbie (Oakenshaw) and Anne Brooks, Jo Hartland and Peggy Blunn at Bromsgrove. We would like to encourage more representatives from Greenlands & Oakenshaw.
Emergency Contact Details
Thank you to everyone who has returned their Emergency Contact Details. These will now we held in a sealed envelope in each briefcase should the need arise.
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June:
12th - Group meeting. An excellent meeting. Jane McBryde gave a presentation on Heart medication. The presentation covered the following subjects.
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To explain the reasoning behind some medication commonly used to help protect your heart
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To outline the benefits of these medicines
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To highlight the potential risks of these medicines
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Explain the best way to take your medications
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Discuss some of the interactions with your medicines
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During the presentation Jane answered many questions, at the end an orderly queue formed to ask Jane about their particular medications.
Jane ended by saying that 150mins of relatively moderate exercise per week is almost as important as your medications.
Refreshments were available throughout the meeting and our thanks go to the team providing the cakes, coffee, tea and cold drinks.
July:
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August:
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Wednesday 14th August 2024 – Social evening and Quiz (new date added)
An excellent time was had by all those who attended, the numbers were a little down on previous quizzes' but hey everyone won a prize. Cakes and tea or coffee were provided and a great success. Committee member Jo Hartland's husband, Theo, was the quiz master and did a great job. Questions were set by Anne and there were lots of moans and groans when the answers were given out.
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September:
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see top of page please.
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October:
10th - Group meeting. (AGM)
November:
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December:
13th - Group meeting. (Christmas, mince pies and wine)
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