Clapton Pond Blog

Doctor On The Plane

From the BBC:

"Over the next few days, thousands of athletes and spectators will fly out to Beijing for what is arguably the world's greatest sporting event - the Olympics. Among the exodus is Dr Laurence Gant. But unlike his fellow travellers, Dr Gant will not witness any great sporting feats. In fact, he has not got a ticket for a single event during his five-night stay in the Chinese capital. Instead he will be spending his time visiting hospitals and clinics, in a fact-finding mission for the 2012 games."

That's because he's a big cheese at the Homerton. Now read on.

Health Inequalities

From, the Guardian:

"The obesity rate among children starting school in Hackney, east London, is three times the rate in Teesdale."

And at a shocking 16 percent it is the highest in the country.

Youth Project

From Londra Gazete:

"DayMer have launched a new youth project with the support of Hackney Drug & Alcohol Action Team in order to provide support to Turkish, Cypriot and Kurdish youth in the face of growing concerns in relation to youth, crime and drugs."

Story here">here, DayMer website here.

Pregnancy & Acupuncture

From Yoga Blog:

"Diane Timewell is now offering ‘acupuncture during pregnancy’ at Sunstone on Northwold Rd, Stoke Newington."

You can get your ear acupunctured too. It's another world out there.

Black Women In Hackney & Breast Cancer

From Cancer Research UK:

"Black British women in Hackney, East London, are diagnosed with breast cancer 21 years younger than white British women, according to a Cancer Research UK study published online in the British Journal of Cancer. In the first UK study to look at the patterns of breast cancer in black British women, the researchers studied 102 black women and 191 white women diagnosed with breast cancer at Homerton University Hospital in Hackney, East London, between 1994 and 2005. They found the black patients were diagnosed with breast cancer at an average age of 46 while the white patients were diagnosed at an average age of 67."

More here, including a link to the full report.

Table Toppers

From the Evening Standard:

"Three London boroughs will soon become the unhealthiest places to live in Britain..."

We can't be one of them, surely. Well, actually, erm...

Young Turkish Men & Suicide

From The Times:

"Orhan Kaya and Can Onel were the first to kill themselves. The two friends, aged 24 and 19, hanged themselves at the same spot in the same church graveyard in Hackney, within weeks of each other in the summer. Since then, seven more have followed suit. The latest is Murat Yaldir, 23, found hanged last week by the owner of the takeaway he worked for. Almost all the suicides have taken place in the heart of Britain’s Turkish community in North and East London. The grim statistics show that Turkish and Kurdish men are now the ethnic groups most vulnerable to suicide in this country. Taking into account the recent cluster of suicides, they are about seven times more likely to commit suicide than South Asians, the next most susceptible group. The present suicide rate among Turkish men is double the national average."

Now read on.

Spotty Bus Benefits

In case you didn't already know:

"This year 317 children from Hackney have been infected with measles - the worst number of cases in the UK. In response, the borough has invested in a 'spotty bus' to raise awareness about the issue by touring schools and supermarkets. Since the bus was launched at the end of October there have been more than 800 children vaccinated with the MMR and other childhood vaccines."

The spotty bus came to Millfields the other week bearing the gifts pictured even for those children who, like mine, had already had MMR jabs. The BBC showed up too, and their report features quotes from Alix Edwards, who is also the new chair of governors. Shame the Beeb didn't spell her name right or her little boy's, but it's still a nice report.

Marketing MMR

It says here that:

"City and Hackney Primary Care Trust has turned to Chester’s Event Marketing Solutions after a major measles outbreak in East London. The body has entrusted EMS with hosting a touring immunisation drive, where a team will visit schools and nurseries throughout the area to offer MMR and associated vaccines to unprotected children. Two nurses will board one of EMS’ Pathfinder exhibition vehicles for the programme, starting on the 29th October, which will be emblazoned with the ‘Watch Out! Measles About’ slogan and bright, matching graphics. Speaking about the initiative, EMS’ MD Keith Austin commented: 'While we have staged many health promotion campaigns, this is the first time one of our vehicles has been used to deliver frontline health services. Thanks to the size of our comprehensive fleet, we were able to provide a vehicle quickly, to meet the tight deadlines required.'"

More background on our measles troubles here.

Football As Therapy

Good piece in the Times today about Hackney FC, a team set up five years ago by Janette Hynes who is a senior occupational therapist at Homerton Hospital and a qualified football coach who used to play for Fulham Ladies. Hackney FC's players all suffer from serious mental illnesses: eight from schizophrenia, three from bipolar disorder and two from psychosis. Playing football is helping to prevent them becoming isolated and therefore to avoid relapses. The team has spawned a league comprising 14 teams from six mental health trusts around London. Read the whole piece and also this in the Gazette about a match between Hackney police and a team called East London FC comprising young men soon to leave local care homes. Sometimes, football really is a metaphor for good things rather than bad.