I am so pleased to share news thatNo Limits, an incredible youth services charity in Southampton, has been awarded £58,000 in new government funding to support young people in the city.
The funding is part of a wider Labour Government initiative to improve the mental health of young people across England, with a focus on early intervention and specialist support. No Limits is one of 24 Early Support Hubs across the country set to receive a share of £7 million allocated to mental health services for young people.
The Labour Government is increasing funding for public health services in Southampton, as part of a £200 million national funding boost to the Public Health Grant – the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending under the Conservatives.
As part of Labour’s plans to improve health outcomes across the country and build healthier communities, local public health services will be given more money to deliver prevention programmes, tailored to their residents.
Southampton City Council will receive more than £20 million to help drive key health services, from help to stop smoking to addiction recovery and children’s health, and to help fund family and school nurses, sexual health clinics and other public services in the local area.
I was concerned to hear from a constituent recently about her experience with sepsis. She fell ill with sepsis in Spring last year and is, devastatingly, still suffering from the effects. She tells me that her life has altered dramatically.
She needs a CPAP machine to breathe at night and will need to use it for the rest of her life. She has post-sepsis syndrome, where she has extreme fatigue and is unable to return to her previous job. Apparently 40% of people who develop sepsis are estimated to suffer physical, cognitive and/or psychological after-effects, so she is one of many suffering in silence.
She tells me that people often think nothing is wrong with her as she ‘looks fine’, but post-sepsis syndrome includes extreme fatigue and a number of physiological and physical symptoms. Muscle pain, poor sleep, short-term memory loss and arrhythmia (when the heart beats in an irregular rhythm) are all symptoms that can last well beyond the acute phase of the illness. For my constituent, the lack of understanding about her condition from others leaves her feeling even more fatigued and misunderstood.
Sepsis is one of the least well-known medical conditions, and the number one cause of preventable death in the world. It’s tricky to diagnose and can manifest in different ways depending on a number of factors, part of the reason why it’s so hard to spot. But, having heard about the horrendous experience of my constituent, I’ve been making myself more aware of the condition and wanted to share what I’ve learned.
