BBC Radio Berkshire will host the Brighter Berkshire Year of Mental Health campaign 2017 on Monday 20th February 11am-1pm, with a programme featuring Mental Health First Aid. Look out for these monthly broadcasts. Find out more about the Brighter Berkshire campaign. Find out more about the Brighter Berkshire campaign on Twitter. Sign up to the Brighter Berkshire mailing list

The clinical commissioners for South Reading and North and West Reading will be presenting their plans at a public meeting on Thursday 9th March 2017 from 10.30am to 12.30pm in the Concert Hall in Reading Town Hall. To attend the meeting please reserve your place using this link. The events includes:

• A presentation on the challenges the NHS faces locally and our innovative plans to tackle them.
• Q and A session on these plans, with local NHS officials.
• "You said, we did" - Update on progress so far on the issues raised by the public around the NHS locally.

The Berkshire West Primary Care Commissioning Committee meets in public at Shaw House, Church Road, Newbury, RG14 2DR on 8th March from 1pm to 4.30pm. To attend register using this link (or by phone 0300 123 6264) by 12 noon on the 7th March. Papers will be available on the South Reading CCG primary care committee page. To submit a question, please email ppiteam.berkshirewest@nhs.net or telephone 0300 123 6264.

The Governing Body of South Reading CCG meets in public at 9.30-12,30 on Wednesday 1st March 2017 at the Museum of English Rural Life, Redlands Road, RG1 5EX. To attend use this link to register or phone 0300 123 6264 by 12 noon on the 28th February. Questions must be provided in advance - please email ppiteam.berkshirewest@nhs.net or phone to 0300123 6264.

The Guardian reported (2nd February 2017) that student applications to nursing courses had fallen by 23% this year. This is the first year that nursing students will not receive government busraries to cover fees and costs. Paradoxically, Government abandoned the bursaries partly to save money and partly to allow the number of students to increase. The applications from 18 year olds seem to have held up but those from older applicants have fallen drastically. This will mean less nurse.s qualifying in three years time. But in the meantime, since student nurses spend half their time in active placements this will mean progressively fewer staff on hospital wards from next year. In addition to these losses it is expected that recruitment from the EU will be down and unlikely to recover, given Brexit, pay restraint and a devalued pound sterling. The accumulation of these effects is likely to lead to a severe crisis and an emergency drive to recruit from outside Europe to jobs which we might well have been filled by British nurses had we maintained the numbers in training.

South Reading Patient Voice will meet at 6pm on Wednesday, 222nd February at RCLC, 94, London Street RG1 4SJ to discuss work on TB in South Reading and the CCG's operational plan for the coming year. Members will also hear news from Patient Participation Groups around South Reading and from Reading Healthwatch.

According to a recent report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health there is a growing gap in health between children of rich and poor households. Children living in our wealthiest areas are as healthy as any in the world, but those in deprived areas have health among the worst in the developed world. Here are the recommendations of the report: Each UK Government to develop a child health and wellbeing strategy, coordinated, implemented and evaluated across the nation Each UK Government to adopt a child health in all policies approach UK Government to introduce a ban on the advertising of foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt in all broadcast media before 9pm Each UK Government to develop cross-departmental support for breastfeeding; this should include a national public health campaign and a sector wide approach that includes employers, to support women to breastfeed An expansion of national programmes to measure the height and weight of infants and children after birth, before school and during adolescence A reversal of public health cuts in England, which are disproportionately affecting childrens services The introduction of minimum unit alcohol pricing in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, in keeping with actions by the Scottish Government UK Government to extend the ban on smoking in public places to schools, playgrounds and hospitals UK Government to prohibit the marketing of electronic cigarettes to children and young people National public health campaigns that promote good nutrition and exercise before, during and after pregnancy

Reading's Health and Wellbeing Board meets in the Council Chamber, Civic Offices, Bridge Street at 2pm on Friday 27th September 2017. The agenda includes updates supported by papers on the STP and ACS - local "by agreement" working organisation bringing together several CCGs and providers, the Health and Wellbeing strategy, work on FGM, safeguarding reports and other matters.

According to the Reading Chronicle the Royal Berkshire hospital has postponed the closure of its hydrotherapy pool until Summer, allowing time for discussions on the future of the pool with interested parties. According to our investigations, the closure had not been discussed with the Council of Governors at the hospital. Nor did our perusal of the Board papers for September, October or November reveal any Board level proposal for the closure.

A more complete but still draft version of the Sustainability and Transformation Plan for the commissioning area of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Western Berkshire has been published by South Reading CCG . This now has an account of expenditure reductions against "business as usual" attributed to various measures and discusses engagement and consultation at various levels.