Thanks Oswalde!

Oswalde

We’d just like to say a very big thank you from the whole Lupus Brighton and Hove group to Oswalde, who has been going in every week to the Green centre to help sort the many thousands of plastic milk bottle tops, which are then sent off to a recycling company who donate money to our group (and LupusUK) based on their weight.   We have already had over a fifty pounds donated to our group this year, from this source. Thank you so much for giving up your time to help us.

You can also help the group raise money in this way by doing any of the following:

  • collecting plastic milk bottle tops
  • asking local friends and family to collect plastic milk bottle tops (they must be local as it isn’t cost effective to send these milk bottle tops by post)
  • volunteering to help at the Green centre on one of their volunteer Saturdays which take place on the 4th Saturday of every month between Feb-Nov

If you’d like any more information about this then please contact us.

Hospital Appointments

We just wanted to make you aware that it is now the Sussex County Royal’s policy to discharge you back to your GP if you reschedule two appointments in a row.

One of our members recently had to cancel a second appointment at the Rheumatology department there. She was told that she would be discharged from the clinic and would have to be re-referred by her GP, regardless of the reasons for the cancellations. In this case, she’d cancelled her hospital appointments due to illness, then due to a friend’s memorial service and it was only after much argument that she got her appointment rearranged.

Speaking to the hospital, we’ve since discovered that appointments are now being handled through a Central Admissions department, rather than the Rheumatology department. If you call the new central appointments line :0300 303 8360 to reschedule, you’ll find that this is their policy.

However, I was assured that if you do need to cancel two appointments in a row, if you speak to the Rheumatology department directly then they will let you make a third appointment. She said they fully understand that in Rheumatology, many of their patients may have to cancel appointments due to illness. The extension number for the Rheumatology department is X4220. (Call Main Switchboard 01273 696955 and ask for extension 4220 or the Rheumatology department.)

October’s Coffee and Chat

autumnWe’re now into autumn, it’s definitely turning colder! This didn’t stop there being a good turn out for this month’s coffee and chat. Twelve of us came along to chat and offer support to each other.

We agreed to hold this year’s Christmas dinner at Pinocchios Restaurant (two doors down from the Courtyard Restaurant) 22 New Road. It was very successful last year and has now reopened, after having a fire there earlier in the year. We’ve changed the date to Friday 13th December 2013 so please put it in your diary!

We also have arranged for Professor Davies to come and give us a talk about how Lupus Affects the Brain on the Friday 6th December 3013 – venue TBC so please keep an eye on our events page for details.

Mini Library for Lupus Brighton and Hove

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We believe that an important part of living with a long term chronic illness like lupus is learning as much as you can about it.

As you may have read in our last Newsletter, we have agreed with Brighton and Hove City council to spend the small remainder of our grant money, to create a small collection of books about lupus, that our members will be able to borrow. The books available will be listed on our website and you’ll be able to borrow them for up to a month.

You can request a book by contacting us through the website or at any of our coffee and chats. If someone else is borrowing a book at the time we’ll put in a request for it to be returned to the group so that it can be reissued.

A  couple of our members have already offered a couple of their own books to add to our collection. If you have a book (on lupus or related subject) please let us know and we’ll be delighted to add it to the selection.

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