devsdev

Already posted in another thread by mistake, but here is the official DoH response to the petition sent out today: MenB vaccine is offered to infants, free on the NHS, at 2 months with further doses at 4 and 12 months. The programme, as advised by independent experts, offers protection to those at highest risk. As the UK, we are proud to have been the first? and to date the only - country in the world to introduce a national, publicly-funded MenB immunisation programme for infants using the Bexsero vaccine. We are leading the world in offering children protection from this devastating disease. National immunisation programmes are introduced on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the independent expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters. https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation JCVI reviewed all available evidence before it advised on eligibility for the Bexsero vaccine. It recommended that MenB immunisation should be routinely offered to the group of children at the highest risk - infants at two months of age with a further dose at four months and a booster at 12 months, provided that the vaccine could be procured at a cost-effective price. There is a duty on the Secretary of State for Health to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the recommendations of the JCVI, are implemented. The programme started on 1st September 2015 for those babies due to receive their primary immunisations starting at 2 months of age on or after 1 September 2015 (i.e. those born on or after 1 July 2015). A one off catch-up programme was recommended by JCVI for infants born from 1 May 2015 to 30 June 2015 (aged 3 or 4 months of age when the programme launched) when they attended for their primary immunisation appointments. This ensured that those infants were offered the vaccine before the winter peak of the disease. By May 2017, all children under the age of two years will have been offered the vaccine. The vaccine is also available for a small number of older children and adults who are at increased risk of infection, such as those with no spleen. Early indications are that the vaccine has been very well accepted by parents and coverage is likely to be high. With this programme, our priority is to protect those children most at risk of MenB, in line with JCVI?s recommendation. The NHS budget is a finite resource. It is therefore essential that JCVI?s recommendations are underpinned by evidence of cost-effectiveness. Offering the vaccine outside of JCVI?s advice would not be cost effective, and would not therefore represent a good use of NHS resources which should be used to benefit the health and care of the most people possible. When any new immunisation programme is introduced, there has to be a cut-off date to determine eligibility. While this is extremely difficult for parents whose children aren?t eligible there is no other way of establishing new programmes to target those at highest risk without introducing inequalities. This approach is supported by the best evidence and by independent recommendations. JCVI considered older age groups (1-4 year olds) but did not advise a catch-up programme in view of the marginal cost-effectiveness of even the infant programme. JCVI considered that the priority should be the implementation of the primary immunisation programme for infants. They also considered a programme for adolescents but advised that further research was needed Preparatory research has been commissioned and is underway. There are many bacterial, viral and other causes of meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and surrounding tissues) and septicaemia (blood poisoning). Successful vaccination programmes have already reduced the risk of these serious diseases. Current rates of group B meningococcal disease are low. In the early 2000s there were more than 1,600 cases in England, compared to around 400 cases in 2014. The vaccine should provide direct protection against MenB for infants and those who are at increased risk of meningococcal disease. However, not all strains of the group B meningococcal bacteria are covered by this vaccine and cases can still occur in vaccinated infants and children. There are also other strains of meningococcal disease for which there is currently no vaccine. It therefore remains important for parents to be alert to the symptoms of meningococcal disease such as fever, blotchy skin, refusal to feed, irritability, cold hands and feet, rash, muscle pain, and a stiff body with jerky movements or else floppy and lifeless. They should trust their instincts and seek urgent medical attention if they have concerns. Department of Health

Oops - sorry, wrong thread. But still relevant!

For those who may not have signed the petition, here is the government response to the petition: MenB vaccine is offered to infants, free on the NHS, at 2 months with further doses at 4 and 12 months. The programme, as advised by independent experts, offers protection to those at highest risk. As the UK, we are proud to have been the first? and to date the only - country in the world to introduce a national, publicly-funded MenB immunisation programme for infants using the Bexsero vaccine. We are leading the world in offering children protection from this devastating disease. National immunisation programmes are introduced on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the independent expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters. https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation JCVI reviewed all available evidence before it advised on eligibility for the Bexsero vaccine. It recommended that MenB immunisation should be routinely offered to the group of children at the highest risk - infants at two months of age with a further dose at four months and a booster at 12 months, provided that the vaccine could be procured at a cost-effective price. There is a duty on the Secretary of State for Health to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the recommendations of the JCVI, are implemented. The programme started on 1st September 2015 for those babies due to receive their primary immunisations starting at 2 months of age on or after 1 September 2015 (i.e. those born on or after 1 July 2015). A one off catch-up programme was recommended by JCVI for infants born from 1 May 2015 to 30 June 2015 (aged 3 or 4 months of age when the programme launched) when they attended for their primary immunisation appointments. This ensured that those infants were offered the vaccine before the winter peak of the disease. By May 2017, all children under the age of two years will have been offered the vaccine. The vaccine is also available for a small number of older children and adults who are at increased risk of infection, such as those with no spleen. Early indications are that the vaccine has been very well accepted by parents and coverage is likely to be high. With this programme, our priority is to protect those children most at risk of MenB, in line with JCVI?s recommendation. The NHS budget is a finite resource. It is therefore essential that JCVI?s recommendations are underpinned by evidence of cost-effectiveness. Offering the vaccine outside of JCVI?s advice would not be cost effective, and would not therefore represent a good use of NHS resources which should be used to benefit the health and care of the most people possible. When any new immunisation programme is introduced, there has to be a cut-off date to determine eligibility. While this is extremely difficult for parents whose children aren?t eligible there is no other way of establishing new programmes to target those at highest risk without introducing inequalities. This approach is supported by the best evidence and by independent recommendations. JCVI considered older age groups (1-4 year olds) but did not advise a catch-up programme in view of the marginal cost-effectiveness of even the infant programme. JCVI considered that the priority should be the implementation of the primary immunisation programme for infants. They also considered a programme for adolescents but advised that further research was needed Preparatory research has been commissioned and is underway. There are many bacterial, viral and other causes of meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and surrounding tissues) and septicaemia (blood poisoning). Successful vaccination programmes have already reduced the risk of these serious diseases. Current rates of group B meningococcal disease are low. In the early 2000s there were more than 1,600 cases in England, compared to around 400 cases in 2014. The vaccine should provide direct protection against MenB for infants and those who are at increased risk of meningococcal disease. However, not all strains of the group B meningococcal bacteria are covered by this vaccine and cases can still occur in vaccinated infants and children. There are also other strains of meningococcal disease for which there is currently no vaccine. It therefore remains important for parents to be alert to the symptoms of meningococcal disease such as fever, blotchy skin, refusal to feed, irritability, cold hands and feet, rash, muscle pain, and a stiff body with jerky movements or else floppy and lifeless. They should trust their instincts and seek urgent medical attention if they have concerns. Department of Health

As always, articulated really well Saffron. I have been very grateful that my two girls have been vaccinated against chickenpox (just the one injection so far for various reasons, but I will get them the booster within a year). They have been exposed a couple of times already and so far are fine. I had chickenpox as a kid (10 yr old) and remember being miserable, so I am grateful I can minimise their risk of infection.

There was a GP on Newsnight who said about 139 children between the ages of 1 and 5 are affected each year (by death or serious injury) as a result of Men B. The cost of immunising all of them would be circa ?130 million (I hope I got the numbers right). On a cost-benefit analysis unfortunately the numbers don't add up. This is not to say that I don't agree with the matter being debated in Parliament (though obviously important issues are being overshadowed by numpties debating this Brexit BS...but another issue) - at least the issue, the vaccine, the choices and the reasoning behind government/NHS decisions will be publicised and considered.

My now 3+ year old and my now 20 month old were given the first shot in August. Both reacted very strongly to the vaccine (intra-muscular so their arms were very sore - I deliberately asked for them in the left arm so it didn't impact too much). However they both had the chicken pox vaccines at the same time, which in hindsight wasn't smart on my part. Both had fever, younger one was throwing up her food - both known side effects. Second time for each was just the Bexsero - older one was still under the weather and had a very sore arm. Younger one had it this weekend (ended up leaving far more than the 8 weeks between shots for various reasons) and she has been absolutely fine except for occasionally saying "ow" when her arm gets bumped. I believe CityDoc's waiting lists are still open for May if you want to join.

Unfortunately it's not currently available privately as there is low stock for private use - these are being used to complete the dose for people who have already had the first vaccine. It will be available in the summer again so may be worthwhile trying to get onto a waiting list if you are still interested in getting the vaccine. CityDoc and the Health Hub are both local providers (CityDoc uses local pharmacies so these are all over London). You can't buy the injection to be administered by the GP as far as I am aware.

An interesting analysis of making the Men B vaccine available to all - what do people think about making the provision of the vaccine to those outside the current regime means tested? We paid to have the vaccine privately and would do so again in a heartbeat. While there is not an epidemic of Men B, a 10% morbidity rate makes the vaccine a no-brainer to me (provided it can be afforded and is available, of course). https://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2016/feb/22/making-the-meningitis-b-vaccine-available-for-all-children-makes-sense

Thanks all - but do you know if we can carry the disease to others even if we're protected? It's a weird question, which is why I can't get a Google answer to it! I'm concerned that we're being poor neighbours and transporting the varicella virus around to others even though we hopefully will avoid catching it...

Hi all, My two girls have been vaccinated against chickenpox (only one shot - second shot is being given later than the 8 week gap for various reasons). I have had chickenpox as a kid. My husband doesn't know if he had chickenpox. We had family staying this past weekend and my 3yr old niece started showing chickenpox spots on Monday (so would have been infectious when staying with us). I'm hoping we all remain pox free, but in the meantime would we all still technically be carrying around the risk of infection to others if we're not going to catch it ourselves? We've told all playdates etc, but I've been coming into work as usual. Thank you! Dev

Little Kickers - http://www.littlekickers.co.uk/. They also have rugby. Our little girl loves the football class.

Try the website "Tots to Travel". Lots of good options. Agree having a villa/flat rather than a hotel room makes things much easier. I'm hoping for a holiday to Spain this summer - shall be looking through this website or Owners Direct or something similar.

Our preemie was about 6lbs when we got home, so a bit bigger. I used the Close Caboo as it allowed me to hold her upright and also accommodated the oxygen which she was on for about 6 weeks. I also used the Manduca newborn insert once she was about 7lbs. The Close would be a good one, though if you're taking baby out and about then the sling library would be good to the find the most suitable one for you. If you call Emily and ask for an appointment without any other people (given it's RSV season) then she may be able to do that for you. Happy to chat about having a prem baby back home too - did you have yours at Kings? Take care of yourselves :)

Cars like the S-max and the Galaxy are probably your best bet and once you drive them 2-3 times are really easy to get used to. The Touran will fit 3 ERF car seats, 2 adults and a double buggy - tried and tested. The front airbag also turns off very easily so a car seat can go in front. Touran has floor storage which can make some car seats a problem so consider that.

This post made me go back and find the links I've used in the past which are at least indicative of catchment though aren't actually distance calculators as you asked for. http://www.192.com/schools/ (used to be findaschool.info but seems to have been taken over by this site - still works) http://datacollator.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/primary-schools-around-east-dulwich.html - blog for last year done by a kind Forumite - maybe he/she will update? http://schoolsfinder.direct.gov.uk/schoolsfinder - government site Now maybe I'll be able to find these easily when I look for them!

Bumping thread - I will need to get another treatment in Feb/March and was wondering if I should go to Rush again or try Carly...hoping for any recent recommendations? Thanks

Are you exercising/doing yoga/pilates? That can make a huge difference to your wellbeing and help you sleep. Also have a look at your diet including caffeine and alcohol consumption, both of which can disrupt sleep. Aside from anxiety and anticipating a bad night's sleep (which can be a huge cause of stress) do you have any other major stressors in your life? Are there ways to address those? Finally, spending some time meditating can help - by this I mean simply putting on some soothing music (with as little external noise as possible), setting an alarm for 10/15 minutes, sitting comfortably on the ground or on a chair, closing your eyes and just breathing. Made a lot of difference for me. I also used an app called "Headspace" which is great (in fact this post is a reminder that I could probably use it these days). Obviously there can be a more deep rooted issue, but hopefully you'll find something that helps at least a little. Good luck - not sleeping properly is rubbish (especially once you've got the little one to sleep!).

I really want one....covetcovetcovet

Some people swear by their washer dryers - we've never had much luck using them. Our current washer-dryer leaves clothes smelling (dirty damp smell) which is probably a problem with our unit, but the washer works fine. Just got the Candy Heat Pump from AO (via Boots, so got my points!) - will update once I find the time to plug it in and test it out! -Dev

There's a thread titled Vitamix where someone has linked to a blender called "Enpee" which looks awesome. We have a Nutribullet Pro, which is great. But my SIL has a Blentec (which is more like the Enpee/Vitamix) and it's amazing. Can do everything in it and I think it works out smaller/easier than the Nutribullet. If it's a longer term investment and you don't already have a big blender etc. then consider that. Far more versatile (I'm coveting it, but may have to be a Christmas present next year!)

Have you applied for admission to a school nursery (ideally one where the current childminder can pick up from)? That's 15 hours a week free and she can stay with the current childminder so you don't have to worry about the change of childcare. I think deadlines are end of this week.

What area of work were you in before and what are you looking to do? In terms of IT, if you're likely to be using Microsoft applications then its website has really good training modules to use the various software. I'd highly recommend these as a way to re-familiarise (or just learn, given that they've completely changed all the programs in the last few years - so annoying!) yourself with Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc. https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/Office-Training-Center-b8f02f81-ec85-4493-a39b-4c48e6bc4bfb (If you click on the relevant product you can do training in the older versions). While I was "only" away for 2 years, I know how daunting it feels. But can attest that, like anything, the anticipation is far worse than the reality. Good luck!

Thanks Strawbs - is it this one: http://ao.com/product/gvhd913a2-candy-grando-vita-condenser-tumble-dryer-white-36433-18.aspx. If so brilliant because it's the cheapest 9kg out there and it looks great! Some of the reviews say it's very noisy - it's going to be next to my daughter's bedroom and besides having white noise in her room she's generally a heavy sleeper so I don't think it'll be a problem. But just wondering if you found it particularly noisy? Thank you!

We have been very lucky to have had two excellent nannies who were (well, one still is working for us) very diligent, honest and truly excellent with the kids. My 3yr old can tell me everything so I know she's happy and they all have fun together doing interesting things. Our nanny asked me today if she could drop by one of the shopping malls after a playgroup to exchange some shoes and I thought of your situation - I have absolutely no problem with her doing so but definitely like to know if she does things like that. Not being told about where they're going and what they're doing would make me wary. Anyway, I wanted to note that, as with all childcare options, it's about finding the right fit for you and your kids. Has your older one been in nursery before? Perhaps a childminder might be a middle ground? If you have been the primary carer for your kids for a while then you'll find a period of time when they play up no matter what the childcare. My older one (who had previously been with a nanny but from 2yrs to 2.8yrs was with me) really played up with our current nanny for at least a month. She would hit her sometimes (knowing it was wrong), cry when I left in the morning etc but then have a fun day with her when I wasn't around. Now she absolutely adores our nanny but still has days when all she wants is me (which is pretty frustrating when I'm trying to leave the house!). Hope you're able to terminate the contract without too much trouble - you have no obligation to continue employing her and are giving her a fair settlement for termination of her employment during the probationary period. So don't stress about it, just have a conversation before she leaves today and if all goes well you could just start with a clean slate on Monday and not worry about it this weekend). Try not to be apologetic about it either - it'll suggest you're somehow doing something wrong when you're clearly not.

We're finally getting a condenser dryer - I think we should get one with a heat pump since the prices have come down and I understand these are the most energy efficient in the long run. I've looked at AO.com and the cheapest are with 7kg drums. We would mainly want to be able to dry towels, sheets, duvet covers and the like, plus the odd batch of kids clothes. Should I be looking at a bigger drum? Appreciate it should relate to the washer, but we will probably replace our washer in the next year or so and I'm not fussed if a wash needs to be dried in two batches. Anyway, was hoping for recommendations (or brands/models to avoid) and any experience with these kinds of dryers. Also, the room has a window which we can leave slightly open, but should we get an exhaust fan installed as well? Thank you!!