Due to Government incompetence during the Covid-19 Pandemic, many UK citizens now suffer from Long-Covid. Meaning loss of earnings, and loss to quality of life. Many are now unable to work, many like myself have had to give up a well paid job, for lower pay, as we are now unable to continue with heavy work. Many are still in receipt of Statutory Sick Pay of the meagre amount of £99.95 per week, which is grossly insufficient to live on, meaning having to claim for other benefits such as Universal Credit, to top up. The stress of going from well paid jobs to very low benefits, and even lower paid employment, only undermine our health further. At this time, there is no cure for Long-Covid, we are still unaware of what causes this condition. Meaning anyone who had had, or in future suffers from Covid, may well end up also suffering from Long-Covid. It is an awful disabling condition, which leaves you breathless, fatigued, and at times unable to move. You go from being full of beans one second, and in the next, you have no beans at all, every muscle in your body aches, it's like living with 24 hour flu, every day, meaning menial tasks are impossible. Government incompetence during the early stages of the pandemic, left everyone open to contacting Covid, and becoming a Long-Covid sufferer, and with Covid still rife, meaning anyone could still become a sufferer of this awful condition. Many have had to give up work and survive on benefits, or like myself, give up a well paid job, for a lower pay, as we could no longer do the work we used to.

The cessation of this service during the pandemic has put our community in a vulnerable position, and we believe that residents requiring immediate urgent care should not have to seek it outside their hometown. When children or babies get ill they can deteriorate very quickly which highlights the need for accessible local healthcare. We appreciate the tireless efforts and work of the NHS, alongside the expansion of services during the day. However, we firmly believe that the return of emergency overnight provision at Newark Hospital is vital for the health and well-being of all Newark residents.

A staggering 58 per cent of people with epilepsy who responded to our recent survey have faced dental repair costs they could not afford. And over two-thirds have broken or chipped their teeth as a result of a seizure. This startling data, gathered as part of a survey we conducted in March and April 2023, lays bare the challenges facing people with epilepsy who often suffer severe damage to their teeth as a result of their medical condition. That is why the Epilepsy Society has launched FixIt4Free, our campaign calling for free dental repairs for people who have damaged teeth during a seizure.

My son is one of the death to suicide statistics for 2023. My beautiful son, Liam suffered for nearly 6 years battling with OCD, he was told he required inpatient care due to his severe life impacting OCD. This was never offered and he committed suicide on 5th May 2023. The UK has only one NHS 24 hour care facility nationally, providing 10 beds for both OCD and BDD patients. Around three quarters of a million people are thought to be living with severe, life impacting and debilitating Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) here in the UK. (https://www.ocduk.org/ocd/ accessed 28th June 2023). A Cambridge article confirmed, rates of suicide attempts in OCD sufferers appear to be as high as 27%. Death-to-suicide rates in OCD sufferers are shown to be as high as 1.4%. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open/article/resolving-the-discrepancies-of-suicide-risk-in-obsessivecompulsive-patients-a-review-of-incidence-rates-and-risk-factors-of-suicide-and-suicide-attempts-in-ocd/B07F6BA120B93572B83C3C8B5A744120 Published 18 June 2021, Accessed 28 June 2023). Page 2 of the referee guide for the Trustwide OCD and BDD unit, states this is the only NHS Unit to provide 24 hour care in the UK for OCD & BDD patients. Yet they only have 10 beds! (https://www.swlstg.nhs.uk/documents/related-documents/our-services/334-ocd-referrers-guide/file) Accessed 16 August 2023.

Online slots are highly addictive and highly profitable, with more people needing treatment for gambling disorder after using them than any other gambling product. Up to 1.4 million people are already addicted to gambling in the UK and every day at least one person takes their life because of gambling. The government has announced plans to reduce online slot stakes – which are currently unlimited – to either £2, £5, £10, or £15 or “none of the above”. Online slots can spin every 2.5 seconds, severely impacting mental health, meaning people can lose vast amounts very quickly, even with a £2 limit. Sign this petition and tell the government 2.5 seconds per spin is too fast and even a £2 stake limit would ruin more lives – slots must be slowed and stake limits reduced to much lower levels.

Unlike many environmental harms, noise pollution is immediate and unavoidable. It penetrates walls, disrupts sleep, and keeps the body in a constant state of stress, preventing proper rest and recovery. A peaceful environment is essential for health and wellbeing. Children need quiet to learn and develop; adults need it to concentrate, work, and recover; older people and those with health conditions are particularly vulnerable to chronic noise. Communities should not be forced to choose between participation in public life and the right to peace in their own homes. Effective noise regulation protects not only health, but dignity, equality, and social cohesion. Creating quieter environments benefits everyone - residents, businesses, and local economies - by reducing conflict and making neighbourhoods genuinely liveable. Accepting preventable harm from excessive noise as “normal” is neither reasonable nor necessary.

Did you know, as of 2023, that 2 out of every 10 young people aged 11-16 have used a vape? This number has almost quadrupled since 2014. If this trend continues to grow in the same way, we could see nearly ALL young people in the UK vaping before 2050! This is a shocking thought and we must act quickly to stem the tide. Make no mistake, the companies that manufacture and market vaping products are simply paying lip service to preventing youth access to their products. You only need to look at the array of bright colours and tantalising flavours that they are making available in order to see through their double marketing standards. It really is all smoke and mirrors! Nicotine addiction, lung and respiratory issues, increased risk of cancer, adverse effects on brain function... the list goes on and this is only the beginning of published research into the dangers of vaping. Vapes should be treated as a health enemy, just like cigarettes. They should be kept out of sight and look unappealing, so as not to continue to attract a younger clientele. Protect our future generations and please sign this petition now!

It is important if not critical that mental health should be taught in schools. If children are taught how to look after their mental health, it will a dramatic impact on their wellbeing. Children are increasingly under a lot of stress and come from homes and situations that means that their mental health is bad. If a child knows how to look after their mind it will be easier for them to look after themselves as adults and make less damaging choices. Crime rates will fall, adults relying on mental health medication will drop and addiction will drop also. Investing in a child's mental health is a long term investment that will benefit everyone in the future.

It is vital that provision for health and social care should be vastly improved

Communities across Cambridgeshire & Peterborough are suffering from NHS dentist closures and the widespread lack of accessible NHS dentistry provision. Toothless in Huntingdon & Toothless in Cambridge were founded in the wake of multiple local dentistry closures to hear testimony from patients and to urge authorities to take action. As health inequality continues to rise, patients are being put at considerable inconvenience and distress. The physical and mental pain suffered by those who are unable to find an NHS dentist local to them has all too often been matched by the financial hardships of being forced to 'go private' as practices are not taking on NHS patients. From the 1st April 2023, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) took on the commissioning of NHS dentistry from NHS England. We note that to date, since the Cambridge and Peterborough ICB was formed, the issue of access to NHS dentistry has not appeared on board meeting agendas. The national Toothless in England campaign is calling for: 1. An NHS dentist for everyone 2. Reforms to the NHS dental contract that will encourage dentists to provide NHS treatments 3. Revenue to cover the 50% of the population that are unfunded by the government 4. NHS dental treatments to be free at the point of use 5. People to be prioritised before shareholder dividend - no more privatisation 6. An end to the two-tier system - hygienists, routine check-ups and preventative treatments must be a core NHS function The NHS was founded as a free-to-all service back in 1948. We pay for it, in part, via national insurance and taxation, yet our NHS dentists continue to disappear. We want them back! "No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical care because of a lack of means or availability." - Nye Bevan

Cromer and North Norfolk has lost a highly valued service for older and vulnerable people who leave hospital, assessing their needs prior to moving back to their own homes or other settings. Delays in discharging patients from hospital are causing huge backlogs in the NHS, added to which are concerns about patients being discharged in poor health and returned to hospital within 7 days.

To Whom It May Concern Re: Proposed Closure of Jim Gillespie House (Abbeyfield) care home in Rugby This petition is to protest against the fact that Jim Gillespie House care home in Rugby, Warwickshire is being considered for closure by the Abbeyfield Society and express how shocked and appalled we are by that fact. It is a matter of personal importance to all current resident's and their families as well as the families of past residents that have benefitted from the wonderful care offered by Jim Gillespie House staff. Our families have seen first hand the way the residents entrusted to Jim Gillespie House are looked after. We have witnessed this over extended periods of time, that cannot be emulated by visits from Abbeyfield's Head Office. We can attest that the exceptional care offered surpasses the fulfilment of a job role but is care in the truest definition of the word. The proposed closure of this home would be an inconceivable loss to the local area and a heartless and unnecessary disruption to the home's current residents. Residents, many of whom have dementia, have bonds with each other and with the staff, and do not deserve to suffer being unsettlingly removed from the secure home that they, and their families, thought they had made for their later years. The proposal to close this home is wholly incongruous with the Abbeyfield Society's stated vision for: "Homely and friendly houses that have established great links within their community, making time for our residents and enhancing their lives by bringing everyone together." The management team and staff of Jim Gillespie House consistently deliver on this vision in a way that is utterly undermined by the proposed closure. It's exceedingly difficult to rationalise a performance-related reason to consider this particular home for closure when you consider the following points: 1. The occupancy rate for this home is close to 100% as compared to Abbeyfield's 2022 average of 76% 2. Jim Gillespie House always achieves its yearly budget, with no additional burden on the Abbeyfield Society's finances. 3. Aside from a period during Covid, staff turnover is low. 4. The home rarely requires more than one agency care worker, which limits the financial cost of operating this home to the Abbeyfield Society. 5. Throughout the COVID pandemic, Jim Gillespie House had no hospitalisations or deaths. The only cases occurring after all residents had received four vaccinations and led to minimal cold-like symptoms. A true testament to the management and dedication of all involved in the running of this home. 6. In 2018, a state of the art heating system was installed at a cost of close to £500,000. An expenditure that would seem to display confidence in the service Jim Gillespie House delivers. 7. The home cost the Society nothing to be built. It was paid for by a benefactor. It is difficult to imagine that many better run or more cost-effective homes can possibly exist in the Abbeyfield portfolio. Its reputation in the Rugby area has led it to be a very desirable and hugely respected care home. Its proposed closure would be a tragic loss to the local community and, most especially, its current residents and their families.