Message in a Bottle campaign launches at Leicester Royal Infirmary

Date: Saturday, May 26th 2018
Categories: All Leicestershire Leicester Activities & Events

It was great to be involved with the launch of the Message in a Bottle campaign at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday - attended by Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Jonathan Ashworth, MP for Leicester South.

Kerry and Jackie from the Support for Carers team attended the launch, which was led by Leicestershire Police and attended by a range of organisations including The Lions - who first introduced the Message in a Bottle scheme.

We've featured the life-saving Message in a Bottle campaign in our latest newsletter (page 6), which has gone out to over 4,000 carers in Leicestershire and is also available on our website.

Leicester Royal Infirmary is adopting the Message in a Bottle scheme as part of its discharge procedures. The scheme involves giving a plastic bottle to anyone with a serious medical condition. They simply complete the form inside the bottle, with vital medical and personal information, and keep the bottle in the fridge. Keeping this information handy, in a place where emergency responders will know where to look, will make a real difference in the event of a medical emergency or if a person with dementia goes missing for example.

Leicester Royal Infirmary are planning to give every elderly or vulnerable patient a bottle when they're discharged from hospital, and the bottles are also available from any police station in Leicestershire with a front desk, as well as Leicestershire County Council Libraries and many GP surgeries.

Mike Cawley from Leicestershire Police gave a talk to staff at the hospital, and Jonathan Ashworth MP visited wards at the hospital, as well as attending the launch. We also spoke to him about the vital work Support for Carers does to help carers throughout Leicestershire and how we're preparing for Carers Week.

Find out more in our newsletter

Find out more about the event on the Leicestershire Police website