Trench welfare – Parish Magazine article Dec 2017/Jan 2018
My son has just come back from a school visit to the First World War battlefields in Belgium. He learnt about what happened on the first Christmas Day when British and German soldiers along many parts of the battle line left their positions and entered No-mans land together. They played football, shared drinks and socialized. Following this remarkable event unfortunately they then returned to their trenches and recommenced the fighting.
Despite the disappointing ending, the story is a mark of the power and opportunities that Christmas brings. It is a time when we can all reach out, change engrained behaviours, look to foster new friendships and/or patch up older relationships where required. There is now a lot of evidence about the enormous health benefits of using coordinated social networks in communities. The knowledge that someone is there and can be approached if needed is very powerful. Our Bertie delivery service is a great link between the surgery and our less mobile patients. As well as delivering medication it also offers that regular contact, a reference point in a patient’s week when they know someone will be knocking on their door – it can be more therapeutic than the actual medication being delivered. The same can be said of good neighbours and strong communities. Knowing that help is only a knock on the door or a quick phone call away relieves a lot of otherwise very understandable anxiety for the vulnerable, the elderly and those living on their own. Often we think we know who these people might be however that is not always the case.
Social events at Christmas give us all the chance to get out of any trenches we might have found ourselves in and hopefully give a leg up to others who find it more difficult to get up and out. The Friends of Wyndham House coordinate a group of volunteers to help reach out to anyone who might benefit from a hand to reintroduce themselves into the community. We are very fortunate in having many social activities on offer in our villages from walking & talking though to knitting and quilting. If during the festive season you think that yourself, a friend or someone you reconnect with might benefit from some help to link them back into some regular social contacts then please contact the Friends via the surgery so we can pass on the details to the coordinator.
Wyndham House wishes everyone a happy, peaceful and sociable Christmas.
Anthony O’Brien, GP Wyndham House Surgery Dec 2017