An 80-year-old hospital volunteer from Blackburn has become the first person in East Lancashire to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

The first local vaccination services run by family doctors and their teams will open across Lancashire and South Cumbria this week, as the roll out of the biggest vaccination programme in NHS history gains further momentum.

Hospitals from Lancashire to Birmingham and Devon are set to join the network of sites across England delivering the world-leading Covid-19 vaccine programme.

Andrea was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Being diagnosed made her reflect and think about what was happening to her life. Andrea very quickly found that she didn't have a great quality of life. It made her reflect on what was important to her. Having cancer has impacted her life and the decisions she makes.

The Cancer Quality of Life Survey is a national survey run by NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England. The survey is for people in England who have been diagnosed with cancer. Quality of life means different things to different people, but it matters to everyone.

The NHS in England will begin the biggest and most highly anticipated immunisation campaign in history at 50 hospital hubs this week, with more starting vaccinations over the coming weeks and months as the programme ramps up. Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will be amongst the first hospitals to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

The ICS Suicide Prevention Team is celebrating after being shortlisted for two HSJ Awards.

The countdown to Christmas is now on and Lancashire residents are being encouraged to send a card to their local care home to brighten up someone's day.

As we start to move out of full national lockdown into the newly announced tiers, we wanted to reiterate that we continue to be concerned about the huge amount of pressure NHS services in Lancashire and South Cumbria are under. We want to emphasise that we are working collectively together and have plans in place to manage increased demand on our services.

The Integrated Care System (ICS) Board provides leadership and development of the overarching Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System strategy, oversight and facilitation of delivery of sustainability, transformation and design of the future state of health and care.

NHS hospital trusts are working together with GP practices and local providers across Lancashire and South Cumbria to monitor vulnerable patients with Covid-19 from their own homes.

Lancashire and South Cumbria residents are being encouraged to talk to friends and family members, helplines and debt support services on the run-up to Christmas this year.

Health and care organisations are asking people across Lancashire and South Cumbria to make a real difference in our community and support health and care services this winter by helping to look out for your friends, neighbours, loved ones and those who are most vulnerable and at risk from flu and Covid-19. Let’s do it for Lancashire and South Cumbria.

The Rapid Diagnostic Service at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has given a pancreatic cancer patient a new chance at life, after spotting the symptoms that had been left untreated for months due to a difficult diagnosis.

Since the start of the lockdown period in March, parking at the hospitals across Lancashire and South Cumbria has been free of charge for patients and visitors throughout the pandemic. We hope that it has made things slightly easier and safer for everyone still needing to come onto the hospital sites. With services re-opening and more people returning to the hospital, our car parks are becoming very busy and so we’ve taken the difficult decision to reinstate car parking charges for patients and visitors.