Training Update

It's been a while since I posted an update, but fortunately I have continued to grind out the miles throughout that time. Two weeks ago I made it down to Maldon and back (86 miles) which was nice going out but a real slog coming back. I made the mistake of a long stretch along the A414. Not the prettiest, quietest, flattest or pot-hole-less-est road in Britain! Still, Maldon was a nice destination...

Essex Sunrise...

Artistic shot of Maldon :o)

That was followed by a 97 miler last weekend (up through Ely, Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill). I managed to pace this quite well and wasn't exactly fresh when I got back but felt better than I did the week before!

Finally this weekend I did back to back 50 milers and I'm sore but happy as I write this! It's not long since I cycled 50 miles for the first time, so doing back to back 50s is quite an achievement :o)

Also delighted to say that sponsorship has now gone through the £1500 mark. Next stop, two grand!

I have an enforced rest week this week as I am travelling but this might not be such a bad thing, with a 100 miler planned for next weekend...

Nigel's Training Lore #9.
A training program is a guide not a rulebook. Enforced rest and 'listening to your body' will help to give your body the rest it needs. But at the same time don't use that as an excuse!

X marks the spot. Pt II.

So, the Liberal Democrats achieved the largest change in poll rating in UK polling history, and Gord' and Cam went from agreeing with Nick to agreeing with each other and opposing Nick. But what would have happened if neonatal services got more coverage in the election? As I explained in the previous blog entry, I have written to several representatives of the political parties both nationally and locally to find out. This time, the response of the Liberal Democrats...

• The party believes in the need to safeguard NHS services and especially the specialist services such as neo natal care, which are at greater threat of cuts / reduction in services.
  
• In addition to local services, the party also recognises the need for regional/ national centres of excellence to provide care for the sickest babies.
• My local candidate stated that he strongly supported the very simple aims of Bliss and would campaign in Parliament to promote their views.

So, a less full response than the Greens, but this was a local response rather than national (Note: Nick Clegg also mentioned neonatal care in the first televised debate). Despite the shorter response however, it is interesting to see the mention of specialist centres. It feels like maintenance of the status quo rather than improvement and again no mention of funding. It is good to see promotion of Bliss within Parliament however.

Survival Rates

There's an interesting piece of research just been published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood and reported on the BBC website looking at survival rates of very preemie babies. The research indicates that despite greater medical intervention and slightly longer survival time, the actual survival rates for babies born before 24 weeks has stayed essentially the same. For these pre-24 weekers, 20% survive, often with disabilities, and this despite increased levels of resuscitation and other interventions. This is in contrast to those born at 24 and 25 weeks where survival rates are continuing to increase.

Clearly this findings are important and interesting from a medical point of view. Equally they will no doubt be used in the abortion/pro-life politicking debate, the gestation times discussed coming as they do right around the abortion limit. Does this mean that we have reached the limit of what medicine can do for the most premature babies? That their organs simply cannot cope despite the very best medical care? Possibly. But my view is that such sweeping statements are dangerous certainly for policy making. As Andy Cole, Chief Executive of Bliss said in response to the work,

it is always important that these babies' treatment and care options are considered on an individual basis

In our experience of having a 26 weeker, we certainly had the ups and downs in his first few months but ultimately we have been incredibly lucky and he is surpassing our expectations (and moved into his own bed at the weekend!). At the same time, we saw the other side when parents of longer gestation (and even term) babies experienced complications and difficulties they never dreamt would affect their babies. They are truly individual little beings!

Published!

Quick note to say that I am delighted to say I made the print version of Little Bliss magazine this month. Those of you who regularly read this blog will know about a post I did (here) regarding transfers a while ago. For those who have found me after the Little Bliss article, welcome!

X marks the spot

So, the election campaign is in full swing. Politicians are wearing out their soles pounding pavements and trees are being cut down for leaflet after leaflet to be printed, put through your letter box and binned!

So apart from the fact that Gordon "Agrees with Nick", what else do we know? In order to determine the party line on neonatal care I wrote to the parties several weeks ago (finger on the pulse - I sensed an election was in the offing!) to ask. I wrote to the Health Secretary and Shadow Health Secretaries for the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, in addition to the Green Party national HQ. I also contacted my local candidates for Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat (Green hadn't declared theirs at the time). All contact was by email, with the same email sent to all contacts. So, what did they say? First the Greens...

I received a reply from the Green Party Leadership Office. This is an edited (for length, not meaning) version of that reply...

• The Green Party believes that a comprehensive health service, free at the point of need and funded through taxation, is a fundamental citizen’s right.
  
• They fully support the NHS Neonatal Taskforce report Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services published last November.
  
• The Green party would provide the required investment to make up the shortfall of over 2700 nurses and 300 supporting therapists referred to in a recent Bliss newsletter (Ed: Annual Report?) and would make 1:1 nursing a priority for the next decade.
• Also keen to support greater care and support for the mother post-natally.
• The Green Party would also ensure neonatal capacity in the UK was improved to ensure that units were no longer crowded and overstretched and were not endangering the lives of babies.

So, all sounds pretty good doesn't it? At the risk of sounding like a politician, I guess one point is around funding. Ok, so they mention funding through taxation, but there isn't anything else is there?! It is great to see that they have clearly taken the time to read the Taskforce output and have taken onboard the key demands with respect to nursing levels and 1:1 nursing, but I guess the big question is how to pay for it?

Next time, the Liberal Democrats...

Weekly training update

Funny old week this week. I cycled into work and back again on Thursday (round trip of around 36 miles) and hated it. I got off my bike Thursday night really questionning what I was doing. It was cold and windy (no change there!), it hurt (not for the first time), it felt like a struggle (again, not for the first time) and just wasn't enjoyable. I had Good Friday off and then because it fitted in better with Easter stuff, switched this week and next week, so did 40 miles on Saturday and 45 on Sunday. AND LOVED IT! What a difference a couple of days make. Ok, it was sunny and clear which helped, and I was on unfamiliar roads which added interest, but I was absolutely flying, despite Derbyshire hills on Saturday and reasonable hills on Sunday. 40 miles in less than 2.5 hours on Saturday, 45 miles in slightly over 2.5 hours on Sunday, and I enjoyed it! It just goes to show there's always another great ride around the corner!

Nigel's Training Lore #8.
Not all training rides will be great, but another good one is just around the corner.