Attend our regular monthly J-pouch forum on zoom

Attend our regular monthly J-pouch forum on zoom

Our regular monthly pouch forums take place on the first Monday of every month at 7:30 pm (London time) on Zoom. Meet online with other pouchees for friendly pouch related chat!

If you have a pouch or are considering pouch surgery, and have not attended one of our regular pouch forums, then you are missing a fantastic opportunity to “meet” with other like minded individuals, to discuss and compare pouch related experiences and challenges.

We welcome regular and new attendees, ranging from people with “new” pouches, “old” pouches and “yet-to-be” pouches. (Two of our regular attendees have pouches over 40 years old, and were number 9 and 10 of the first pouches ever created!). We have attendees from all over the UK and some from further afield, including Europe and North America.

Subjects discussed are varied, including diet, medication, leakage, butt-burn, frequency, travel, catheters, recommended blood tests, dehydration…the list is endless. All those delicate subjects that you may not wish to discuss elsewhere,

The reality is that we are still a rare breed, and a common reaction from first time attendees is that they have never previously met or had the opportunity to talk to someone else with a pouch. A quote from one attendee “Thank you – I did enjoy the session. I’d forgotten that in certain circles I am perfectly normal!“.

So don’t be shy! Go to pouchsupport.org/events or click below to register for the next scheduled pouch forum.

Kangaroo Club Information Day 2022

Kangaroo Club Information Day 2022

Our sister Pouch Support group, The Kangaroo Club based in Oxford, has announced that it will be holding an in-person Information Day. Please see copy of their official announcement below.

I am delighted to let you know that the Kangaroo Club Information Day 2022 will be taking place on Saturday 8th October at Jury’s Inn, Oxford.

Following questions about it at last year’s Information Day, the theme of the day will be pouch longevity and given the very positive feedback about last year’s venue, we are again holding the Info Day at Jury’s Inn.

All are welcome – those with pouches (well behaved or not), those considering pouch surgery, all supporters… – and the event is free (although if you can afford it a donation of £10 per person in your party would be gratefully received). 

Please put the date in your diary and let us know if you (and whoever else you would like to bring) are planning to come, by e-mailing info@kangarooclub.org.uk.

For more information and updates about the programme being planned for the day please click HERE

London Bridges Walk 2022

Roll up! Roll up! for the Main Event

Now the sun is shining, clocks going forward this weekend and just a little over 3 months until the walk, it’s time to dust off your walking shows, start your training and register your intention to take part in this fun event.

Stop Press! Griffin Institute will be offering a prize of a £75.00 Waitrose/ John Lewis gift voucher to a lucky winner who signs up before the end of the Easter holidays – Tuesday 19 April. (Winner to be drawn from a hat, to include people that have already registered).

Red Lion Group is joining one of the fundraising events of the year – the London Bridges Walk!

The event – on Sunday, 26 June 2022 – is over 13 miles – or if you prefer 6.5 miles – and covers 10 of London’s iconic Thames bridges from Putney Bridge to Tower Bridge.

Everyone is welcome to take part – families, children and pets – and if London is too far out of your way we are also running a virtual event which you can complete wherever you are based.

The walk is being organised by the Griffin Institute – a charity linked to St Mark’s Hospital – and the money raised will help fund Red Lion Groups services and St. Mark’s Hospital research projects.

You can REGISTER at the London Bridges walk homepage HERE and download the event e-flyer below.

Look forward to seeing you there!

London Bridges Walk 2022

Download Now!

Stoma and Pouch Care – Virtual information day

Join the St. Mark’s Hospital Stoma & Pouch Nurses for a Virtual information day on Thursday 25th November 2021 (09:00-15:00)

This virtual event was held on ZOOM and featured a number of guest speakers on a variety of Pouch and Stoma related subjects and provided the opportunity to put questions directly to the nursing team.

Recordings of the Sessions are now available. See Below.

RECORDING DETAILS

Date: Thursday, 25th November 2021
Title: Stoma & Pouch Care Information day
Time: 09:00-15:00 (London time)

To view recordings of the sessions click HERE

Information Day Agenda

See below to download a printable copy of the agenda.

For further information about St. Mark’s Hospital Stoma & Pouch Care services go to https://www.stmarkshospital.nhs.uk/services-a-z/stoma-care/

Download the Information Day Poster and Agenda below

The London Bridges Walk 2022

The London Bridges Walk 2022

We are delighted to have been invited by the Griffin Instiutute to participate in their annual London Bridges Walk fund-raising event. Save the Date – 26th June 2022. For further information and how to register, see below.

To pre-register and guarantee your place, please send a brief email to the Griffin Institute Fundraising Events Manager, Ian Tate – i.tate@griffininstitute.org.uk.

Ellie Bradshaw – “Crouch for your Pouch” recording available

Membership Secretary Blog

Greetings all and hope this finds you well. Going forward I will be posting regular news updates in the form of a BLOG. I hope you find this useful! If you have any questions about contents herein, please email me at membership@pouchsupport.org

Best Wishes

Gary Bronziet

RLG Membership Secretary

Published 19 October 2021

Ellie Bradshaw – “Crouch for your Pouch – key emptying tips” recording available”

Last week’s webcast by Ellie Bradshaw, formerly gastrointestinal specialist nurse and biofeedback specialist at St Mark’s Hospital, now at Princess Grace, on the subject “Crouch for your Pouch – key emptying tips” is now available on the Red Lion Group’s YouTube channel.

This was a fascinating and helpful webcast, followed by an interesting Q&A session. If you missed out, or wish to view it again, you can see it here.

Registration is also open for our next Open Forum on Monday, 1st November.

To view recordings and/or register for events go to our Events page pouchsupport.org/events.

Published 24 September 2021

Petya Marinova Recording available

For those that missed it, and for those that want to see it again, a quick note to let you know that the recording of the webcast by Petya Marinova, Pouch Nurse Specialist at St. Mark’s hospital, is now available for viewing.

Registration is also open for our next Open Forum on 4th October and the next webcast on 13th October by Ellie Bradshaw titled “Crouch for your Pouch – key emptying tips“

To view recordings and/or register for events go to our Events page pouchsupport.org/events.

Published 10 August 2021

“Can’t wait” / Medic Alert card

By now, registered (paid up members) should have received the latest (Summer 2021) edition of our ROAR! magazine which contains our widely anticipated “Can’t Wait”/Medic alert card!

Hope you have received yours and will find it useful. You may have noticed that the “Medic Alert” side includes a QR code, which is a short cut to the medic alert information on our website.

Take a look as it contains a wealth of useful information for pouchees and medics.

How to use a QR code

Many of you will have become familiar with QR codes (if you weren’t already!) due to COVID and the requirement to check-in at many locations.

Depending on your smart phone, you may be able to access the web page by simply opening the camera on your phone and pointing at the image. Give it a try. You can try it here if you don’t have the card yet.

If that doesn’t work, then you may need to download a FREE QR code reader from the App store or Google Play. Search in the App store for QR Code or QR Reader or similar and you will find many free apps!

Failing that, you can always access the same information by going to pouchsupport.org/medic

Gabriela Pouchou recording and slides now available.

Last week’s webcast by Gabriela Pouchou, Dietician St. Mark’s Hospital, on the subject “Healthy eating for Patients with an Internal Pouch” is now available on the Red Lion Group’s YouTube channel.

This was a fascinating and helpful webcast, followed by an interesting Q&A session. If you missed out, or wish to view it again, you can see it here.

Gabriela has also kindly shared her PowerPoint slides with us, which you can find on the resources section of our website. see pouchsupport.org/resources

“Save the date” Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Red Lion Group will take place on Zoom, on Monday 6th September at 7:00 pm. Formal notification will be sent out soon.

We expect this to be a short meeting and will be followed at 7:30 pm by the regular monthly open forum.

Please Register your attendance at pouchsupport.org/events to attend the AGM and/or the Forum.

Kangaroo club information day on 16 October 2021

A reminder of a terrific event coming up in the post-covid pouch world – the Kangaroo Club is holding a real live face-to-face Information Day in Oxford on Saturday 16 October (with internet link for those who wish to watch online).

The event is open to non-members and is FREE (but they will be asking for a contribution to cover lunch).

Pre-registration is necessary by sending email to info@kangarooclub.org.uk

The draft agenda and full details can be downloaded by clicking below.