Healthy lifestyle strategy launched to health professionals

‘Do You Feel Good?’ is a local initiative aimed at helping local people to make healthier choices and stick to them.

The NHS and Local Authorities are working closely with partner agencies and local communities and have developed a Healthy Lifestyles Strategy which outlines a 10 year plan on how together we are going to improve the health of the whole population.

The Strategy will be being launched to fellow health and social care professionals as well as other community and voluntary agencies across the borough at a special event on Tuesday 15 May 2007, Heywood Civic Hall. The PCT and the Council will be promoting their united front upon which together they will lead the radical foundations upon which the Healthy Lifestyles Strategy will continue to be built upon.

Innovative successes so far in promoting healthy lifestyles in the borough and will be discussed in detail at the launch include:

Healthy Settings – The ‘Health’ In Health And Safety .A successful Health Fair for employees of Biwater Treatment in Heywood.

Smokefree – Smoke free awareness events to which all businesses in the borough were invited, were held in April. The feed back from businesses who attended the sessions was excellent. Professional actors used interactive session’s to get the messages across to businesses. They included demonstrations on questions raised by the businesses, such as how to make the smoke free laws work in practice, to asking a smoker to not smoke indoors.
 
Food and Nutrition – The Golden Grin Award Scheme which rewards schools for implementing healthy eating policies and recommends substituting rewards given to pupils of sweets and chocolate with crayons and stickers.

Physical Activity – Chair based exercise initiatives have been piloted in care homes and community groups and through accredited training of individuals have now been expanded. The intention of such physical activity is to help maintain health, mobility and independence for targeted populations such as the elderly and those with poor mobility or other heath complications.

Obesity - Slimming on Referral is a partnership scheme between health professionals and local commercial slimming clubs, providing overweight patients with effective, long-lasting weight loss support. GPs across the borough taking part in the scheme can soon be able to refer patients to slimming groups, offering them free membership for 12 weeks. The cost is paid for by the PCT on behalf of the individual patient.

Marketing – The Life Channel broadcasting in all PCT premise and the majority of GP surgery waiting rooms, the Life Channel can significantly contribute to the primary prevention of the many chronic illnesses experienced across the Borough. Key to improving health is educating the local population to take the responsibility for their own health by ensuring that healthy choices are easy choices

Michelle Loughlin, Public Health Consultant for Rochdale Borough and Healthy Lifestyles Coordinator said; “Together we will work to overcome barriers to make healthy choices, easy choices. Heart Disease, Strokes, Diabetes, Cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease are the main causes of premature death in the Borough. The long lasting effects of all these chronic diseases are caused by smoking, poor diet and a lack of physical activity.

“As health professionals we know that benefits to improving the health of the population begin the minute more people start making healthier choices. Leading a healthy lifestyle is the best chance anyone can have to enjoy many years of a long, happy, healthy and active life.

“We believe prevention really is better than cure. We want to educate and support more people in the benefits of adapting a healthy lifestyle to reduce the burden on NHS services. We will do this by working closely with our partners to ensure the environment in which people live is generated towards making people chose healthier choices.”

The Borough-wide Healthy Lifestyles Strategy aims to ensure that all health and community partners work to together in:

• Iimproving access to healthy food.
• Providing safe places to walk, creating more cycling routes as well as providing better recreation and affordable leisure facilities.
• Supporting smoke free workplaces and public places and improve quality stop smoking support services for everyone including young people.
• Supporting and helping overweight adults and their families to lose weight.