Crowds of happy Leyland residents got a chance to forget all the gloomy news about the state of the NHS on Saturday when over 600 of them took time to visit the sixth annual Leyland Health Mela.

Organised by the National Forum for Health and Wellbeing (NFHW) The Mela was hosted on Saturday 14 October 2017 for the third time by enterprising local high school, Academy@Worden with the support of the Rotary Club of Leyland.

Visitors found themselves in an Aladdin’s Cave of resources focused on the promotion of community health and wellbeing. They saw for themselves just how much can be achieved to support our much loved NHS when individuals, families and communities choose to take an active and informed decision to promote healthy living.

Following a thought provoking breakfast meeting for invited guests on the theme, ‘The Challenge of Childhood Obesity’, the Health Mela was formally opened to the public by Amanda Hatton, Director of Children’s Services at Lancashire County Council. in the presence of the Mayor and Mayoress of South Ribble. Also present at the ceremony or during the event were South Ribble MP, Seema Kennedy and representatives of a wide range of local organisations.

In a vibrant festival atmosphere, local NHS Trusts and voluntary organisations provided over 50 stations and stands, each with friendly experts on hand to provide advice on healthy life style choices. Visitors could relax while taking part in a sampler session of Reiki, try a head massage or pedal their way to a healthy drink on the smoothie bike. At every turning there were helpful and well-informed Academy@Worden students to answer questions or maybe point out the location of the Health MOT or another attraction.

The Health MOT was one of the central features of the Mela and offered visitors the chance to take a thorough, professional health check with associated counselling provided by volunteer medical students from the Universities of Manchester and Central Lancashire.

79 visitors completed the core check-up which included BMI, blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol levels and 22 (27.8%) were referred to their GP for further investigation. Many visitors also took tests and advice on sight, hearing and oral health.

Reflecting on her experience of the day, Chief Guest, Amanda Hatton said. “It was wonderful to be part of such a vibrant and well attended event which took such a wide view of health. There was everything from physical health checks to Indian head massage which I’m really sure will help improve health and wellbeing in the community.”

Summing up, NFHW Chair, Professor Romesh Gupta, OBE, said, “The NHS is a precious resource for all of us. To conserve and enhance it we need to make sure that individuals and communities understand how to use it intelligently. Health Melas are all about developing that understanding and I believe that, year on year, that is just what we are achieving in Leyland and further afield. Thank you to everyone who is with us on this journey.”

The Leyland Health Mela is now an established feature of the local calendar with a solid record in the promotion of public health. The organisers welcome contacts from individuals and organisations interested in future involvement in the programme.

Are is the summary of health assessment

Summary statistics

Total screened = 79

Abnormal = 22 (27.8%)

Raised BP (>150/90) = 1

Raised glucose (>7 in non-diabetic) = 4

Raised Cholesterol (>6) = 12

Raised Chol & BP = 4

Raised Chol & glucose = 1

 

Photographs in the link below:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jj02bd025by25so/AACzoPIUzsYrfCF7yMGO-aOBa?dl=0

– give a flavour of the Health Mela.

They are free from copyright restrictions when used to promote the activities of NFHW.