Press release
Health awareness event for the Asian Community hailed a great success
Over 100 members of Bury’s Asian community ‘dropped in’ to a health promotion event held at the Jinnah Day Care Centre which was attended by the Mayor of Bury.
The event which took place on Wednesday 13th July, was arranged jointly by NHS Bury and the Jinnah Day Care Centre, to promote health and wellbeing amongst local Asian communities.
Blood pressure checks and BMI assessments were available at the event, along with information and advice about making small but significant changes to improve health and wellbeing.
Advice on stopping smoking, getting more active and healthy eating were available, along with information about diabetes, and being aware of the signs and symptoms of the three most common types of cancer (breast, bowel and lung cancer).
Bury Market Management Team kindly donated a fruit basket for a competition, and other competition winner received a £10 gift voucher to spend on fresh fruit and vegetables at Bury Market.
Dr. Peter Elton, Director of Public Health for NHS Bury said: “Individuals from south Asian backgrounds that live in the UK, are more likely than people from other communities to have certain health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. By making changes and improvements to their lifestyles, individuals can reduce their risk of serious conditions, so this event was a great opportunity to reach out to local communities and provide advice and information about how they could make small but significant changes.”
”We had a fantastic response, it was great to see so many local people getting involved, asking questions and putting their health first.”
“We put on health tests and provided advice and information on everything from quitting smoking to getting fit; from being aware of the signs and symptoms of cancer and diabetes to providing advice about local health services and how to access them.”
Imtiaz Hussain, Jinnah Day Care Centre Manager added: “There is no doubt that these events highlight important health issues and create a greater awareness and understanding of those issues amongst individuals of the community.”
“Unlike the common myth that cancer is incurable the truth of the matter is that many forms of cancer are definitely treatable especially if there is early diagnosis. Sometimes there is the false belief that if they ignore something it will go away. In fact, early diagnosis of cancer can save lives but the longer it’s left the less this is true.”
ENDS
Date: 21st July 2011
For press & media enquiries: contact Caroline Dearden, Corporate Communications Manager on 0161 762 3106 or email communications@bury.nhs.uk