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News from the Lancashire Gujarat Health Users' Forum.
- View the Health Mela Newsletter Online
- Download the 2010 Health Mela Programme
- Free Support for Adult Carers
- The LGHUF Melas - A Medical Student's Perspective
- See the 2009 Health Mela Video
- Bolton's First LGHUF Health Mela
- Health Seminar Programme
- Weight Loss
- Dental Care
- Strokes
- Pathology & Immunology
- Allergy Information & Advice
- Complementary Medicine - an Introduction
- Gold Award for Prof. Romesh Gupta OBE
- News Archive
View the Health Mela Newsletter Online
The
Lancashire Gujarat Health Users' Forum has produced a four page newsletter
for all those interested in the Health Mela and the work of GHS Enterprise.
In it, you will find:
- A review of the 2010 Health Mela
- Facts and figures from this year's event
- Voices of support from leading figures in healthcare
- A profile of GHS Enterprise
- Information about GHS Enterprise's role in education
- Photographs of the mela and other recent events
- Contact details for key staff at the GHS Centre.
The newsletter can be download here as a PDF document.
Download the 2010 Health Mela Programme
The
full programme for the 2010 Health Mela is now available for downloading.
(Click here to download.
PDF - 4MB.)
The brochure includes a message from the chairman, Professor Romesh Gupta OBE, and from chief guest, Mike Cheshire - Medical Director for NHS North West and Department of Health North West. There are also messages of support from - amongst many others - Joe Rafferty, Chief Executive of NHS Central Lancashire; Tony Curtis, Chief Executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and Stuart Heys, Chairman of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
It features a health-check form and gives details of the programme. It also provides information about the various workshops that were held as part of the event, as well as the programme of health seminars that are routinely held at the GHS Centre throughout the year.
Other contents include information about risk factors fro heart disease, fun word-searches for children, and information about encouraging healthy dietary and lifestyle habits from an early age.
Faith groups in Lancashire are being asked to get involved in a programme designed to help and support all adult carers.
Caring
with Confidence is a free programme being delivered by Omega
in partnership with the Blackburn-based support organisation, Enterprise4All.
The programme helps carers to improve their own health and wellbeing and
that of the person they care for. It provides help in accessing the services
and benefits available to them as well as practical advice on caring.
There is a programme for all adult carers as well as one specifically
for carers of people nearing the end of life, which includes three sessions
dealing with bereavement issues.
The first session, Finding Your Way, an introduction to the programme, was held on Tuesday 20th April 2010 at Ma’ida Restaurant in Blackburn.
Omega and Enterprise4All are committed to working with local organisations, including all faith groups, to ensure as many carers as possible are made aware of this opportunity.
The two organisations are also interested in recruiting facilitators to deliver the sessions and in finding suitable venues to hold the sessions. For more information on how carers can access the Caring with Confidence programme, please phone 0845 259 3163 or email carers@omega.uk.net.
The LGHUF Melas, A Medical Student’s Perspective
The
Lancashire Gujarat Health Users Forum has been hosting an annual Health
Mela in Preston for nine years now. For the last five years the medical
students at Royal Preston Hospital have participated as volunteers, performing
health checks on members of the community who attend. During this time
the event has gone from strength to strength and the format is now being
emulated in a number of local centres. The health checks are a very popular
part of the events with those who attend, with data accumulated and feedback
over the years showing that participants have benefited from the advice
and interventions of the volunteers.
From the perspective of the students who volunteer it is a fantastic experience, both rewarding and educational. Students are currently given the opportunity to participate from third year when they begin their clinical studies, and every year we have had an encouragingly large number offer their help. The days provide a perfect opportunity for the students to put into practice a number of skills that are a very important part of medical education. The students are supported by senior doctors and offer counselling to patients on their risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, both issues which have a significant impact on the resources of the NHS and the lives of patients and families affected. Volunteering at the events necessitates a working knowledge of the processes and management of these common diseases which is cemented by the process of independent consultations. In a practical sense, the diversity of the population who present to the events necessitates communicating important health advice and test results across language barriers and to patients with all levels of medical knowledge from a variety of backgrounds.
Communication skills in particular are a vital part of the doctor-patient relationship and are part of the core components of medical education as set out by the General Medical Council. As a result of this there is a new emphasis on the teaching of communication skills within the University course, with protected sessions for teaching students effective communication. This skill is fundamental to the practice of good medicine and extends beyond communication with the patient to interactions with all colleagues and allied health professionals. The diversity of the groups involved in the event also provides a valuable insight into breadth of services available in the community, an aspect of medical education which is often overlooked.
On a personal level, co-ordinating the student volunteers over the past three years has enabled me to learn from the very organised team who carefully plan the events at the monthly meetings throughout the year and immediately preceding the Melas. I will take these valuable experiences with me as I leave Preston to begin my Foundation training, and hope to be a part of similar events in the future.
Katherine Lang-Stevenson, 5th year student Royal Preston Hospital.
An 8 minute video has recently been completed that shows the 2009 Health Mela. It includes interviews with leading healthcare professionals and LGHUF representatives and it can be seen in its entirety either on our About the Forum page or on YouTube (please click here - link opens in a new window).
Bolton's First LGHUF Health Mela
On
Saturday 24th October, the LGHUF hosted its first Health Mela in Bolton.
It was the first such event to be held outside Preston but in most other respects, it followed a very similar formula. It ran between 10am and 4pm with free entrance, and it gave visitors a chance to learn about a wide range of healthcare issues and services including blood tests for diabetes and cholesterol and 'healthy living' workshops.
Details can be found on our events page.
Health Seminars & workshops for 2009 - 2010
The 2009 - 2010 programme of health seminars and workshops has now been announced. Details can be found on our events page.
In the UK, one of the biggest threats to health and well being is obesity. In an article entitled "How to lose weight naturally", Ravi Bhanot points out that there is no special pill that will shed all excess weight from the body. For any diet to work in the long term, it has to revolve the staple diet and should be developed with holistic principles in mind. The article can be downloaded here as a PDF. (File size 81k.)
Looking after your teeth is important - and not just because it helps to avoid toothache and to maintain a healthy smile. Our latest informative article looks at the question of dental hygiene and oral problems that range from bleeding gums to mouth cancer. To find out more, please
download the document here. (Word format: 38k). Our thanks go to Rachel Aspinall and Arun Vithlani for their work on this article.Strokes can be debilitating and may have life-changing effects. They are the single biggest cause of disability in the UK and the third most common cause of death. One of their most disturbing characteristics is that they can sometimes strike without any apparent warning, but as our PowerPoint presentation explains, there are things that can be done to reduce the risks. For more information, please download the presentation here. (PPT format: 43k.) We are grateful to Professor R. Gupta OBE for producing this presentation.
The NHS Pathology Service employs 25,000 staff in the UK and performs a wide variety of roles. The Lancashire & Lakeland Immunology Service is located in the Pathology Department of Royal Preston Hospital and is the fourth largest of its kind in the UK. To find out more , you can
click here to download a copy of a PowerPoint presentation that explains the department's work and functions. (File size 3.3MB).Allergies will normally be experienced by about one in four people in the UK and their effects can range from minor irritations to life-threatening conditions. It is therefore important to be aware of what they are, how they can affect you and how doctors can test for allergic reaction. To read more, please click here to see a new poster that explains the most common symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of allergies. (This opens in a new window.)
Complementary Medicine - an Introduction
'Complementary medicine' is a phrase that is well known to many people but how exactly does it fit with what we often tend to think of as 'conventional' medicine and the work of NHS professionals?
To answer this question, Ravindra Shah from the steering group of the Lancashire Gujarat Health Users' Forum has put together a short overview of complementary medicines, which can be downloaded
here as a Word document. (File size: 26k.) In it, he lists the most popular therapies and explains that complementary medicines and their associated treatments aim to stimulate the body's own self-healing abilities.
Gold
Award for Prof. Romesh Gupta OBE
On behalf of Gujarat Hindu Cultural Society and the committee members of Lancashire Gujarat Health Users Forum, we would like to congratulate Professor Romesh Gupta for receiving the "Gold Award", which has been made in recognition of his sustained and dedicated contribution to the NHS over and above any contractual requirements.
We are sure that with his record of achievement, Prof. Gupta will continue to be an example and inspiration to others, helping the NHS to continue to meet patients' needs, ensuring that the care they receive is truly excellent.
The decision to make this award has been made by various committees of medical colleagues, Health Service managers and public-patient partnerships. This is a public acknowledgement of Prof. Gupta's expertise and continued high quality of work and the award is an honour for which he can feel justly proud.
Ishwer Tailor MBE (President of GHS)
Ravindra A. Shah (LGHUF Committee member)
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