Stories: Health 2000 - Activity for Life - A Healthy Attitude to Work!

Health Roadshows
Each of the ten Pathways areas in Huyton hosted a Huyton Partnership Roadshow recently. The aim of these roadshows was to find out what local people actually want and need to happen in their areas in order to improve health and quality of life in their communities.

Huyton Partnership was pleased with the positive reaction from communities and is in the process of looking at all the information they gathered. Jackie Patterson, Huyton Partnership's Health Development Worker, was pleased with the feedback they received. "What this showed me was that the people of Huyton DO care about their environment and how things need to change in order to improve their health."

Parents in Schools - 'Promoting Child Health'
Local parents have been learning about healthy lifestyles and how to incorporate these into their own and their children's lives.
The first of hopefully many courses is now underway at Park View School, for local mums and dads. The need for courses of this nature was identified within the health needs assessment carried out in July of last year. Parents have been recruited on to this course via the Family Support Unit, the Children's Society and the school. The lack of registered childcarers in Knowsley is also a concern and it is hoped that these courses may eventually result in some parents continuing their training and even plugging this gap.

More courses are planned which will hopefully benefit from the experience of these parents. There has been a limited response from fathers, however, so come on you dads - your kids need you!

Food Co-operatives
Healthy living needs healthy eating and Health 2000 are trying to promote this with the establishment of food co-operatives in areas where there is poor choice or sometimes no choice at all: the so-called 'food deserts'. Food co-ops aim to sell fresh fruit and vegetables at very competitive prices which will encourage local people to buy and eat more fresh produce. Debbie Fairhurst and Jackie Patterson are hoping to visit Clayton Brook in Preston, in order to learn from their experience of setting up a successful food co-op.

The Health Development Voluntary Project
Jackie Patterson, from the Huyton Partnership, is aiming to produce a directory of services within Huyton. This will include, for example, council services, voluntary groups and after school activities. Jackie has recruited ten volunteers, all Huyton residents, to assist with this massive project. All the volunteers are receiving a package of training which will hopefully lead to a recognised qualification. The package incorporates research skills; IT skills and counselling and communication skills, enabling the volunteers to research the services to be included in the directory; to create and manage the database of services and to communicate with the individual groups involved and deal with enquiries from the general public.

Finally it is hoped that satellite centres will be set up throughout the borough which may provide employment for the trainees and information on the directory for the public. A huge job, but Jackie is confident of success.

In addition to this Jackie will also conduct education awareness raising sessions, supporting community development initiatives, working to promote the Knowsley Health Plan. There is a lot of work ahead for Health Development but it presents an exciting opportunity for the people of Huyton.

Jackie would love to hear local people's views on any of these issues. If you want to get in touch with Jackie, contact her at Huyton HELP on 0151 443 0694.

Healthy Living Centres
The future for community health development in Huyton looks bright. As part of the large Merseyside Health Action Zone there may be extra funding for community projects and Huyton Health Action project officers will be working with the people of Huyton to see their ideas become reality.

The Knowsley Health Plan
A team of volunteer facilitators has been mobilised to spread the good news about the Knowsley Health Plan to the people of Huyton. Local people have received training and are now busy talking to groups and listening to their views on health.
This borough-wide initiative is focused on delivering the services that people want. It also aims to motivate communities to take action to improve their own health and environment as well as supporting individuals in making healthy choices.

The Plan is linked to the Government's new health agenda. This aims to improve health and well being, as well as reduce the health inequalities that exist.

Other national initiatives that Huyton will benefit from include the Healthy Living Centre programme and Health Action Zones. Watch this space for more information over the next few months.

Activity for life!
Activity for Life is an innovative scheme designed to encourage local people to be healthy by making positive lifestyle changes. And, it's having a positively marvellous effect, according to members of the local community!

Expert tutor Kam Lau makes it look so easy, and it's just one of several ways that people can feel better about their health and well being.

Swimming, health walks and gentle aerobics are among the activities included in Activity for Life, the scheme which offers exercise on prescription.

Co-ordinator Carl Bennett says, "People are referred to us by their doctor who may feel it is appropriate for that individual to take exercise. Those who attend the programme may have suffered a heart attack, heart by-pass operation or stroke, or they may be overweight or suffer from depression.

The programme is very broad and the age range of participants spans 17 to 74. People attend the programme three times a week for twelve weeks, and the aim is to encourage positive lifestyle changes. The social side is important and is reinforced during the gentle exercise group sessions."

Activity for Life is funded by the Single Regeneration Budget in Huyton and by St Helens and Knowsley Health authorities and local GPs in Kirkby. It is co-ordinated by Knowsley Council's Health 2000 project.

A Healthy Attitude to Work!
An increasing number of large and small businesses are taking a greater interest in the health of their employees. Fitness clubs, visits from nurses and advice on stress management all play a part in this growing industry. One such employer is Barclaycard in Kirkby. For several years now, Barclaycard have been working with CJC Workplace Health & Fitness Consultancy to help improve the overall health and well being of their staff.

Health and Fitness adviser for CJC Teresa Brooks, told Huyton Today, "Employers are becoming more aware of the need to look after staff - it is becoming part of a more attractive recruitment package. I see a time when schemes like this will be more common practice. Many more companies are getting involved."

The benefits to the employees are obvious - better life style, healthier diet and regular exercise all improve the general levels of health within the company. Fitness and diet plans are tailored for the individual employee. For the employers, a reduced level of absenteeism and a general feeling of well being improve productivity and staff morale. According to Barclaycard Manager, Stuart Grant, "Our partnership with CJC is an integral part of investing in our people."

Heather Riley of Barclaycard's Correspondence Team, is one of the many employees who has seen a real benefit from the programme. "The Health & Wellbeing programme has made us aware of how important it is to eat a well balanced diet combined with exercise to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle."

Other employers please take note!