A virtual health and wellbeing event is being held online to offer helpful advice and support as we start to come out of lockdown and adjust to our “new normal”.
Dr Paul Davies, a Consultant Stroke Physician at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, will be taking part in the event and sharing advice on how you can prevent having a stroke, as well as how to spot the signs of a stroke.
We can all do lots of things to prevent having a stroke, and discussing this Dr Davies said: “There are a number of factors that can bring down your stroke risk. Diet, exercise, and stopping smoking are well within our control and can reduce the stroke risk quite a lot.”
Dr Davies will also share information about how you can recognise signs of a person is having a stroke so that you can seek treatment as quickly as possible by calling 999.
The North Cumbria Health and Wellbeing Mela is being organised by Brampton and Longtown Rotary and is supported by the NHS and third sector groups across north Cumbria.
Mela is a Sanskrit word which means information exchange and celebration. The Cumbria event has been inspired by the Health and Wellbeing Forum started by the Gujarat community in Lancashire.
Kevin Walsh, a member of the Rotary Club of Brampton & Longtown,said: “In the last year we have been through some very challenging times. It is more important than ever that we do all we can to look after ourselves and each other. We will have films made by local teams covering a range of issues that might be helpful.
“We have a really proactive third sector in Cumbria that really know and support their community who have come up with a range of videos to help people look afterthemselves, as well some of our NHS colleagues giving helpful advice about health issues such as avoiding type 2 diabetes and stroke.”
The event is being launched on Friday May 14th at 1pm on a Rotary YouTube channel but can be viewed live, viewed in your own time or you can pick and choose the sessions you want to view. You can find more here: https://youtu.be/DEFKrqENi4w
It will be introduced by Cumbria’s Director of Public Health Colin Cox. The films will include presentations by or about; Cumbria Alcohol & Drug Advisory Service (CADAS), “Space to Talk”, Laughter Yoga, Dementia support, Social Prescribing for adults and young people, Falls prevention, Exercise and Dance for wellbeing, Diabetes, Stroke Prevention, support for Carers, Community Pharmacies, Citizens Advice and Rotary’s Polio campaign.
Paedar Sweeney from Eden Films is helping to produce and broadcast the event.
He said: “I’m pleased to be involved in this project and like the collaborative approach that is being used in its production.”
Rachel Murdie, a social prescriber with Carlisle Healthcare Primary Care Network, has helped to create the event.
She said: “As we come to terms with recent experiences and move towards greater freedoms we hope you will find some useful tips and advice that can help support your health and wellbeing going forward.”
Kevin added: “The next phase of getting used to more normality, but with the impact of covid still here will be both exciting and scary for people. There are lots of sources of support and we hope this will be really useful for people.”
What is it? – An on-line Health Mela for North Cumbria
When is it? – Launched at 1pm on Friday May 14 at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQYhWp3hF_RErKfAvNBKpHg
It will then be available online for people to browse.
You can view a short film explaining more about it here https://youtu.be/DEFKrqENi4w and please share on social media. Who can take part? Anyone and everyone – to look at it all or to pick and choose what might be helpful to them