SummaryThe Rotary Club of Fleetwoodsupported by other Rotary Clubs fromthe Fylde Coast, working in close co-operation with the National Forum forHealth and Wellbeing (NFHW), held itssecond Health Mela on Saturday 4thOctober. The event took place atFleetwood High School, and wasopened by Professor Dame Sue Baileyimmediate past president of the RoyalCollege of Psychiatrists.

The initial breakfast meeting,addressed by Dame Sue Bailey, focusedon the theme ‘Mental Health ofchildren and young people’.

In her opening address, ProfessorBailey congratulated NFHW, and RotaryCumbria and Lancashire District fortheir initiative in bringing Health Melasto the community. She praised the

commitment of thevery manyorganisationsactively involved insupporting theevent and drewattention to theneglect ofprovision forissues related tothe mental

health of children in theallocation of national resources.

98 visitors had their health checksand of those 45 needed referral to theirGPs for further intervention.

Background to the Health MelaIn the Indian sub-continent the Mela is afestive get together involving thepopulation of entire villages or widerareas. It has long had a role in promotingcommunity well-being.

This is a model that found traction in thenorth of England some twelve years agounder the leadership of Professor RomeshGupta OBE and Ishwer Tailor MBE thenPresident of the Gujarat Hindu Society,Preston. They planned an event in Prestonto promote healthy living which used theMela format to mobilise the community to

take an active and enjoyable part insecuring its own health and well-being.

The immediate success of the firstHealth Mela provided a solid foundationfor what was to become a popular, multi-cultural, annual fixture in the city and itsoon became a model for similar events inother communities.

A recent development has seen theinvolvement of members of local RotaryClubs, working in collaboration with NFHWto promote health melas in their ownareas. The exciting partnership has grownapace and Rotary International is nowacting as a conductor, transmitting theideals of the Health Mela throughoutthe North West and beyond.

VenueThe Health Mela was held in theFleetwood High School. The organisersrecord their gratitude to the Headteacher and his staff for allowing us toutilise their excellent facilities.

The Sports Hall provided space foraround 70 exhibitors together with areasto accommodate the wide range of healthchecks already referred to. Free on-site car-parking facilities were kindly provided bythe School.

The

RotaryFoundation

Rotary Clubs in Wyre, Fylde Coast & Blackpool

REPORT OF THE 2nd FYLDE COAST HEALTH MELA, FLEETWOOD

Saturday 4th October

2014

Saturday 4th October 2014

11am to 4pm

Fleetwood High School

Broadway, Fleetwood, Lancashire FY7 8HE

Free parking available / Free Transport to and from Town Centre provided by Rideabilty Blackpool

Free health MOT checks

Free risk assessments and

counselling

Information and advice on

health issues

Lots of fun activities for children

Smoothie bike and bouncy

castle for children

Falls and fracture prevention

Head massage and Pilates

Healthy eating the fun way

Special attraction

Watch FTFC Codlings in action

on the Astro turf 10am - 1pmMental health of children and young adults

If you’re Healthy you can be Happy!

Charlie Cairoli Jr. Conducting mental health WORKSHOP FOR CHILDREN

Thank you to

Fleetwood High School

for hosting this mela

Chief guest: Professor Dame Sue Bailey

Immediate Past President, Royal College of Psychiatrists

2nd Annual Fylde Coast

Health Mela (Fair)

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Award of NFHW FellowshipsAs is customary, at every Health Mela,NFHW awards Fellowships to thosewho have contributed significantlytowards promoting the values andethos of the Health Mela. During thisMela, Fellowships were presented toRtn Ramesh Gandhi OBE JP DL FRCSand Rtn Kevin Walsh MPHF for theirsupport and invaluable contributiontowards promoting and spreading theconcept of Health Mela within theregion and thus contributing towards

promoting thehealth and wellbeing of thecommunity.

The key features of theHealth MelaThe central component of the Health Melais the range of health checks, the ‘HealthMOT’, offered to visitors. The checks wereconducted by the Health Olympics Teamfrom the University of Manchesterpartnered with the Blood Drop Team fromLancashire Teaching Hospitals and stafffrom the Biochemistry Department ofBlackpool Teaching Hospitals NHSFoundation Trust. The results of these testsare shown in a later section of this report.

In addition to the MOT, a wide range ofstallholders provided information andadvice on a variety of health related topicsboth traditional and alternative. There wasalso an opportunity to join in healthrelated activities such as Reiki or to enjoythe entertainment provided by FleetwoodHigh School students.

PublicityAs this was the first event of its kind to takeplace in Fleetwood, effective publicity wasseen to be very important to secure itssuccess. An extensive campaign wasconducted in the weeks preceding theevent.

In terms of the attendance at the eventwhich is recorded below, the publicitystrategy is judged to have been successful.

Exhibitors and supportersOver 70 exhibitors attended or providedmaterial support for the event. As a resultof the interest shown all the spaceavailable in the venue was utilised. Thoseinvolved represented local voluntaryorganisations, local government, healthtrusts, pharmaceutical and medical

diagnostic companies and a major foodretailer. Participants offered information,advice, support and a comprehensiverange of health checks. The organisersgratefully acknowledge the support of allthe organisations taking part.

AttendanceSome 500 members of the public wereregistered as visitors to the Health Mela.The actual attendance was significantlyhigher as some visitors managed tooverlook the registration process!

Comments from visitorsVisitors were almost unanimous in judgingthe Health Mela to be informative (99%),well organised (97%) and representingtime well-spent (99%).

There were many positive Individualcomments made with particular referenceto the friendly atmosphere, good venueand the extensive, helpful informationavailable.

Feedback from Exhibitors50 completed feedback forms werereceived from exhibitors.� 49 (98%) rated the venue as excellent.

� 49 (98%) stated that the number ofvisitors to their stand made attendance atthe Health Mela worthwhile

� 50 (100%) indicated their intention toparticipate in the 2015 Health Mela.The organisers are very grateful to visitorsand exhibitors for their helpful feedback.

Cyber Bulleying workshopMany people attended the informative andeye-opening workshop on the cyberbullying delivered by Sarah Gorst socialinclusion officer from Blackpool Counciland Mr Charlie Carolie.

Acknowledgement of support received in planning andstaging the eventThe Rotary Club of Fleetwood and NFHW gratefully acknowledge the substantialassistance in planning and resourcing the event which was provided by theorganisations listed below:� The Rotary Club of Fleetwood Wyre and Fylde District Councils� Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust� Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust� Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust� North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust� Groundwork Lancashire West and Wigan� Roche and the scientific staff of the pathology departments of Blackpool

Victoria and Royal Preston hospitals� The Health Olympics Team, University of Manchester� The Fylde Coast Hindu Society� Volunteers from: � UCLAN � Rotary Clubs � Healthwatch Blackpool

in the Cyber Bullying Workshop and staff ofRideabilty for their part in the Mela, localcouncils, NHS Trusts and the NationalForum for Health & Wellbeing, pointing outthe great value of helping localcommunities with access to free healthchecks in an atmosphere that is friendly,supportive and fun.

Comments from Honoured Guests

Professor Dame Sue Bailey“Mental health is nottreated same asphysical health. Theunderstanding aboutthe early symptoms ofmental illness is poor

among the peersstudents and teachers who are the first tonotice changes in behaviour of theaffected individual. All the organisationssuch as this should get together and worktowards addressing the issue of mentalhealth in children and young adults.”

Eric Ollerenshaw OBEMP. Member ofParliament forLancaster &Fleetwood“It was great to attendthe 2nd Fylde CoastHealth Mela on

Saturday 4th October atFleetwood High School. This event reallydemonstrated what can be done whenDoctors and medical students providesuch an open access and local service andmy particular thanks to Cllr RameshGandhi, Professor Romesh Gupta and theRotarians who ensured a thoroughly wellrun day.”

Mela in IndiaWe also look forward to developing anInternational link to India. There will befirst Health Mela in India on 11 November2014 at Westridge Hilton school atBaskhari, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Thisis possible due to the initiative and effortsof the school principal Mohsin Khan andProfessor Romesh Gupta OBE from NFHWwill be in attendance.

Comments from theOrganisers

Professor RomeshGupta, OBE, FRCP,MBA. Chair: NationalForum for Health &Wellbeing‘I am delighted that,with the success of theFleetwood event, we

have notched up anothermilestone in extending the influence of theHealth Mela movement across Lancashire.The results from our Health MOT sessionshow that we have made a real contributionto health improvement in Fleetwood andserve to draw the attention of local healthcare providers to the significance informalevents like the Health Mela have in the earlyidentification and prevention of ill health.

Cllr Ramesh Gandhi,OBE, JP, DL, FRCSRotarian RameshGandhi expressed histhanks to GordonOates and othermembers of theFleetwood Rotary club

for finally making the2ndFylde Coast Health Mela a greatsuccess. He thanked all the partners and inparticular, Charlie Cairoli and Sarah Gorst

E3 Business Award “Social Enterprise Award 2014”Shortly before the Fleetwood Health Mela theNational Forum for Health and Wellbeing had wonthe award of ‘Social Enterprise of the Year’ at the E3Business Awards function held at the MacronStadium in Bolton on the 18th September 2014.

Accepting the award on behalf of NFHW, SarifaKabir said: “NFHW is very proud to be awarded theE3 Social Enterprise Award. It is a great honour to collect the award on behalfof NFHW. It has been a team effort. I would like tothank everyone for their support and hard workthat has made the NFHW. We value our partnersand the support of the general public who haveattended the Health Melas over the past 13years.” NFHW celebrates this achievement.

Reiki Taster SessionHolistic Reiki taster sessionsare steadily achieving its recognition. 22 people attended the taster session.Among those, a few knew about Reikimethod of healing. Some of the peopleattended had various health conditions.Others had different kind of body painsbut most were either tired, stressed andneeded to relax.

Some health conditions reported onthe session forms were elbow pain,back pains, neck pains and restlessness.Feedback from these people included:" It's amazing my pain has gone.""Felt warm and relaxed, it's wonderful.""Feel so good will recommend to others.""Very relaxed and peaceful.""Very relaxed and energised."

Feedback indicates thatpeople are becoming moreconscious about theirhealth and recognising thebenefits of complementaryholistic healing.

Results from the HealthChecks and CounsellingOf the 500 or so visitors to the event, 98 chose to have checks on cholesteroland blood glucose levels. As a result ofthese checks:Total referred to GP........45 (46%) Reasons for referrals: Raised cholesterol..........22 (more than 6mMol)Raised Glucose ................15 (more than 7nMol)High Blood pressures....6 (over 150/100)Combination of above ..2

HolisticLivingGroupEmpowering The Community Towards Healthy Living

Est. 2012

Message of support

Lord Charles ShuttleworthKCVO Lord Lieutinent ofLancashire“I well understand theimportance of the FyldeCoast Health Mela and the vitalinformation it will bring to the citizens ofthe area. I congratulate all those involved inthe planning of the Mela and on the dayitself, most of whom are volunteers, andalso all the Health Organisations which areparticipating. The event deserves to be ahuge success, and will be to the benefit ofmany people. Best wishes to everyoneinvolved.”

Rotary 1190 DistrictGovernor Roger Mason“Rotarians are leaders intheir communities,exchanging ideas as to thebest ways to serve their communities.Health Mela’s are a very positive way to takeaction and help those that need support.Rotarians in Cumbria and Lancashire aredelighted to support these Health Mela’sand work with a whole community ofhealth professionals. The service provides apositive contribution to the health andwellbeing of many people.”

Report from ourInternational partners,Rotarians Bill Laurie andAndrew Niven concluded:“It was clear that a hugeeffort had been expended inplanning and organizing thismulti-agency event, the firstMela to be held at Fleetwood.The numbers wereencouraging and the venue ofFleetwood High School was splendid,although car parking will need to be bettermanaged at future events on this site.

We have observed and heard enough topropose that discussions are held at Cluband at District level to review whether thereare opportunities in Scotland for thepromotion of Health Fairs.

We would like to thank the members of theRotary Club of Fleetwood, Professor RomeshGupta and Kevin Walsh for their kindhospitality.”

President Rotary ClubFleetwood Robert Wright“As a community pharmacist,I have been at the “sharp end”of health and wellbeing forover forty years. Over that period I haveseen a greater public perception of self-helpwhen it comes to matters of health. TheHealth Mela provides a fun, friendly, familyfocused opportunity to get on the road tohealthy living. Well done NFHW.

Rotarian. Kevin WalshMPHF, immediate pastGovernor of District 1190Lancashire and Cumbria,Rotary International“I am delighted to have secured theglobal funding from the Rotary internationalto drive this Health Mela movement forwardin other areas of Lancashire and Cumbria.”He expressed his pleasure on receiving theNFHW fellowship.

Mrs Sarifa Kabir, Secretary, NFHW. Centre for Research in Health & Wellbeing, University of Bolton, Deane Road, Bolton. Email: sarifa.kabir@btinternet.com

Rotarian Gordon Oates. Secratory, Rotary Club of Fleetwood. Email: gordon.oates@bankhouse.fsbusiness.co.uk

www.nfhw.org.ukWorking towards healthier living in partnership with:

Andrew Niven

Future PlansFurther Health Melas are being arranged for 2015 as follows:Bolton.................Saturday, March 14th Leyland...............Saturday, Sept 12thPreston...............Saturday, April 18th Fylde Coast…….Saturday, Oct 3rdBradford.............Saturday, May 16th Burnley…………Saturday, TBAManchester…….Saturday, July 4thThe Forum is happy to help any group thinking of developing their own version of this event. Please ask the contacts below for further information.

Bill Laurie

Fylde and WyreClinical Commissioning Group

BlackpoolClinical Commissioning Group

Blackpool Teaching HospitalsNHS Foundation Trust

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