Supporting health and wellbeing at Southwark Eid event
Partnership Southwark and the Southwark Health Outreach Programme joined the annual Eid in the Park festival on 6 June, offering Vital 5 health checks and information and advice on staying healthy to those marking Eid Al-Adha, the second of two Islamic holy days celebrated worldwide each year. After the 11am prayer, families and community members enjoyed fair rides, food stalls, and engaging with a wide range of community services.
A team of nurses, doctors and Partnership Southwark’s Community Health Ambassadors were on hand to promote and provide essential health checks focused on the ‘Vital 5’ ways to stay well — maintaining healthy blood pressure, quitting smoking, safe drinking, looking after one’s mental health and wellbeing, and maintaining a healthy weight.
Visitors could get a blood pressure check, advice on stopping smoking, guidance on healthy eating and moderating alcohol intake – if applicable – and be signposted to mental health support. Tim, one of the nurses carrying out the checks, emphasised the importance of the team reaching into communities, with the goal of ensuring that more residents were improving their health literacy. Southwark Community Health Ambassador Razna described the checks as “convenient for everybody” and even “relaxing”. Sara, another of the nursing team, spoke about how important it was for people to check their blood pressure: “A lot of people walk around with high blood pressure without realising, so it’s very important to get it checked.”
Throughout the day, a steady stream of visitors passed through the health and wellbeing tent. Hannan stopped by with his daughter, Leila, after spotting the tent while looking for doughnuts. “My family’s been pestering me to get my blood pressure checked because we have high blood pressure in the family,” he offered. He was glad he took the opportunity: “I’ve been given some really good advice on how to move forward.”
With 55,000 adults in the borough living with a common mental health condition, Southwark has some of the highest rates of health challenges linked to the Vital 5; making accessible health and wellbeing checks even more vital. Events like this help bring healthcare to people who might otherwise struggle to access them due to social or language barriers, or because they have not been able to prioritise them among other competing demands on their time.
Festival visitor, Fatima praised the accessibility of the health checks and how important this can be in spotting the signs of illness early: “Whether it’s cancer or mental health, early detection is key,” she said. Mohamed, attending with his children, agreed, saying, “checks like these are very important, especially for those not checking their health regularly – it’s a necessity, not a luxury.”
By the end of the day, the health and wellbeing team had spoken with over 80 people and conducted 42 Vital 5 checks. Overwhelmingly, those who had spoken with the team agreed it was a valuable initiative. Hodan was very impressed: “I never experienced an NHS pop-up, but today, the people are friendly, I found out lots of information – I recommend it.” Camberwell local, Shahida expressed her hopes that events like this would happen more often: “It’s great to come together, enjoy yourself, and check your blood pressure at the same time.” Meera, another visitor, was grateful for the opportunity to get a check-up outside of a GP visit: “I was so happy today – I would recommend it to everyone.”