Health and Well-being Board celebrates new partnership by supporting World Health Day

Shropshire’s new Health and Well-being Board will be supporting World Health Day from 7 April 2013 by highlighting advice and activities to improve people’s heart health.

Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of public health concern in the world.  This year’s theme is high blood pressure (hypertension), and the ultimate goal of the campaign is to reduce heart attacks and strokes.

The Health and Well-being board are taking this opportunity to support the campaign by promoting ways to encourage people to change behaviours that can lead to hypertension which can lead to heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure.  Advice includes:

• Reminding and encouraging people over 40 to maintain their heart health, by taking up the offer the free NHS Health Check.
• avoiding tobacco use
• taking regular physical activity
• maintaining a healthy body weight
• reducing salt intake
• avoiding harmful use of alcohol.

The Health and Well-being Board, which co-ordinates plans to improve the health and well-being of Shropshire residents, and takes up its statutory function 1 April, is part of a number of changes within our health services, including the return of the public health function to the council, and the development of the Clinical Commissioning Group (formerly part of the PCT) who purchase health services for Shropshire.

Rod Thomson, Shropshire Council’s Director of Public Health, said:  

“Public health is about services and initiatives to prevent people getting ill.  These include encouraging people aged between 40 and 74 years old to take up the offer of a free health check to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease, as well as programmes to help people stop smoking and prevent obesity.

“World Health Day gives us a great opportunity to promote physical and mental health across Shropshire.  We really want to encourage people to change behaviours which could have a negative impact on their health and to get their health checked regularly.”

For more information about how to get your free health check visit the NHS Health Check webpage at: http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/NHSHealthCheck/Pages/NHSHealthCheckwhat.aspx .  For information on ways to help reduce blood pressure and improve your hearts health visit the councils Healthy Shropshire website at: http://www.healthyshropshire.co.uk/.  Information on World Health Day can be found by visiting http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2013/en/.

To mark World Health Day and celebrate the launch of the board and the council’s new public health service, the Health and Well-being Board will also be encouraging staff to take part in a number of walks across the county throughout the week of 7 April. The board will be joining with Olympic archer Alison Williamson on Friday 12 April on a walk from Shirehall to William Farr house. 

Further information

The ultimate goal of World Health Day 2013 is to reduce heart attacks and strokes.  Specific objectives of the campaign are:

• to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of high blood pressure;
• to encourage people to change behaviours that can lead to hypertension;
• to persuade adults to have their blood pressure checked regularly;
• to increase the number of health facilities offering blood pressure checks; and
• to incite national and local authorities to create enabling environments for healthy behaviours.