People with learning difficulties in Salford attended a range of workshops designed to help improve their mental and physical health.
Big Health Day is a once a year annual event held at Chatsworth School in Eccles and featured a range of organisations who specialise in helping those with learning difficulties.
See Ability, People First, NHS Speech and Language Therapy, Aspire and Meet and Match Friendship and Dating Agency were present at the event.
See Ability is a charity which provides eye care and eye tests for those with learning disabilities. While People First is a method for people with learning disabilities to explain to their GP’s where they are feeling physical pain with use of diagrams and pictures.
Lyndsey Brook of NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) explained how difficult life is for those with learning difficulties.
“The Big Health Day is a day that we run every year for people with learning disabilities, their families and their support workers.
“It’s important because people with learning disabilities die on average 20 years younger than people without learning difficulties.
They can’t die of learning disabilities. They die because they don’t experience the same health chances and the same health care as everybody else,” she said.
Mrs Brook argued that the event is as important to the families of those with learning disabilities and can help improve their daily lifestyle.
“The purpose of the Big Health Day is to help people to understand more about their own health and to empower them to take more control and responsibility over it. As well as to help their families and support workers know more about what services are available here in Salford.
It’s been growing year on year. This is the 10th year that we’ve done the Big Health Day.
“You get a few more and a few more each year. We had 85 people with learning difficulties signed up to attend today and another 30 support workers come with them and family members.”
As the coordinator of the event, Mrs Brook explained that learning disabilities vary in severity but any help is useful for them and their families or support workers.
“Learning disability is a catch all phrase. It’s a spectrum of people who need only a little support and guidance to live their lives. While there will be people who need an awful lot of support that have got a lot of complex physical needs and health needs as well as their learning disability.
“There isn’t such a thing as a common learning disability. There are lots of conditions and syndromes that people have. But you measure learning disability on a degree of support people that people need to live full lives.
“However, people can live full lives with the right support.”
Take more control and responsibility for your own health and pop along to the Big Health Day event on 22nd October where you'll find lots of information and workshops for people with learning disabilities their families and staff @SalfordCouncil pic.twitter.com/dJoxu5bnvc
— NHS Salford CCG (@SalfordCCG) October 21, 2019
Lauri Holden, a spokeswoman for Meet and Match, believes that the organisation provides a new outlet of communication and friendship for those who have been left isolated by their learning disabilities.
“Meet and Match is a friendship and dating agency for people with learning disabilities. We also do events as well. We’ve actually just started working in Greater Manchester this year. We got three years funding from the National Lottery in March this year to branch into Salford and Greater Manchester,” she said.
“We have a pub night that we have on the first Thursday of every month. It’s a free event just to get people socialising. It’s ultimately about giving people with learning difficulties the opportunity to get out there and build friendships and relationships, and have a social life.”
Kieth, with learning difficulties said that he found the workshops useful.
“It helps me feel more confident to get out and about more. As well as socialise with people and see friends I haven’t seen. I also need to do 10 minutes of exercise everyday to keep my legs going with my pedal bike.”
Sean Dempsey who also suffers from learning difficulties said he explored various workshops.
“I went to the workshop on how to do complaints, meet and greet. I also went to a conference this year and won outstanding leader for people with disabilities. It was a miracle that I won.”
“The workshops have shown me the opportunities for people with learning disabilities that we can have a voice and be heard. I also learnt about relationships and how to socialise with people. I have also learnt about other people’s needs and I help them to use the opportunities we can enjoy.”
Photo credit, James Spencer. Video credit Abdul Shikhmous
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