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| the idea of street nurses
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| Wednesday
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HELPING the nation to live a healthier lifestyle is no easy task, but NHS nurses are now taking to the streets in an effort to get the message across.
An innovative project launched by NHS Ayrshire and Arran has seen nurses in fluorescent jackets offering health advice to passers-by in streets and shopping centres .
The team take blood pressure and measure waistlines before offering advice on everything from type-two diabetes to some forms of cancer.
Public health nurse Jackie Reid is involved in the new strategy which it's hoped will help those who might not otherwise seek advice.
She said: "We started off running health MoT clinics by going out into community clinics to give advice.
"That worked to an extent, but we realised we weren't getting enough men through the door and then the idea of street nurses was raised.
"It was light-hearted at first with us wearing luminous jackets and talking to people so that we could get ourselves known.
"But we quickly got people coming up to us and asking us questions about what it was all about and it became a good way of promoting what we were doing.
"We would offer to take people's blood pressure and measure their waists as you can't do anything more that quickly, but you can then make a rapid assessment and identify any health issues that might exist.
"Once you've done that you can offer advice on where they can go for afollow-up at a later date.
"We're trying to engage with people who don't use mainstream health services, such as going to their GP for whatever reason.
"That could be anything from work patterns to depression to simply believing that their doctor won't be able to do anything to help them."
But Jackie admits it's not an easy task. With many people being defensive about their weight, some people won't take kindly to being approached in the street.
She explained: "It's not a case of blaming people for being overweight.
We know there are lots of reasons for people being overweight and it's not helpful simply to blame people.
"As nurses we have good interpersonal skills so we'll catch someone's eye, go over and introduce ourselves.
Some people will say they're too busy and walk on while others will stop and be keen to find out more.
"We'll tell them about the health assessments we're offering, we'll take their blood pressure and we'll ask if they'd like their waist measured.
"But we'll also talk to them about where their risk factors lie and also their family history, particularly in relation to blood pressure.
"If there is a history of high blood pressure, strokes or heart disease we may refer them back to their GP.
"And if the person is a smoker then we may talk to them about their habit, if they've ever stopped before and what help is available."
But it's not just medical issues the street nurse team are dealing with.
Keen to promote a healthy lifestyle, they're also talking to people about what they eat and how active they are.
Jackie said: "People might also tell us that they don't get enough exercise or that their diet could be better.
"We all know we should be eating five portions of fruit and veg a day, but few of us actually do it. We can offer people advice about changing their diets and how to think outside the box when it comes to meals.
"We could talk about trying fruit smoothies through to eating tinned fruit, and issues such as budgeting and menu planning.
"All of these things are useful to get men in particular talking about their health, as quite often, they don't."
Jackie says it has been a success with passers-by often keen to talk.
She said: "People have been very positive, and quite a lot of the time, people can be happy just to have someone to talk to about these things.
"Just by showing an interest and offering some support, you have can agood effect. We are definitely not judging anybody.
"It's about recognising that it can be hard to change your lifestyle, but explaining how changes are possible.
"If you then stay in touch with the people you meet and remember their faces, you can help build up people's confidence about health issues and that can have a positive effect.
"Sometimes we're not telling people anything they don't know already, but they just don't feel able to do anything about it. If you help build up confidence over time, however, you can achieve some changes.
"And a change that for one person might be insignificant might be a big thing for someone else.
"We've already had some really encouraging success and we're hoping that will continue." source
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posted by blogger @ 08:08
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