Over forty women recently attended Crosby Soroptimists’ heart health awareness event.
This free session was held in partnership with Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (LHCH). The Trust’s team aim to ’spread the word’ in the community about women’s heart health, including risk factors, lifestyle choices and treatments available.
Soroptimists dealt with advance bookings and were on hand to register all attendees. Simple red ‘heart’ brooches made club members very visible and proved a talking point. Refreshments helped everyone relax and there was a buzz of conversation in the hall.
The programme opened with LHCH’s presentation. Signs and symptoms of heart problems, gender inequalities, the menopause and genetic factors were all touched on, prompting much interest and many follow-on questions.
The women could then choose to have a short one-to-one session with a health practitioner, covering weight, blood pressure and other measures. This, again, was a chance to raise specific queries.
About the attendees, Gill Donnelly (of LHCH) said: “Feedback I received from the ladies was very positive and I hope the team have made a difference to all involved.”
Soroptimist Jane Daly, who co-ordinated the event said: “Our Crosby members were inspired by a similar session that Soroptimists in Liverpool had organised. Targeting women, and working in partnership with the hospital, was a really positive experience.
”Our event took advantage of facilities at Crosby Library. We accommodated a sizeable audience and had excellent breakout space for the health checks.”
Comments about the value of the LHCH health ‘message’ were overwhelmingly positive … ‘Very clear and comprehensive.’ ‘I learned a lot’. ‘I will be getting a cholesterol check.’ ‘Questions from floor throughout were answered readily.’ ‘Fantastic, felt listened to.’
Undoubtedly the Soroptimists’ weeks of planning and hard work had paid off … ‘Brilliant, kind, helpful, friendly, easy to talk to, a lovely welcome.’ Any future event will build on all the feedback.
This certainly was a Soroptimist showcase of women working for women.