Oldham women urged to put their health number one this Valentine's Day

Irene Shepherd wants women in Oldham to put their health first

It’s a lyric made famous by global pop phenomenon Justin Bieber, but one Oldham GP Practice team are promoting the ‘love yourself’ message to female patients.

It's in a bid to improve screening rates and overall health outcomes.

In the week that usually sees us celebrating our loved ones with hearts and flowers, NHS Oldham CCG’s Governing Body Nurse Irene Shepherd, who is also Practice Nurse at Hopwood House Practice on Lees Road, is urging women to attend an event to highlight their health and the importance of taking care of themselves, to prevent diseases including cervical cancer and diabetes.

She explains: “This time of year is often all about prioritising our nearest and dearest with cute cards and gifts, but I want to highlight to women in Oldham the need to love themselves first, by looking after their own health.

"[I want to ensure] they are up to date with any screening appointments and that they are informed about the best way to prevent health problems from occurring in the first place.”

The event will be hosted at Hopwood House on Saturday 16 February from 9am until 1pm, with attendance from local providers including Oldham Community Leisure - who have provided vouchers for the Gym Membership.

There will be language interpreters available for women whose first language isn’t English, and there will also be tea and coffee provided as well as healthy fruit on offer to attendees.

Irene adds: “We’ve identified and invited a number of women from our practice list who may not have been able to attend their screening appointments for a number of reasons.

"We’re also opening the invitation to other women who want to know more about womens’ healthcare and wellbeing.

“The idea is to get women thinking about themselves first for once, because we all know that as busy mums, working hard to look after our families and homes, our own health and wellbeing often falls to the bottom of our to do list.

"We want women to love themselves first, so that they can be here, happy and healthy for many Valentine’s Days to come.”

Oldham’s Lady Mayoress, Tasleem Akhtar, has also been invited to attend the event to show her support for women’s health awareness.