Be a Braveheart like Theresa
EVERYBODY of a certain age remembers the award-winning movie Braveheart, with its stirring music and Mel Gibson in a kilt.
However the new incarnation of Braveheart, an NHS Lanarkshire production, is having a much more significant effect on the health of the people of the Bellshill area - and it might just save a few lives.
Braveheart is run by a team of nurses who run informal sessions that offer a range of screening services and advice to help in the early diagnosis of coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Sessions are held throughout the area - including Viewpark and the villages of Brannock - and are open to everyone.
People popping in to a Braveheart session will get their blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and body mass index checked as well as having access to lifestyle advice.
Depending on the results, available there and then, a referral might be made to a doctor for more checks.
Theresa Boyle, from Bellshill, said: "Everyone should have a health check with the Braveheart team - there's nothing to be scared of. I had high blood pressure and feel fine now I'm on tablets."
Theresa discovered she had high blood pressure during one of the informal Braveheart screening session.
She was referred to her GP who prescribed her medication and gave her lifestyle advice.
The other similarity with the 1995 epic is that the NHS version is also a winner.
It won the 2006 Healthy Lifestyle Award at the Scottish Health Awards for the community-based health promotion work of Braveheart. From May to September this year 482 people from the Bellshill district attended a Braveheart session.
Christine Reid, senior health promotion officer in Bellshill, said: "Braveheart is a great example of how local people are supported to make those small but important changes."
To have a Braveheart screening simply turn up at one of the following sessions: Today (Thursday) 6pm-8pm - Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre; tomorrow (Friday) noon-3pm - Mossend Mosque; Monday, November 26 10am-12pm - Newarthill Library; Tuesday, November 27 9.30am-11.15am - Viewpark Credit Union; Thursday, November 29 10am-noon - Bellshill Cultural Centre.
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Weather for Motherwell, Scotland
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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