David Hanson MP tries to make off with the VW
Let's Get Physical! reached Flintshire today at an event in Aston Park Community Centre where visitors had the opportunity to pick up a copy of Hafal Flintshire Carers' Cook Book.
June Davies, a carer from Flintshire, said: "We've got so many good cooks here that we decided that we wanted to share our recipes. So we had the idea of publishing our own recipe book.
"The book includes healthy and nutritious recipes which we have tried and tested. It has really made us look at what we eat, the ingredients we use, how we source our food and how much it costs. We hope the book will inspire service users, carers and anyone else to eat more healthily and to experiment with their cooking."
The new book includes a recipe from the MP for Delyn, David Hanson, and is published by Double Click - a design and printing business which supports and provides training/work opportunities for people in the community with a mental illness.
Visitors at today's Let's Get Physical! event also had the opportunity to get key health checks in the Mobile Health Centre; take part in self-defence exercises, Tai Chi and a walk; and sample mood foods and healthy bites.
Janet Fletcher, Hafal's Acute Family Support Coordinator in Flintshire, said: "This year's campaign has really got us motivated: there are loads of ongoing activities following today's event. We're partnering with Flintshire County Council's Sports Development section to run a monthly carers' walk which will involve training some of the carers to be walk leaders.
"We're also running Tai Chi sessions and monthly ten-pin bowling groups. Throughout the summer we'll also be inviting primary care-related speakers to our partnership meetings including a dental hygienist. So we're definitely looking at the big picture!"
Let's Get Physical! sets a challenge – both to service users and careers, and to service providers and policy makers – to radically improve the physical health of people with a mental illness and their careers.
The campaign is supported by mental health charities Hafal, Bipolar UK and the Mental Health Foundation; Diverse Cymru helps to ensure the campaign reaches out to minority and disadvantaged communities. The campaign was launched by Health Minister Mark Drakeford AM in May and includes 22 county events covering all Wales.
