NHS gurdwara visit to address 'health barriers'

Sadaff Butt, who attended the event in Stoke-on-Trent aimed at tackling health inequalities with the South Asian community

An NHS trust has visited a gurdwara in Stoke-on-Trent in a bid to combat health inequalities in the Sikh community.

The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) joined forces with local Sikh leaders to promote cancer screening and healthy lifestyles at the city's Guru Nanak Gurdwara and Sikh Cultural Centre on Friday.

The pilot event aimed to promote NHS screening programmes and support early detection to improve health outcomes.

Sadaff Butt, from UHNM, said the event was a positive way of bridging health inequalities with the South Asian community, with hopes to replicate the event at local mosques, temples, and community settings.

Ms Butt said the event came about after executives from the trust visited the gurdwara and found people would appreciate a health visit.

The organisational development consultant spoke about the health barriers that some people in the Sikh community were facing.

"There might be a wide range of barriers, communication being one of them. Health literacy is not that good," she said.

"Then there are cultural barriers, people are not very tech-savvy, they are hesitant to ask questions so a lot of that contributes to barriers.

"People here today have said 'how do we cancel appointments, sometimes the letters are confusing, we get confused with the whole process'. How we communicate is really important."

People at the event could learn about NHS screening programmes and speak to NHS professionals

Visitors at the event had the opportunity to learn about NHS cancer screening programmes for bowel, breast, lung and cervical cancer.

They could also speak directly with healthcare professionals about symptoms, early detection, and available support, as well as receive guidance on diet, exercise, and mental health.

There was also access to flu vaccinations for the eligible population.

Ms Butt said the event had been overwhelmingly positive, adding: "It's been brilliant, I can't wait to replicate this across other places."