Tag: Pilton Community Health Project

Moving on up: prestigious award for local Health Project

moving

Pilton Community Health Project  has won an award for Moving Forward, a review featuring an innovative programme of activities with the local community. 

Pilton Community Health Project (PCHP) is one of North Edinburgh’s longest-established community organisations, first set up as the Health Hut almost thirty years ago. Over that time the PCHP team has worked tirelessly to improve health and wellbeing across the area, so it’d great to hear that PCHP’s efforts have been recognised – PCHP has just won a prestigious Physical Activity and Health Alliance (PAHA) ‘Community Wide Programme’ award from NHS Scotland for the Moving Forward initiative.

‘Moving Forward’ used exciting, innovative research techniques to explore how to involve the community in encouraging people to become more active. It found that local people would like to be supported to take part in informal, community led activities in local spaces.

Lianne Pipskyj and Clare Symonds, Physical Activity Development Workers at PCHP who co-ordinated the Moving Forward review explained “The value of the work we do is that we do it together, in partnership with other organisations and local people. We have also established a forum which strengthens these relationships, lets us be creative and helps us all improve what we do”

The report also found out that increasing the use of local green spaces and cycle paths would remove obstacles to getting active.

Savita Purran (pictured above) who’s been dancing Bollywood for more than 20 years is dancing for joy at the news of the award. Savita is now sharing her skills and enthusiasm by leading her own class in Muirhouse, having been supported and encouraged by the PCHP team. Savita told us, “Its excellent news! I have been able to follow my dream of teaching Bollywood which gets people active while having fun.”

Shona Robison said: “I’m delighted to congratulate Pilton Community Health Project on their success in the Physical Activity and Health Alliance Awards (PAHA) 2014. It’s fantastic to know that there is so much innovative and truly deserving work taking place around Scotland to make the nation more active’’.

The award will be presented at the 7th National PAHA Conference, which is being held on 24 April at Murrayfield and will be aattended by Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport Shona Robison.

Congratulations to all at PCHP!

PCHP_MovingForward

North Edinburgh’s going Bollywood!

????????????

We are delighted to announce that our NEW community-led physical activity programme has officially begun! It kicks off next Tuesday (25 February, 10-11am) at North Edinburgh Arts Centre with brand new weekly Bollywood Dance Sessions!!!

These will be led by Savita, an energetic and enthusiastic local lady who has been dancing Bollywood as a hobby for years. Savita is looking forward to sharing some of her moves and lots of the joy she gets from doing this fabulous dance with others from the local community!

The sessions are suitable for everyone, you don’t need experience or special equipment to take part. Just come along to the Arts Centre or contact Savita for more information. (see poster)

Please share the attached publicity around your networks and if you know of other local people who have what it takes to inspire others and lead their own activity sessions then please let us know!!!

Lianne Pipskyj

Physical Activity Project Coordinator
Pilton Community Health Project
73 Boswall Parkway
Edinburgh, EH5 2PW
0131 551 1671
liannepipskyj@pchp.org.uk
www.pchp.org.uk

Don’t forget Forth’s Family Fun Day!

forth health

Forth Neighbourhood Partnership along with Edinburgh Leisure and Pilton Community Health Project is holding a Health Fair and Family Fun Day at Ainslie Park Leisure Centre tomorrow to showcase local health related services and activities and hear what local residents think are their priorities for improving health in the Forth ward.

The event will have a ‘market place’ format with people able to drop in at any time between 1.30pm and 3.30pm, with loads to see and do – see poster (above).

Don’t miss it – it’s what Saturdays are for!

Ease into Exercise at Spartans

Spartans (2)

Please let anyone you think would benefit know about this great new physical activity opportunity and share around your networks!

The physical activity team at Pilton Community Health Project have partnered up with The Spartans Football Club to develop a brand new physical activity programme for people with a range of inhibiting conditions.

The ‘Ease into Exercise’ sessions will be of great benefit to those with a range of health issues such including;

  • Cardiac rehab (Phase IV)
  • Stroke rehab
  • Diabetes
  • Obesity
  • Bone & Joint problems
  • MS/ME
  • Respiratory disorders (Asthma, COPD)
  • Mild/moderate mental health issues

Participants will receive expert advice, instruction and guidance throughout the session. The session will consist of a safe warm up and circuit type exercises that will help improve their functional/CV fitness, strength, endurance and flexibility. The instructor is fully qualified and experienced in exercise prescription for people with the range of inhibiting conditions detailed above.  The sessions will be of a great physical, mental and social benefit to those who attend. Ease into Exercise promises to be effective, safe, fun and affordable at only £2 per person. Details about the class are as follows:

When: Mondays 10.45 -11.30am (Starting on 11th November)

Where: Spartans Football Club, Ainslie Park Stadium (off Pilton Drive) 

We also have a programme of volunteer-led health walks that take place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. These are accessible to people looking for a gentle introduction to becoming more active. The walks are great way of familiarising people with their local area, addressing any concerns people have about safety and enabling walkers to meet new people.

If you know anyone who would benefit from taking part any of these activities, or if you have any questions please get in touch with me on 0131 551 1671 or email liannepipskyj@pchp.org.uk

For more information on health walks contact claresymonds@pchp.org.uk

Lianne Pipskyj, Community Development Worker (Physical Activity) PCHP

PCHP

… and Forth are having a Health Fair too!

Forth Health Flyer

Forth Neighbourhood Partnership along with Edinburgh Leisure and Pilton Community Health Project is holding a

Health Fair and Family Fun Day at Ainslie Park Leisure Centre

on Saturday 23 November

to showcase local health related services and activities and hear what local residents think are their priorities for improving health in the Forth ward. See the attached flyer for more details.

The event will have a ‘market place’ format with people able to drop in at any time between 1.30pm and 3.30pm.

If your organisation would like to have some space on the day to publicise any health related activities then please get in touch with me at jim.pattison@edinburgh.gov.uk or on 529 5082.

Jim Pattison

Partnership Development Officer, Forth Neighbourhood Partnership

Forth Health Flyer

 

Adios, Anita!

Anita Aggarwal, popular Senior Development Worker at Pilton Community Health Project, is taking a career break and is off with her family on the adventure of a lifetime – to South America!

You can follow Anita’s progress on her blog at

 http://anitaisraandmiguelsgreatadventure.wordpress.com/

Good luck, Anita – it was great working with you and we’ll be following your adventures all the way!

Anita serves up smoothies to NEN charity walkers
Anita serves up smoothies to NEN charity walkers

Geraldine O’Riordan fills Anita’s role at PCHP and she can be contacted by email at geraldineoriordan@pchp.org.uk or telephone 551 1671.

Obesity: a growing crisis

One of the very few things that has shown steady and continuous growth since the war has been the Scottish waistline. Countless healthy eating initiatives have been introduced over the years – I’ve attended more initiative launches than I’ve had pie and beans lunches – yet Scotland’s problem with poor diet, obesity and the resultant chronic health issues remain as intractable as ever.

Two thirds of Scotland’s adults are classed as either obese or overweight, and a BBC Scotland special investigation to be screened tonight confirms that Scotland’s love affair with sugary and fatty foods grows unabated. That love affair costs Scotland’s NHS £200 million a year – and unless something is done to tackle this urgently the country faces a health crisis.

Statistics produced for ‘Scotland the Fat’ indicate that heath boards across the country have seen significant increase in obesity-related issues over the last ten years, with a marked increase in weight-loss surgical operations.

Research for the programme found that more and more Scots eat processed ready meals or takeaways at least three times a week, and that barely a quarter of Scots now cook for themselves every night. As ever the most worrying statistics were found in the most disadvantaged communities, where almost one in five (17%) said they did not cook a single evening meal from scratch.

In North Edinburgh, Pilton Community Health Project (PCHP) established the Food For Thought Forum last year to address these very issues:

The Food for Thought Forum exists to bring together community food and growing initiatives, organisations, projects and individuals within the area of Greater Pilton, Edinburgh; and to support, promote, link and increase local community food activity.

Our Vision

The group believes everyone in North Edinburgh should have access to a tasty, enjoyable, nutritious diet.  We want food to be a central part of our thriving community, bringing people together to grow, bake, cook and eat.

We want to see our community skilled and empowered to grow and cook good quality food for their families, friends and neighbours, and to see more local employment opportunities created in the production, distribution and preparation of the food we eat.

Our members are working towards aspects of this shared vision, and we believe that by working together we are stronger and better able to contribute to the flourishing of North Edinburgh.

Our key aims

  • To share and pool our knowledge and resources around community food & health
  • To use our collective resources to further develop a thriving local food culture
  • To move towards an adaptable and resilient community by providing opportunities for local skills development
  • To work together towards improving diet, food access, nutrition and health in Greater Pilton

Who can join?

Anyone involved or interested in community food or growing activity in Greater Pilton.

What does it involve?

  • Attending regular local meetings
  • Sharing ideas, knowledge and resources
  • Contributing to the planning, promotion and coordination of events
  • Signposting queries to appropriate forum members
  • Regularly contributing to ongoing forum discussion

For further information about heathy eating and the Food for Thought Forum, contact Anita Aggarwal at Pilton Community Health Project on 551 1671

‘Scotland the Fat’ will be screened on BBC Scotland tonight at 8pm, and can be seen on BBC iPlayer for a further seven days.

BBC Scotland

Living in Harmony update

harmony1Pilton Community Health Project’s Anita Aggarwal gives an update on a key local initiative:

Since the closure of Community Organisation for Racial Equality (CORE), PCHP, Community Learning and Development (CLD) and Edinburgh Lothian Regional Equalities Council (ELREC) have been working together to try to minimise the impact of the loss of this important organisation.

The City of Edinburgh Council commissioned a report which examined the ongoing needs of BME communities in the area.  This highlighted the difficulties people have integrating with the local population, as well as a host of other issues.

You’ll find that report here:  Living in harmony 13

At this point it was felt important to involve other agencies and more local people in this process, and so we pulled together an action planning session on 31 May.

Over 30 people attended this event, representing a wide range of local people and organisations.  At this event we identified actions to be taken and many committed to take these forward.

These actions are recorded in this document:  action plan 31.5.13 final

If you weren’t able to be at the event and have ideas about how you or your organisations can contribute please add them in to the plan.  This document is an aid to action, not a fixed strategy document to sit on a shelf and get dusty!

We agreed to come back to discuss next steps at another meeting, when we will look at what progress is being made and how we resource some of the ideas on the action plan.

The next meeting will take place at the

Spartans Community Football Academy on Friday 19 July from 10 – 12.

This meeting is open to anyone – please contact me on 0131 551 1671 if you need crèche.

Anita Aggarwal

PCHP