Health and Wellbeing Week kicks off Monday 14th September

08/09/2015

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

“GET YOUR ASS OFF THE COUCH”

14 September to 19 September 2015

Mayor Sarah Holland will officially launch South Dublin County Council’s 2nd annual Health and Wellbeing week on Monday 14th September at 11.00 am with special guest, Ms. Miriam O Callaghan, RTÉ Radio and TV Presenter who will be presenting the event in Tallaght Stadium.

Mayor Sarah Holland said “I want to encourage everyone to get involved in the planned activities and to help make Health and Wellbeing Week 2015 which takes place from 14th – 19th September a great success. This is a fantastic opportunity for young and old to participate in a range of free activities and events which encourage Health and Wellbeing”

Health and Wellbeing Week was developed by South Dublin County Council through a collaborative process with our partner agencies including the HSE, Tallaght Hospital, Pieta House, South Dublin County Partnership and Trinity College Centre for Health Sciences among others who all shared a common vision to create an awareness of the many services and facilities available to our citizens.

The Health and Wellbeing of our population is a measure of our success as a society. As a local authority we influence physical and mental wellbeing through social inclusion events, interagency initiatives, recreational activities, library services, employment creation, housing supply, community infrastructure and financial supports. We are very conscious of our role in this regard and want to continue to maintain the wellbeing of our citizens as one of our key priority objectives.

The Chief Executive of South Dublin County Council, Mr Daniel McLoughlin is fully supportive of this initiative and believes “that Health and Wellbeing Week is a great opportunity for the Council and its partner agencies to raise awareness of the many services and facilities available to our citizens aimed at improving health. Last year there were over forty events organised for Health and Wellbeing Week and approximately 8,500 people participated. A number of workshops that were delivered as part of the week are still ongoing including horticultural therapy and sports programmes. This week will give people at risk of exclusion opportunities to get out and get involved in activities and develop improved awareness of physical and mental wellbeing.”

The launch event on the 14th September will also feature the following:

A fun physical activity challenge for primary school children from South Dublin County
Headline results of the HANA – Health Assets and Needs Analysis - Report
Launch of Healthy South Dublin County Project – Phase 1
Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between South Dublin County Council and FAI, Dublin GAA County Board, Leinster Rugby and Cricket Leinster
Launch of 55 plus Active booklet for Active Aged
Announcement of Library project with Kildare Libraries and South Dublin Libraries - Shelf Help and Living Well
A presentation to the County’s Special Olympians

During the week there will be a varied programme of events under the broad themes of:

Mental Health
Physical Activity
Nutrition

Events range from Healthy Eating and Nutrition Talks, Exercise Activities for all, Community Garden Workshops, NALA Health and Wellbeing for Life Programme, Enhanced Wellbeing, Ballroom Dancing, Mindfulness for Adults, Health Fair, Disability Activity Programme, Mental Health talks, Al Porters Grandparents Day off, Presentation by David Bobbett on a better way of identifying and tackling heart disease and much more culminating with a closing ceremony on Saturday 19th September at Corkagh Park with the Laurels 10K Run in aid of Console.

A detailed programme of events for Health and Wellbeing week has been developed and is available on our website: www.sdcc.ie

*Notes to Editor*

The Ambassadors for the week long events include:

Councillor Kenneth Egan, former Olympian

Ruth Scott, 2 FM Radio Presenter

Brian Higgins, Chief Executive Pieta House

James Reynolds, Irish Transplant Sports Team

Teresa Costello, Patient Ambassador for Breast Cancer Ireland

Aisling Finnegan, Dublin Rose of Tralee

David Bobbett, Global Entrepreneur

Jenny Egan, Irish International Kayaker

Jack Woolley, 3rd Dan Taekwondo Blackbelt

Matt Dowling, Tus Nua (Older Persons Forum)

Graham Gartland – Under 17 Team Coach Shamrock Rovers FC

Darragh Zaidan – Irish Road Race Cyclist

Louise Ormsby – Operation Transformation Leader

Quotes and additional information from Project Partners:

Anticipate 10,000 participants at 72 different events

All events free of charge

Events categorised under Mental Health, Physical Activity and Nutrition

Obesity levels in South Dublin County are below the national level. Thirteen percent of South Dublin County’s citizens are obese, compared to 14%
of the population of the Republic of Ireland.

10% of South Dublin County residents suffer from high cholesterol.

33% of South Dublin County residents are physically inactive, this is above the national level of 28%.

Did you know that 33% of South Dublin County citizens are smokers, this is above the national average of 29%.

*Souce Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH)

Dr Catherine Darker, Adelaide Assistant Professor in Health Services Research, Trinity College Dublin and HANA in Tallaght Principal Investigator

“The Health Assets and Needs Assessment in Tallaght or ‘HANA in Tallaght’ as the project has become known, is a rare opportunity to compare a community over time. The health needs of Tallaght were assessed in 2001 and we repeated many of these questions in 2014, but we extended it to also look at the positive aspects of Tallaght. We got a great response! Nearly 350 households opened their doors to us and answered questions on the health and wellbeing of family members, giving us information on over a thousand people. We asked about the health of household members and satisfaction with the health and wellbeing services provided in the area. Maps were developed of the health and well-being services within the area. People told us that the top three ‘good things’ about living in Tallaght were amenities, such as The Square shopping centre, parks and leisure facilities, community spirit and neighbours, and also public transport, such as the Luas and buses. We hope that the information will be used by the local community to advocate for additional and better healthcare services and improvements in the provision of public resources such as parks and play spaces, all with a view to improving the health and wellbeing of the population of Tallaght”.

Mr David Slevin, CEO Tallaght Hospital

“The Tallaght Health Assets and Needs Assessment (HANA) project demonstrates an effective working partnership between the ourselves in Tallaght Hospital, the Department of Public Health & Primary Care, the Adelaide Health Foundation, South Dublin County Council, the HSE and community partners such as the Fettercairn Community Health Project. The HANA report contains a wealth of information about the population of Tallaght and the community’s interactions with health services including our Emergency Department. The Hospital is viewed as an important community facility and this is vitally important to our operations and our identity. Most importantly, the information in this report can help us improve the services the Hospital provides as well as continuously improving our relationships with the local community”.

Professor Ian Graham, Chairperson Adelaide Health Foundation

“This important report assesses not only the health needs of Tallaght but, uniquely, the health resources or assets available to meet these needs. It notes the need to tackle inactivity and the ongoing major problems of heart disease, respiratory problems, diabetes and increasing levels of stress. It will thus be of great value to both health planners and providers, with national as well as local implications”.

For further information please contact: Billy Coman, Director Housing, Social and Community Development. Tel: 01 4149034 or email bcoman@sdublincoco.ie

-ENDS-

Check out the full list of events here http://www.sdcc.ie/events/health-and-wellbeing-week-2015

Picture Captions

Image 1

From left to right – Cllr. Kenneth Egan, Ruth Scott (2 FM), Teresa Costello (Patient Ambassador for Breast Cancer Ireland), Mayor Sarah Holland, Jenny Egan (Irish and International Kayaker), Jack Woolley ( Matt Dowling, Tus Nua (Older persons forum), Aisling Finnegan, Dublin Rose, Dr. Catherine Darker, Healthy Council Ireland)

Image 2

From left to right – Front Row – Ruth Scott, Mayor Sarah Holland, Teresa Costello, Dr. Catherine Darker, Chief Executive Daniel McLoughlin

From left to right – Back Row – Jack Woolley, Matt Dowling, Jenny Egan, Aisling Finnegan, Cllr. Kenneth Egan

Images

Image 1
Image 2