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Women's Centre Derry

Address/Town: 
Derry

‘HAPI’ New Year!

The HAPI (Health Awareness Promotes Inclusion) Project is a partnership between The Women’s Centre in Derry and Pharmacist Fionnuala Rafferty from Bradley’s Pharmacy.  The aim of this project was to build on their relationship with their local pharmacist to support and empower three groups of 12 local women to identify and explore and work towards improving a range of emotional and physical health issues impacting on them and their families.

The Women’s Centre was set up in 1982 to provide a welcoming space that inspires women to think and make choices that enables transformation and change.  They run a number of programmes including educational, multi-cultural, child centred, childcare and employability skills.

They worked with Bradley’s Pharmacy to provide mentoring and support to help increase the understanding of health issues among individuals and their families.  The programme is tailored to suit the identified needs of participants and aims to enable them to gain awareness and confidence about looking after their health.

Margaret Logue, Director of the Women’s Centre, said “There was a great need for a project like this in the area.  Our community experiences disadvantage  and there are high levels of over the counter medication usage.  Having a space to talk about and manage health is very useful as people like to talk about aches and pains.  I approached Fionnuala and she was already interested in doing something in community and getting out from behind the counter.  She was delighted to get something more permanent and had already been doing some free work.”

By designing the project in partnership with the pharmacist around the participants health and wellbeing needs ensured the commitment and participation of the women throughout the total programme.

Issues covered throughout the course included confidence, healthy relationships and stress.  However, the pharmacist Fionnuala aimed to input on a range of issues e.g. Medications including children’s medication, healthy lifestyle, awareness raising of health problems, depression and mental health.

Fionnuala said, “Working with The Women’s centre has given me an insight into the health issues with the local community, with mental health and drug misuse being very apparent.  Through listening to Tracey, the co-facilitator from the Women’s centre, I have learned non-medical ways of coping with anxiety and depression such as relaxation techniques.  This will allow me to pass on what I have learned to patients who suffer from these illnesses. Tracey carried out sessions on creating secure bond with children and also on healthy sex lives, all information that I will be able to use in the future.

Linking with other organisations helped to widen the network of support for participants.  They worked with Pink Ladies, a local Cancer Awareness Group whose input was crucial to raise awareness among the participants and the learning gained by the Pharmacist was also invaluable.  They also worked with Zest, an organisation delivering programmes to support families who are dealing with suicide.  Aware Defeat Depression raised awareness about the help and support available in the community to combat depression and look after people with mental health difficulties and HURT helped raise awareness about the abuse of Drugs & Alcohol.

Margaret said, “The sense of camaraderie and support was second to none on this programme and it left the users feeling supported and even when the programme is completed they have the option of coming back to the Centre and becoming a part of other groups/programmes – this continues to build confidence and a sense of feeling safe, motivating them to continue to learn, even extending their knowledge in other areas.

It has broken down barriers enabling women to feel comfortable asking for help and support from medical professionals – pharmacists, building relationships and trust with them.  Waiting times for GP appointments are on the increase and this alone can prevent some women from visiting their doctor, possibly prolonging any symptoms they may have and heightening their fears and stress levels.  The opportunity to walk in to their local pharmacist to seek advice is a more accessible option and could be the first step in getting help for their heath.  This one to one discussion with the pharmacist can allay their fears and treat minor concerns but also encourage them to get further help from their GP etc. as necessary.”

Fionnuala said, “During the HAPI programme I used my knowledge to carry out health checks on each participant and also advise them on their results. I was able to give sound and reliable advice on health promotion in areas such as healthy eating, smoking cessation, etc. I spoke to participants regarding medication specifically answering any questions that the participants may have asked. My knowledge of alternative medication and also vitamins was passed on to participants and also the co-facilitator. I feel through covering various topic e.g. children’s health, menopause, etc it has allowed me to develop and enhance my knowledge in these areas.”

Area: 
Western Trust
Level: 
Level 2 - £10K Grant