Eastern Education Group is bringing a ‘first’ to West Suffolk in March – a free public health festival aimed at addressing common health concerns and helping people to lead better lives.
The occasion has been dubbed the ‘West Suffolk Health Festival’ and will take place on the 1st of March between 10am and 4pm at the University and Professional Development Centre in Bury St Edmunds.
Those attending can enjoy a series of talks and workshops on key aspects of health and wellbeing, including mental health, nutrition and fitness, as well as interactive sessions on a range of topics such as endometriosis, menopause, ways to stop smoking and advice on getting better sleep.
In true festival-like fashion, the event will follow a ‘relaxed’ and flexible format; offering attendees the option to pick and choose from the sessions available – whilst also browsing a range of stalls from local businesses.
The all-day event comes as a collaboration between Eastern Education Group and local organisations such as Suffolk Mind, the NHS, the West Suffolk Foundation Trust, the Apollo Project and West Suffolk Alliance.
Organiser Virginia Planas, Strategic NHS Healthcare and Partnership Manager at Eastern Education Group, says she is excited to be launching this free event for the local community.
Virginia said: “The festival aims to empower people with the knowledge to make informed health choices and to showcase the support that is available to them within our local community. It also provides a fantastic opportunity to connect with healthcare professionals and experts from various sectors.
“This is a completely relaxed event – guests can turn up for just one session or stay for the entire day. Each session will give attendees a unique opportunity to speak to the experts directly, ask questions, hear first-hand experiences and receive actionable advice for themselves and the people they care about. This is the first-ever health festival in West Suffolk and the aim is to support people’s individual health goals – more than anything, we want to create an empowering experience that leaves people feeling more in control of their health.”
Former West Suffolk College apprentice – Kynleigh Parker – will be attending and delivering a talk about her experience of living with endometriosis. Kynleigh said: “This disease has severely impacted my life and so many others – it’s vitally important to raise awareness of endometriosis as it’s still so widely misunderstood, which creates barriers for people in being diagnosed and receiving the right care. I hope that, by sharing my experiences at the festival, I can help other people and keep them from going through the years of pain I suffered before getting the right answers.”
Mr Peter Wightman, executive director at NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, said: “We very much welcome this event as it is a fantastic opportunity for people to meet with local health care professionals and learn more about the opportunities to improve their physical and mental health.
“It’s particularly good to see that this event is taking place on a Saturday, so hopefully enabling family groups to come along to see what they can all do together to live more healthily. Perhaps by getting some inspiration on exercising together, such as by walking or cycling, or on creating and eating more nutritious family meals.
“There will be so much on offer, and I hope the day is a big success and has a positive impact on people’s health.”
You can book your tickets by visiting TheWestSuffolkHealthFestival.eventbrite.co.uk.
