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Family Fun Day

NHS Lanarkshire 60th birthday bash

An estimated 15,000 people took part in NHS Lanarkshire’s Family Fun Day on the weekend of Sunday 22 June.

The event was held in Strathclyde Country Park to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the NHS in Lanarkshire.

With Park staff calculating around 6000 vehicles in car parks on the day, it amounts to at least 15,000 visitors over the course of the day.

The impressive turn out occurred despite a poor weather forecast for the day, and while the odd rain shower did occur, it was unable to dampen the Lanarkshire public’s spirits or enthusiasm.

 

Motherwell FC girls' team at the soccer arena 

As well as enjoying entertainment provided by L107 and a wide selection of fitness and sporting activities on the day, people were able to access a range of health information which included smoking cessation, sun awareness, healthy eating and oral health.

Almost 250 health checks were also carried out over the course of the event. Audits of the day so far reveal:

• 93 health checks by NHS staff were completed with 27 of these individuals referred to their GP for follow-up.
• 65 health checks by North Lanarkshire Council’s Fitness Team were completed with 26 referred to their GP.
• 83 health checks were carried out by South Lanarkshire Council’s Fitness Team.
• Over 100 children took part in a variety of fitness challenges and 560 free passes for local fitness classes were given out.
• All 1300 fruit pots were given out within the first two hours.
• All 1000 bottles of water were given out within the first two hours.
• 1000 alcohol free cocktails were made and given out.
• 146 people took part in rowing challenges.
• 80 hand massages were delivered to members of the public.
• 150 relaxation tasters (head, neck and body massages) were delivered to the public.
• 500 young people and their parents participated in hand hygiene demonstrations.
• 20 pints of blood were donated in less than two hours.
• 55 fitness assessments (which tests body fat/flexibility/grip strength and lung capacity) in a fitness tent were administered.
• At least 2000 people completed a walk around the entire Fun Day arena site which meant they had undertaken their daily amount of exercise.

Hugh Sweeney, NHS Lanarkshire’s Employee Director, coordinated the event and expressed delight at its success. He said: “An incredible amount of work went into organising the event and it is a testimony to the efforts of North and South Lanarkshire Leisure Trusts, Strathclyde Park, Sidekix and NHS Lanarkshire staff that the event was such a huge success.

“The range of events we had on offer led to an impressive turn out and it was certainly a birthday party worth holding!

“All the sporting events were extremely popular and the health promotion tent was full all day with people wanting to get their health checked.

“It was a great chance to highlight the services we offer within the NHS and the Leisure Trusts. Even more importantly it shows how easy and fun it can be to lead a healthier lifestyle.

“By any measure, it was a huge success and everyone at NHS Lanarkshire was thrilled with the response.”