Dr Elena Mucci (centre) along with fellow frailty practitioners.

Free talks to help the elderly keep safe and healthy

Across April and May, four free educational talks will take place in Hastings, St Leonards, Bexhill and Rother, designed to help older people lead healthy and active lives, while also teaching them about self-care and the effects of ageing. HOT’s Jordan Dixon writes.

The longer we lead our lives, the more  important it becomes to maintain our health, though increasingly difficult. Many may even lack the knowledge of how to appropriately do so, let alone possess the ability or motivation. This month Dr Elena Mucci, an award-winning consultant geriatrician in the Conquest and Spire hospitals, will be tackling a range of age-related issues through humorous and engaging talks.

These talks have been arranged by Patient Participation Group (PPG) volunteers; members of local patient groups who work closely with GP surgeries to offer feedback and influence the provision of local health services. The events have been generously funded by both Rother and Hastings Voluntary Action Groups, as well as Spire Healthcare and several local GP surgeries. Dr Mucci is also kindly offering her time free of charge.

‘The Common Sense Advisor’

With the advancements in health technology, Britain’s elderly population is burgeoning as never before. This is though at time when the NHS has been functioning under increasing pressure over recent years, due to larger patient intakes, among other various issues. The main aim of Dr Mucci’s talks is to help keep the elderly out of hospital and encourage them to be their own doctor, offering basic tips and bringing new ideas to light, while challenging the perceptions of old age and measures to keep safe and healthy.

The topics of each of these talks include a broad range of practical tips, such as how to prevent falls and how to avoid vitamin D deficiency, incontinence and dementia. Discussions will range over the impact of smoking, alcohol and diet, as well as the importance of the elderly in society. Also set to feature are questions and commands such as “Do you need all those medicines?” and “Keep control of your life!”

Kevin Katner, chair of the Hastings and Rother PPG forum, attended a previous event last summer, organised by Northiam surgery in Rye. He stated how he found himself “Flooded with sensible and sometimes unexpected ideas about what my future health and wellbeing might look like: not through the usual bombardment of lists of miserable ‘you must nots’, but practical things we can all do that could make a real difference to our future lives. At the end people were buzzing with ideas and enthusiasm.”

The dates and venues for each talk are listed below. Doors open at 6pm and talks last from 6.30pm to 8pm. Open to all interested parties, including friends and family, free of charge with no need to advance book. All attendees are recommended to arrive early to allow for parking.

Rother: Wednesday 17 April, Sedlescombe Village Hall, Church Hill, Sedlescombe, TN33 0QP

St Leonards: Thursday 25 April, Four Courts Community Centre, Sydney Close TN38 9DD

Hastings: Thursday 9 May, St Helens Church Community Hall, 311 The Ridge TN34 2RA

Bexhill: Tuesday 21 May, Manor Barn, 4 De La Warr Road TN40 2JA

If you are interested to learn more about Dr Elena Mucci and her work, you can visit here.

Also in: Health Matters