Page updated: 26 Nov 2009
Quit It Bus visits Trafford
A MAJOR Greater Manchester public health campaign is being launched in Trafford to save the lives of hundreds of people at risk of stroke and heart disease.
The Quit-It campaign will operate a mobile clinic - a double-decker bus - to reach out to some of the most deprived communities across Greater Manchester, including the borough of Trafford.
NHS nurses will be on board the bus, offering a range of health checks to assess the patient's risk of developing a vascular disease such as heart disease or stroke.
Those undergoing the tests will then be advised by a health professional on lifestyle changes or referred for further treatment.
About 27% of adults in Greater Manchester currently smoke. Smoking is a major contributor to ill health, including coronary heart disease, cancer and stroke.
Given its contribution to premature mortality and health inequalities, a key priority for primary care trusts in the city region is therefore to reduce smoking prevalence.
The Quit-It bus will visit 22 locations across each of the 10 boroughs in Greater Manchester over a seven week period to raise awareness of the links between smoking, heart attacks and strokes.
The bus will be in Trafford from 2 December to 5 December, 9am-5pm, at the following locations:
2 - 3 December - Aldi Supermarket, Tennis Street, Old Trafford.
4 - 5 December - Partington Shopping Centre, Central Road, Partington.
The Quit-It campaign comes as stroke services across Greater Manchester undergo a major overhaul, with the creation of the three centre's of excellence for the treatment of stroke in a move to improve the recovery chances of stroke suffers.
The initiative is being managed by Greater Manchester Public Health Network on behalf of Greater Manchester and Cheshire Cardiac Network and Greater Manchester Tobacco Alliance.
Dr. Peter Elton, lead Greater Manchester Director of Public Health for cardio-vascular disease, said: "Smoking kills and smokers are at an increased risk of stroke, the leading cause of disability in the UK.
"The Quit It Bus will show you what your risk is of having a stroke or heart attack and will show you how you can reduce this risk by stopping smoking. It only takes about a year to halve the increased risk from smoking. So I hope as many people as possible will use the bus for their health check."
Research shows people who smoke are up to three times more likely to have a stroke than those who don't. In Greater Manchester, up to 6,000 people are affected by stroke each year and more than 5,000 people in Greater Manchester die of coronary heart disease.
Around 30,000 smokers have fatal heart attacks each year in the UK and one in five deaths from coronary heart disease are associated with smoking.
Smoking is also particularly dangerous for people who have high blood pressure; in fact they are five times more likely to have a stroke than smokers with normal blood pressure, and 20 times more than non-smokers with normal blood pressure.
Kerry Briggs, Trafford Primary Care Trust's smoking cessation coordinator, said: “Last year in Trafford 200 people died from heart disease and strokes and 361 deaths were specifically related to smoking. These are figures that we are keen to change through raising awareness.
“We hope that the Quit-It campaign and Quit-It bus will raise specific awareness of the dangers of smoking, and will encourage people to access the range of Stop Smoking Services available throughout the borough."
For further information about the Quit-It campaign and NHS Quit-It bus please visit www.quit-it.org.uk or text QUIT with your name and postcode to 81066 or call 0800 432 03 03. For more information about getting help to stop smoking with the NHS in Trafford please call Trafford Stop Smoking Service on 0300 4562 400 or visit www.trafford.nhs.uk.