DIY SOS by Hayley Lancefield

I was given the opportunity to go to a DIY SOS site with one of our occupational health technicians. We provided quick health checks to everyone who was interested in volunteering.

I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t too sure if anyone wanted to know their blood pressure reading, or what their glucose or cholesterol levels were. However, while we were still setting up people showed immediate interest. One of the presenters, Julian Perryman, came up and said: “It’s good that you have come onsite today as someone felt faint yesterday”.

After setting up he was the first to get a quick health check. Following him, people of all ages lined up since they never had their blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels taken. There were also a few people who were on blood pressure tablets. It was important for them to get the reassurance that their medication was working.

Otherwise they would have needed to wait more than three weeks for a GP appointments.

Many of our patients were curious about their results and what they could do to get better readings. We saw about 50 people in total and Nick Knowles, another presenter, came for a health check towards the end. He spent some time with us and discussed the importance of people understanding the meaning of their results.

That day, I experienced a great community atmosphere and it was nice to see everyone interested and engaged in a good cause.