Patients in Bury get a health check

Date published: 18 March 2010

Thousands of Bury patients are being asked about their wellbeing, habits and lifestyle in a bid to improve health in Bury.

Lifestyle choices can have a big impact on long-term health and wellbeing. Bury’s confidential health survey explores areas such as smoking, alcohol intake, eating habits and physical activity, in a bid to reveal more about the health of people in Bury.

Sent to 7,000 patients from all walks of life, the survey only takes around ten minutes to complete. Over a quarter of those targeted have already responded. It is vital that more people reply so that local health services have reliable information to plan in a way that is responsive to local needs.

Dr. Peter Elton, Director of Public Health for NHS Bury said: “Bury has many initiatives that help people to become more active, eat more healthily and to stop smoking. The health survey will give us a greater understanding of the needs of different communities and will help us to develop better, targeted support so that people can stay healthy in the future. By improving our lifestyles we can reduce our risk of serious conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.”