Cllr. David Thomas: Literally getting to the heart of the issues that matter the most to you

Feedback from our Residents Survey was that you liked that we were out and about in a town and street near you. This gave you the opportunity to speak to councillors and council officers, not only to answer our survey, but to raise and talk about concerns and issues that matter to you.
Off the back of the survey events I am glad to announce that we are now holding regular opportunities for you to come and talk to us in person. Our first Resident Engagement Event is taking place on Friday September 29 at Paignton Community Hub at Paignton Library from 10 am to 4pm. We will be holding these face-to-face Engagement Events every two months, with the next one already been planned in for the end of November. We will be in Torquay Town Centre for that one and closer to the time I’ll share more details.
As well as being there to listen to you, we will also be taking the opportunity to share the work of various services and departments in the council. And as this first Resident Engagement Event takes place on World Heart Day it is the perfect time to share our Director of Public Health's annual report, which this year highlights cardiovascular health.
It’s important to be aware of the risks – high blood pressure, smoking, excessive drinking and being overweight are all red flags. We can all do something to improve our heart health and spread the message to our families and friends. It’s never too early or too late to start looking after your heart. 
You are also never too young to start thinking about heart health, which is why we are looking at school-based physical activity, active travel around schools and supporting heart healthy behaviours through our initiative Torbay on the Move. Here in Torbay we are very lucky to have access to a wide range of green and blue spaces, and we can all use these spaces to get ourselves more active more often.
Dr Lincoln Sargeant, Torbay Council’s Director of Public Health, through his report is calling for innovative ways for our communities to tackle cardiovascular disease. This is because figures are showing us that it is causing one in four deaths of 50–74-year-olds here in the Bay.
We are looking at doing things differently in this area, and that is by having health checks being delivered in the community. Our local primary care teams have been piloting fresh ways to offer this NHS Health Check, which is a free check-up for adults aged 40-74. At one of these checks you can be assessed for the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, kidney disease or diabetes.
The NHS Heath Check has been hailed as an essential tool in combatting heart disease by Dr Sargeant. These checks are normally arranged through GPs but in Torbay, outreach teams are working in partnership with local community organisations to deliver them. No booking is required for these checks, and they take just one 20-minute appointment compared with the normal two GP appointments.
They have been trialled at three organisations in Paignton including The Haven, Paignton Community Hub and The Crafty Fox Café and Hub in Foxhole. The aim is to overcome barriers to accessing healthcare and work with community organisations to support healthy hearts in the community.
The early successes we have seen with these clinics show that being more creative and imaginative in how we work with partners to promote good hear health is paying off.
At our engagement event in Paignton on Friday September 29, you will have the opportunity to speak with a range of health professionals, including those who can check your blood pressure. There will also be an opportunity to hear from a local GP about how to look after your heart.
I really hope we will see some of you at our Engagement Event on Friday.