Subject - Raising awareness of Thalassaemia and Sickle Cell and the screening offered by the Health Service in Manchester

Posted : (Thursday 6th December 2007 ) By - Jane (Registered User)Black Health Agency is working together with the NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme in Manchester to raise awareness of Thalassaemia and of screening offered by the NHS.

We are starting work this month with a number of groups in different areas of Manchester – mainly working with women from a Pakistani background living in the city and raising awareness about Thalassaemia and Sickle Cell disorders.

We will be running outreach information sessions for a year – finding out what people in different communities know about inherited blood disorders, explaining the benefits of testing and the support offered to people living with the disorders.

One of the outcomes from our work will, hopefully, be that women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy will take up the options for screening earlier and seek further advice from health professionals. We also hope that greater awareness will persuade more prospective fathers to be tested.

We are writing to all GPs, community midwives, maternity units and haematology departments in the city to make health professionals aware of this work – and to seek your support and assistance – particularly if you experience a greater take-up of screening.

When we run outreach sessions we will be asking participants - if they choose to seek testing or further advice from health professionals - to make them aware that it is as a result of the work, by giving a simple card that can be returned to us.

If you have any questions or ideas about how we could best promote awareness in communities please contact us at the contact details listed below.

Shabana Baig
Project Manager


Thalassaemia and Sickle Cell OutreachRoutes Project, Cornbrook Enterprise Centre
40 Quemby Street
Hulme
M15 4HW

Phone: 0161 835 3393
E-mail: shabana@blackhealthagency.org.uk