A Health and Well-being Open Day is being held on Saturday 14 October to help residents find out about the wide range of well-being services available in Farnham.

The day has been organised by Farnham Town Council and the Friends of Farnham Hospital and Centre for Health with support from GP practices and the Farnham Integrated Care Centre (FICS) based at Farnham Hospital.

The Health and Well-being Day will be held in the entrance area to Farnham Hospital. A variety of stalls will provide information about the services that operate from the hospital as well as in the wider community.

From 9am to 1pm, visitors will be able to speak to health and well-being experts from organisations such as: Waverley hoppa Community Transport, The Wellbeing Space, Safe Haven, Right at Home, Nuffield Health, Carer Support, Virgin Care, Farnham Assist, Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice and the Alzheimer’s Society.

Heartstart will be carrying out demonstrations of CPR and defibrillator use and there will be a series of talks by healthcare specialists. At 10am and 10.45am consultant geriatrician Dr Lucy Abbott will give her top tips for keeping healthy, at 9am and 10.15am clinical pharmacist Balazs Adam will talk about managing your medicines and at 9.30am, 11.15am and 12noon Peter Glover will talk about keeping well and out of hospital.

Councillor Carole Cockburn, Leader of Farnham Town Council says: “The information day coincides with a flu clinic for people who have a pre-booked appointment. This means we expect there to be at least 700 extra people in the hospital who are there because they care about their health. I would urge anybody who is visiting the hospital to stop and see the wealth of information on offer and how it may help them, a relative or neighbour.”

Speaking about the facilities and services at Farnham Hospital, George Alford Chair of the Friends of Farnham Hospital and Centre for Health says: “The Friends are very proud of the extensive services provided at Farnham Hospital but conscious that the public is not necessarily aware of the full range available. This event will enable the community to learn more from the principal providers on site as well as from voluntary and other organisations active in the area. We thank Farnham Town Council, Farnham Integrated Care Services and Virgin Care Services Ltd for working together to make this event possible.”

Susan Joyce, Regional Operational Manager for Adult Community Services in North East Hants, Farnham and Surrey Heath at Virgin Care, says: “We strive to deliver the very best service and care for the local community, so it is important they’re aware of the services run by Virgin Care at Farnham Hospital and within the community.

“We’re focusing our support for this event on people’s health and well-being in the winter, ensuring they know about flu, how to keep warm and well in the winter months but also how we can support them.”

Jenny Partridge, Practice Manager at Farnham Dene Medical Practice adds: “Farnham GP practices have been working with the local community to define the services patients would like to see made available outside core hours. As a result of these discussions we are starting to offer some weekday evening and Saturday morning appointments to registered members of the five Farnham practices. These appointments will be in the new Farnham Integrated Care Centre based in Farnham Centre for Health. The service is starting in October with routine GP consultations, NHS health checks and blood tests. More specialised services such as asthma reviews, joint injections and family planning clinics will be added over the coming months.”

More information about the Friends of Farnham Hospital and Centre for Health can be found at www.lof-fhch.co.uk. Details about services provided by Farnham Town Council can be found at www.farnham.gov.uk.