Free health training for people with learning disabilities in Scarborough

They can learn about cancer symptoms and lung health today

Author: Karen LiuPublished 13th Sep 2021

There is going to be a free training on cancer symptoms and lung health for people with learning disabilities in Scarborough today.

It is being run by North Yorkshire and York Clinical Commissioning Groups in partnership with People First Merseyside.

The 'Red Flag Roadshow' is from 1pm to 3pm at The Street on Lower Clark Street with friends, family and carers welcome too.

Julie Butterworth is from North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group and said:

"It's about two hours long and as much as it's a training and awareness session, it's a very interactive session so there's a lot of roleplay in there, games, people are given red flags so they can join in with the roadshow and we can gauge some learning from people.

"We know from the learning disability mortality review processes that epople with learning disabilites are dying a lot sooner than the rest of the population. From some of the reviews we know that those deaths are preventable, or in some cases, and we know that one of the main causes of those deaths is cancer.

"We also know that people with learning disabilities aren't always aware of the signs and symptoms to look out for. So it's about raising awareness around understanding our bodies, knowing what are potentially signs and symptoms of cancer and when to seek help.

"They're not just for people with learning disabilities. We want to encourage families to attend, carers, whether that's paid or unpaid, everybody is welcome to attend and because we've lifted the restrictions, it'll be a good get together for people and we'll be able to offer some refreshments as well."

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