Health project launched

A project to encourage south-east Asian women to use mental-health services has been officially launched.

The Making Connections, Not Assumptions project targets older women in Oldham and Tameside who may be suffering from mental-health problems, including dementia, and encourages them to seek advice.

It also attempts to better understand the women’s needs and how they best respond to services.

Work on the project, funded by the Care Services Improvement Partnership and hosted by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental-health services in Oldham, started two years ago.

It was created to address issues — including dispelling myths about mental-health — and raise their profile among the Asian communities.

The project is of particular importance due to the increased suicide rates of south Asian women over 65 and the fact that minority ethnic groups are largely unaware of dementia and associated symptoms.

The launch was held at Hyde Town Hall and showcased work undertaken by the project so far.

This included creating a poster to encourage women from the communities to use services, and developing leaflets on stress and anxiety in Urdu and Hindi.

Guest speakers included Melba Wilson, of the national mental health development unit.

John Archer, Pennine Care chief executive, said: “It has been great to see so many people celebrate the successes of a project which has worked with communities to increase understanding and challenge stigma around mental-health issues.”