Love your Liver roadshow visits the Isle of Wight
A Love your Liver roadshow is coming to Newport to help people check on their liver health.
The British Liver Trust has partnered with the University of Southampton (UoS) to bring its Love your Liver roadshow to the Isle of Wight for the first time. It aims to raise awareness and identify those most at risk of liver disease.
The roadshow in Newport is funded by an award from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
It is part of a wider initiative aimed at improving early diagnosis and tackling the growing problem of liver disease across the UK.
Raising awareness
Liver disease is a significant public health issue in the UK. Nine in ten cases are preventable, but more than 11,000 people die from the condition each year.
The main causes of liver disease are obesity, alcohol misuse and an undiagnosed hepatitis infection.
The Love your Liver roadshow will be held at Newport Harbour on Thursday 20th April. It will offer free liver health checks, advice on lifestyle changes and scans to measure potential damage to the liver.
Healthcare professionals and liver disease experts will be available to answer questions and provide support.
The partnership between the charity and university is a significant step in the fight against liver disease. It aims to raise awareness of the condition and encourage people to take action to improve their liver health.
The Liver Champions research project is building partnerships between healthcare professionals, community organisations, public health professionals and patient and public involvement experts. They aim to engage with people at risk of liver disease, particularly in coastal areas, to help tackle the growing problem.
Dr Kate Glyn-Owen, Associate Professor of Public Health at UoS, said:
“We are very excited to be working with the British Liver Trust, and with colleagues in Newcastle and Hull, to bring the Love your Liver roadshow to coastal communities.
“We are particularly excited to bring the roadshow to the Isle of Wight for the first time. We hope people will come along on the day, talk to us about their experiences and have a free liver health check.”
Preventing liver disease
The British Liver Trust’s Love your Liver campaign focuses on three simple steps to Love your Liver back to health:
1. Drink within recommended limits and have three consecutive days off alcohol every week
2. Eat healthily, be physically active and keep to a healthy weight
3. Know the risk factors for viral hepatitis and get tested or vaccinated if at risk
Pamela Healy, Chief Executive of British Liver Trust, said:
“One in three of us are at risk of liver disease and the numbers of people being diagnosed have been increasing at an alarming rate.
“Liver damage develops silently with no signs or symptoms and people often don’t realise they have a problem until it is too late. If left until symptoms appear, the damage is often irreversible.
“The Love your Liver roadshow is a great opportunity for people to find out their risk of liver disease. Approximately one in ten people we scan need to have further checks.”
What to expect
The roadshow comprises a mobile unit where people can take a free online screening test and find out if they are at risk. Free liver health scanning will also be available using a non-invasive device.
Healthcare professionals will be on hand to provide advice on how to keep your liver healthy through diet, exercise and healthy living.
The roadshow will also stop at the following locations:
- Newcastle – Monday 17th April - Morrisons, Shields Road, Byker, NE6 1EJ
- Hull – Tuesday 18th April - North Point Shopping Centre, Bransholme, HU7 4EE
To find out more about the Love your Liver campaign and where the roadshow will be visiting next, visit www.loveyourliver.org.uk.
To find out if you are at risk, take the simple quiz at www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/screener.