Barking and Dagenham residents are being urged to prioritise their health, following a candid account from a local volunteer about his personal health challenges and the vital role of GPs and health services.
Emdad Rahman, a community volunteer in the borough for over 20 years, shared his experience at a recent Health & Wellbeing Board meeting. Mr. Rahman, who runs the 'Book Bike London' project and volunteers with food banks, spoke about his diagnosis of diabetes and recent vision complications, which have impacted his ability to continue his extensive community work.
Mr. Rahman has been suffering a lot with my eyesight
over the last year, to the point where he can hardly make out anybody's faces
and can't read the signs in front of me.
These vision complications have had an impact on my volunteering,
causing him to slow me down on my driving
and sometimes not cycle because it affects my judgement.
He also finds struggling to recognise a lot of people on the streets.
Health has become very, very important for me,
Mr. Rahman stated. Before I was quite dismissive, just carried on, just live life at a very, very fast pace. When I went to Porter's Avenue for my eye check, the lovely lady, she said to me, Mr. Rahman, you've had 42 appointments over the last five years. And this is the first one that you've attended.
He emphasised the importance of prioritising personal health, even amidst a busy schedule of community work, stating, if my own health is not prioritized, that which I'm trying to do, prioritize other people, will suffer at the same time as well.
He also shared that he has developed this habit where I'm thinking, all I'm just going to do, I can't read anything. I'm just going to scan the page. I'll keep my bookmark raised but I'll scan the page. So I've got the feeling that I've held the book and I've read it.
This highlights an appreciation for people who are visually impaired and struggling with their health. He also mentioned that he always explain to them, I say, look, looking at someone like me, I look fairly healthy, there's no output signs, there's no blemishes on my skin, but it's killing me from the inside. And I, you know, there's so many precautions I have to take.
Mr. Rahman also raised concerns about the accessibility of information for visually impaired individuals and the need for larger print materials.
He shared that if I'm using the phone now, I've had to revert to big print
and that yesterday I went to the Barking Learning Center because I love libraries. There was a new member of staff who joined. I asked her for large print because I can't read them.
He also noted that yesterday, for example, I couldn't read a single word because of the print.
The meeting also discussed broader health challenges within the borough. The It Starts Here: Partnerships for Change
vision outlines missions related to Preventing and managing long-term health conditions,
Zero tolerance to domestic abuse,
and Feeling safe.
Furthermore, National Child Measurement Programme data highlighted that Year 6 children in the borough remain above both London and England averages for this metric
regarding being above a healthy weight. The Better Care Fund Plan also mentions supporting residents to remain independent and at home
and promoting healthier lifestyles,
and addresses prevention of avoidable long-term care home admissions.
Regarding GP services, Mr. Rahman stated that The health services in general, in Barking and Daganam Castle, my GP, the GP group that I'm with, have been tremendous.
He also noted a unique situation in Barking and Dagenham where the GPs have been chasing me,
contrasting this with other boroughs where if I was in Tyre Hamlets, if I ignored or if I cancelled any appointment, that's it.
He also mentioned that Porter's Avenue are phoning me up
regarding his appointments. While he expressed appreciation for the GPs' support, there was no specific mention of plans for improvement related to accessibility for visually impaired individuals or general capacity beyond his personal positive experience.
Further details on the Health & Wellbeing Board and ICB Sub-Committee can be found in the Public reports pack and the Agenda frontsheet.
