The Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) in Weymouth and Portland have organised a cookery course for people who want to learn more about preparing healthy, cost-effective meals. The initiative follows the success of groups’ health talks for pre-diabetic and hypertensive patients, where people could ask health professionals questions to help them better understand and self-manage their condition.
Feedback from the health talks revealed that people were keen to learn more about managing their medical conditions, including making improvements to their diet, but many had lost the confidence to prepare meals from scratch.
Sue Brunt from Bridges PPG said ‘We were keen to build on the success of our health talks and a cookery course seemed the natural next step. The PCN, Friendly Food Club and Salvation Army were very supportive in developing the idea, helping us to apply for grant funding, secure a venue, create a menu and promote the initiative. We were really pleased to have an active group of volunteers who were keen to get involved and are looking forward to leading courses in the future.’
Two course participants said ‘Thank you for having me as part of your cookery class, I have learned a lot and have enjoyed being part of the group. I am taking the recipes with me to my sister’s house so we can cook them together’ and ‘The sessions have been fantastic, and I look forward to continuing with something similar in the future’.
Following the completion of the first six-week course, the PPG are planning new cooking classes in 2025, giving more people in Weymouth & Portland the confidence to cook healthier meals. For more information about the cooking courses or PPGs please contact: communication@nhsdorset.nhs.uk.
