Overwhelming Success: PSA Testing in Woodingdean Community Centre
The recent PSA testing in Woodingdean's Community centre was an overwhelming success.
Over the course of the day 150 men from the area were given a free PSA test. The Community Centre was busy all day.
The feedback from the men attending was positive and the sheer numbers on the day proves that this was a valuable and very worthwhile event. the PCaSO volunteers, Roger, Barry, Lauren, John, Andy, to name but a few and the 6 nurses involved all said that this was the most successful and most well organised event of this nature they had ever been involved in.
It was a long day and very tiring for everyone working the event but well worth all the effort.
Roger, the PCaSO chair, explained that allowing for the £10 per test slide (provided free), the travelling costs of the nurses, the venue hire, and the hospitality costs etc, the event had probably cost over £2000. However this is put into perspective when he went on to explain that of the 150 tests given about 5 of these will have received a high or raised result that will probably indicate or result in a cancer diagnosis. When broken down that means that the cost to save one life was £400!! A small price to pay to save a life, and well worth every penny.
"As you will be aware the PPG were awarded £500 in September 2013 to provide the venue and hospitality for this event by Sussex Community Foundation. The PPG members at the time submitted the funding application and all agreed that this was a worthwhile cause and agreed we should support it. I have therefore decided, supported by Ruth and Mary to make a donation of £300 from the SCF award to PCaSO to go some way to covering the cost of the hospitality and venue hire from todays event. This way I can submit the Evaluation and Monitoring forms back to the Foundation, and sleep well at night, safe in the knowledge that the money has been spent on what it was intended for. Any balance left can be used for future PPG activities. This will also relieve the pressure I have put myself under just recently, trying to organise a separate 'mens health' event at either the Woodingdean May Fair or later at the June Carnival. The emphasis, at both these future events can now be the new Medical Centre and the new services it can provide etc, as I'm sure that is what most patients will be interested to find out about once the new centre is open."
