A free health and wellbeing event at the Pavilion, Bramall Lane was opened to the public for the first time on Wednesday, offering healthcare advice and support to people across Sheffield.
The event, which ran from 10 am to 3 pm on Wednesday, brought together healthcare organisations, mental health charities and fitness groups to provide guidance on issues ranging from smoking cessation to mental health.
Mohammed Ikram Ali, 39, who helped organise the event, said the aim was to improve access to healthcare support within the wider community.
He said: “It’s open to anyone to come along, ask for advice.
“We provide this resource to people; it’s especially helpful to those who can’t make it to GPs as easily, such as the elderly.”
Mr Ali said the event could help people who struggle to secure GP appointments or need quicker access to healthcare guidance.
“Sometimes it does take a while for appointments to be made to GP practices, it’s not always ideal for someone to make an appointment, whereas we are here all day, so people can come in their own time,” he said.
The event had previously been held internally for Sheffield United staff, but this year organisers worked with the club to make it accessible to the public for the first time.
Mr Ali said, “We held a similar event last year, but it was mainly for staff members,
“We were contacted by Sheffield United asking if we were open to doing another event, but this time for the public.”
Among the organisations attending were the NHS smoking cessation team, pharmacy staff, Samaritans, Sheffield Mind, Everlast Gym and Tom Talks.
“We look at BMIs, blood pressure, obesity, general ailments, just anything people need advice about,” Mr Ali said.
The event was organised in partnership with NHS pharmacies and took around a year to coordinate. Throughout the day, organisers made multiple referrals to GPs and pharmacies, alongside providing healthcare advice and smoking cessation referrals.
Organisers are now hoping to work with universities and run similar public wellbeing events later this year, potentially returning around September or October.