Innovative schemes developed to safeguard the health and well-being of families in Great Yarmouth and Waveney are to be showcased this week when one of Northern Ireland's highest-ranking nurses visits the area.

Innovative schemes developed to safeguard the health and well-being of families in Great Yarmouth and Waveney are to be showcased this week when one of Northern Ireland's highest-ranking nurses visits the area.

Chief Nursing Officer Angela McLernon, alongside senior colleagues Joanne McLaughlin and Bernie Hartley, will meet officials from NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney on Thursday. During the visit, the nurses will be shown some of the innovative new schemes developed by the PCT to promote healthy lifestyles in people of all ages with a view to introducing similar initiatives on their return home.

Projects which will come under the spotlight include the MEND scheme, which encourages children and their families to make healthy food choices and take more exercise, and HENRY, which has been especially developed to give younger children a good start in life.

The work of the Community Nutrition Team, who promote a healthy diet and lifestyle by giving tailored talks to community groups, offering cooking tips and running weight management programmes, will also be featured. In addition, the nurses will gain an insight into the work of the breastfeeding team, who offer help and encouragement to both pregnant women and mums-to-be, and the PCT's work on delivering the HPV vaccine to schoolgirls.

“We are delighted to be able to welcome these important visitors to Great Yarmouth and Waveney to share some of the good practices we have developed,” said Pamela Agapiou, Professional Head of Nursing (Children and Family Services) with NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney.

“We hope that some of the innovative schemes we have introduced will provide them with inspiration. They'll be looking in particular at our work around promoting healthy lifestyles in people of all ages, while we'll also use the opportunity to talk about our work on sexual health, which we have taken into schools while delivering the HPV vaccine.

“As well as showcasing these initiatives, we'll also be explaining to the team how we have developed our services to specifically meet the diverse needs of the community we serve. We're really looking forward to the opportunity to share our best practice while also learning more about initiatives taking place in Ireland.”