‘You can tell it is a Community Explorers meeting by the noise’. Lots of conversations and networking is the one of the main reasons people attend these community health and care meetings. On Tuesday 19 September, there were 18 participants including Jobcentre Plus, Manchester Carers Forum and the North Manchester Black Health Forum. 
Community Explorers meetings are an important way of linking up with others and discussing any local health issues and their impact on people’s lives. There were talks by the Parkinson’s UK nurse in North Manchester about their specialist advice and how they could work with other organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureau.
Tara, an expert patient, talked about how her experience of a long term condition led to her volunteering and now a paid position delivering training. She spoke about how managing after her head injury gave her a new perspective on life and an ability to relate to others trying to look after their health.
Macmillan also gave information about how they support people living with cancer. They work in a non-clinical setting with anyone in Manchester going through cancer or their families to discuss any work issues, access to benefits or just to have an honest talk.
The chatting, networking, and the sharing of leaflets and material leads people to say that one of the best things about Community Explorers is the end of the meeting!