AN EAST Lancashire health worker has visited Oman to exchange ideas with community workers.

Shakil Salam, who works for NHS East Lancashire in Nelson, stayed in the city of Muscat and spent time telling locals about the work of the NHS and the Save a Million Years of Life campaign (SMYL).

The trip was funded by Community Xchange, which runs the scheme, with a different area of the country benefiting each year.

Mr Salam, a BME (black and minority ethnic) health worker, said: “I learned a lot during my stay.

“In Muscat, there is a strong sense of community and faith leaders play a key role in encouraging healthy living.

“I have followed this example by working with the British Heart Foundation to set up the first ever CPR training programme for mosque leaders.

“This is a great new initiative which can save lives, so being involved in the Community Xchange scheme was well worth it.”

During his stay Mr Salam became the subject of media interest from the local press and appeared on TV.

“Oman is a small country, where there is virtually no crime,” he said.

“The local news stations only tend to report on good news, so our visit attracted a lot of news reporters, and we appeared on news stations in Oman.

“This gave me a chance to promote the work of NHS East Lancashire and the SMYL campaign to an overseas audience.

“East Lancashire has been firmly placed on the global map.”

SMYL aims to reduce health inequalities in East Lancashire by focusing on six priority areas – alcohol abuse, chronic heart disease, smoking, infant deaths, drugs misuse and geographical inequalities.

Mr Salam’s role falls under ‘geographical inequalities’, where he aims to improve the wellbeing of East Lancashire’s BME community.