Purple was most definitely the colour to be seen in on Friday in a number of offices across Gwynedd as over 250 staff at housing association Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd (CCG’s) wore purple to support Stroke Awareness month.
Staff at their offices in Bangor, Caernarfon, Dolgellau and Pwllheli wore lilac, lavender, mauve, indigo, violet and every other shade of purple to show their support and to raise awareness of the Stroke Associations, Stroke month.
Repairs staff working in tenants homes wore purple ribbons and cakes were also baked and sold at their offices to raise money for the charity.
The Stroke Association is CCG’s chosen charity for 2015. The Association held stroke awareness workshops for all the company’s staff in February to make them aware of the symptoms and how to respond. The charity was invited to carry out the workshops after one of CCG’s staff suffered a stroke while at work.
It was thanks to the quick response of two of his colleagues that the member of staff has now fully recovered. The event highlighted how important it is to recognize the symptoms of stroke as the treatment received within the first ‘golden hour’ is essential.
Einir Williams, a member of CCG’s Staff Forum, the forum responsible for organising the event said; “Someone in the UK suffers a stroke every three and a half minute. That’s a staggering 11,500 in Wales every year with a quarter being under 65 years old. After a member of staff suffered a stroke while at work it really bought the issue home to a lot of us. That’s why; following the Stroke Association’s awareness workshop we were really keen to support the charity. With May being Stroke Awareness month we decided to turn May 15 into a purple day to raise awareness of the condition and the good work the charity does!
“The response from staff has been brilliant and it’s great to see the offices full of every shade you can imagine of purple! We’ve managed to raise over £300 which is great. We have another number of other events organised throughout the year to support charity and to continue to raise awareness of the symptoms of stroke by using the FAST test.”
Linda Hughes from the Stroke Association said; “With approximately 152,000 strokes in the UK every year, which is one every three and a half minutes, we, or someone we know may be affected. It’s very important that people know what to look out for, that’s why we use the FAST test – Facial weakness, can the person smile? Has their mouth or eye drooped? Arm weakness, can the person raise both arms? Speech – can the person speak clearly and understand what you say? And if any of these symptoms appear, Time to call 999.”
CCG’s aim by the end of the year is to ensure all members of staff are aware of the symptoms of stroke and feel confident in their knowledge on how to respond. With a number of officers working out in the field, staff have also been given advice and guidance on how to reduce the risks of suffering a stroke which in the future may make all the difference to themselves and others.
