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The aim of the HOM Team is to contribute to the health improvement of men and boys(aged over 10). The Team carry out direct work (eg health advice and services with clients) and indirect work (eg training and support with a range of professional staff) around the following areas with an emphasis on an holistic approach:-

  • Health Checks & MOTs -
  • Obesity - Exercise - Smoking Cessation
  • Alcohol and Drug Use - Sexual Health
  • Mental health & emotional wellbeing

The Team consists of health professionals (qualified nurses and health promotion specialists) who provide a district-wide men's health service. The Team delivers health services within environments which are outside of traditional health settings and therefore less threatening and more comfortable to men and boys. These include schools, colleges, workplaces, pubs, barbershops, retail outlets, betting shops, sporting clubs and a range of other male oriented venues.

The following are brief descriptions of the project's key workers. Clicking on the highlighted names to the right will take you to biographies of members of the team.  

DEREK SIMMONDS

Based at Listerhills, BD7

Derek is the current manager of HOM. Derek came to Bradford University in 1976 to study a degree in Social Sciences and became heavily involved in social and political issues related to Bradford, remaining in the district ever since.

He has had occupations in Adult Literacy and Numeracy, Community Development, Training and Development, Counselling, and Health Promotion. He has worked for a range of agencies including sections of the Local Authority, Bradford and Shipley Colleges, Leeds Prison and Adult Education Services, Bradford District’s Voluntary and Community Sector, and the local NHS. These experiences, he believes, equip him with a broad understanding of the social and health needs of the many diverse communities in the district. They also support his belief that a health service should be much more than the treatment of ill health but about addressing a range of social factors that are determinants of people’s health status.

CHRIS ANDREW, BA (Hons)

Based at Listerhills, BD7

Chris is currently the part-time administrator for HOM. He has held this position since 2004 and gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Health/Health Promotion. As part of his duties he edits www.healthofmen.com and has helped to create a range of HOM leaflets. Previous to HOM he has worked for a printers, bookmakers and steel stock-holders, among other positions. In his spare time Chris tries to emulate the free spirit of Newcastle United in his Creative Writing and volunteers for Bradford Court Chaplaincy Service.

Pete Westwood RN, BA (Hons)

Based at Steeton, BD20 6RB

Pete is currently a Men's Health clinical lead, but has also worked in hospitals, as a District Nurse, within school nursing and as a smoking cessation specialist. He also had a stint as a nursing advisor on ITV's ‘Where The Heart Is'. He is currently studying at Leeds Metropolitan University for an MSc in Men's Health. Pete's work focuses on sexual health, smoking cessation and anger management/emotional health.

In his spare time, Pete is a family man who tries to practice what he preaches regarding his health – to the point of completing a Triathlon in to raise funds for a mental health charity. He also hopes to develop a little-known genre of music, known as “death jazz”.

Andrew Harrison RN, BA, BSc (Hons)

Based at Eccleshill, BD 10

Andrew embarked on a nursing career in Manchester and has worked in Accident and Emergency, Orthopaedics, Intensive Care and as a District Nurse/Team Leader. He is currently employed as a Men's Health Clinical Lead with Bradford and Airedale teaching PCT.

Areas of interest include health MOT delivery and obesity. He developed a roving service known as ‘nomadic nurses' and regularly works with men in job centres, cafes and workplaces.   In 2005 Andrew was awarded The Queens Nursing Institute Innovation and Creative Practice Award for his work with men and weight management.

He has written for both professional and academic journals and was one of the major contributors to the book ‘Men's Health – How To Do It', edited by David Conrad and Professor Alan White. He is about to complete an MSc (in Men's Health) and in September 2009 is due to start the Advanced Practice course at Leeds Metropolitan University, where he is also a guest lecturer.

Nick Davy RN


Based in Central Bradford, BD7

Nick qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1987 and has since worked in general medicine, oncology and terminal care both in England and abroad. He moved to Yorkshire in 1997 and worked in Genito-urinary medicine before starting to work in men's health in 2001.   He was a founding member of the BLAST project (Bradford Lads Against the Sex Trade), a group that has researched into and continues to support young men involved in and exploited through prostitution and has a strong interest in sexual health.

In his spare time Nick hopes one day to have climbed all the Munros (mountains over 3000 feet) in Scotland.

Dennis Jones BA (Hons), PGCE


Based at Listerhills, BD7

Dennis currently works part-time for the Health of Men project, concentrating on school work and men and mental well-being. He is based within Bradford and Airedale Community Health Services. He delivers HOM services to meet demands in a wide range of locations and actively works with Council and NHS staff on District wide initiatives. A major component of his work is in staff training and development. 2008 saw on-going training provided to residential social workers and foster carers including running a Speakeasy course – sex and relationships education for parents to talk to their children – for male foster carers.

Dennis tries to follow in the spirit of the late great Charlie Parker by improvising alto saxophone in a Huddersfield karaoke band.

Chris Bradley RN, BSc

Based at Millennium Park , BD 20

Chris is a men's health clinical lead. As well as working on a range of projects with the HOM team, he established and currently delivers erectile dysfunction clinics throughout the district. His work is focussed on a wide range of non-health settings, and he is always looking for new ways to reach men and boys on their own turf. He has involvement with school based work and youth work including a teenage advice centre (Tic-Tac) based at a secondary school in Keighley and a young person's drop in clinic in Windhill. He sees children's sex and relationships education as a joint responsibility between parents, schools and health providers, and is active in providing courses for parents that aims to help them demystify their role and strengthen their knowledge.

He is an active member of the European Men's Health Forum and a guest lecturer on prescribing for men at Leeds Metropolitan University . Future plans include work with the local traveller and gypsy communities who he says are low service users with distinct needs that are often overlooked.

Read Chris' Interview

MERVILLE JUSTIN PEMBERTON

Based at Millenium Park, BD 20

Merv's 32-year NHS career began in 1977 where he began working as an auxiliary nurse with the elderly at Thornton View Hospital in Bradford. When this closed in 1979, he continued this role in the City's St Luke's Hospital. Joining Keighley District Nursing Team in 1997, he made home-visits to varied age groups.

Aside from a year spent with the Community Development Team, Merv has worked with Health of Men since 1999. His wide range of men's health work has included the co-ordination and delivery of anti-bullying work in schools for the PCT between 1999 and 2007 and also leading on the PCT's Prostate Awareness Campaign work, in partnership with the Prostate Cancer Charity. Focusing on the local Afro-Caribbean community in Bradford & Airedale, his contribution as technical and cultural advisor for the Prostate awareness play 'De Botty Business' written by Benjamin Zephaniah, assisted productions in London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Leeds.

At the moment Merv is focusing on providing Men's Health clinics in surgeries across the district, carrying out health MOT's in the workplace and 'Nomadic Nursing' in Keighley and Bradford. In his spare time Merv enjoys scuba diving, supporting M.U.F.C. (in their quest for world football domination) and spending time with his family.

 

Luthfur Rahman


Eccleshill Clinic, BD10

Luthfur came originally from the Sylhet District of Bangladesh to Britain in 1973 and moved to Bradford in 1986. He started working for the NHS in 1993 with the Heartsmart Project promoting heart health among the Bangladeshi men living in Bradford District. In 1998 was transferred to Bradford and Airedale Public Health and a new role was as a Community Health Development Worker.

In July 2009 he joined the Health of Men team as a Men's Community Health Improvement Practitioner, working district wide focusing mainly on the Bangladeshi community. Past and current work has included; organising and jointly delivering smoking cessation programmes, Healthwise, Walking for Health, MOT sessions, Weight Management, Healthy Eating and various other Health and Wellbeing programmes.

His previous working roles have been as a waiter, taxi driver, Indian Music teacher and restaurant owner. Has loved Indian music since childhood and has tried to learn the bamboo flute since age of 8! Since 2001 writing and directing films has increasingly become his leading passion.

 

HOM Network

Bradford Council


(Stephen Newbold)

Bradford Metropolitan District Council (BMDC) is a key Network member of H.O.M - many of our experimental projects in men’s health, especially for older men and manual workers have been undertaken in programmes planned with BMDC managers.

LEEDS METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

(Prof. Alan White)

Professor Alan White is Director of the Centre for Men's Health, Leeds Metropolitan University and Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Men's Health Forum ( England ). His research includes the “Scoping Study on Men's Health” for the DH; the “Report on the State of Men's Health across 17 European Countries”; and the recent report in conjunction with the NCIN and CRUK on the ”Excess Burden of Cancer in Men in the UK”.   His research also includes work on men's experiences of illness including coronary heart disease, diabetes and prostate cancer;   the evaluation of the national pilots for Self Care as part of the NHS WiPP and a study on the Bradford Health of Men initiative, the latter being the subject of a book by Conrad & White (2007): ‘Men's Health - how to do it'.   He is also an Editor of the text ‘Hazardous Waist: tackling male weight problems' and the medical text ‘Men's Health', a text on ‘Promoting Men's Mental Health' is to be published shortly.   Recently Alan has been work ing with Headingley stadium in Leeds to establish health checks for the supporters of the Leeds Rhino's, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire Cricket and is undertaking an evaluation study with the football Premier League in England on men's health.



Pete Westwood

Andrew Harrison

Nick Davy

Dennis Jones

Chris Bradley

Merv Pemberton

Luthfur Rahman

LEEDS METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
(Prof. Alan White)

BRADFORD COUNCIL
(Steven Newbold)

Disclaimer This site contains everyday language dealing with male sexual, physical and mental health which responsible parents should view before deciding if it is suitable for their supervised offspring to see.