Swasthya Chiya: From Chiya Conversations to Health Action

London- Swasthya Chiya is a community health movement founded by lead Greenwich GP Dr Numa Thebe, working alongside Greenwich GP Dr Priti Gurung and Greenwich Clinical Pharmacist Sobha Sharma Kandel. Through their work, they have seen first-hand the health inequalities faced by Nepali patients and are passionate about improving the health and wellbeing of the Nepali community in the UK.

Swasthya Chiya aims to create a culturally focused space where the community can learn about important health issues in their own language through informal conversations over chiya. The movement focuses on raising awareness, empowering people to take control of their health, building confidence in seeking help, breaking stigma, and encouraging prevention, screening, and overall wellbeing.

Its mission is to build trust with the community by sharing simple, practical health knowledge, improving health literacy, and making healthcare information more accessible. Ultimately, Swasthya Chiya hopes to bridge the gap in health inequalities and empower the community to make positive changes for better health.

Swasthya Chiya is grateful to be partnering with SELCA — South East London Cancer Alliance — to promote the uptake of cancer screening among the Nepali community in Greenwich. South Asian and other ethnic minority groups in Greenwich have lower uptake of cancer screening, and Swasthya Chiya hopes to expand its health promotion events to other areas of need in the future.

On 25 April, a bowel cancer screening awareness event was held at St Nicholas Church, Plumstead, with a turnout of around 100 people, reaching the hall’s full capacity. Dr Caroline Hollington, Lead GP for SELCA and Palliative Care, attended as a special guest.

Dr Numa Thebe opened the session with an interactive presentation on bowel cancer awareness, explaining what cancer is and why early detection through bowel cancer screening is so important. Dr Priti Gurung spoke about bowel cancer symptoms and ways to reduce the risk. Special guest paramedic Mrs Sophia Rai demonstrated how to complete the stool FIT test, the screening test for bowel cancer, and also spoke about GP practice home visit criteria and knowing your rights.

There was also a blood pressure checkpoint provided by Live Well. A dedicated group of nine volunteers, including community leader Mr Gyan Tamang, a local GP trainee, scientists, and students, helped make the event a success. The team was especially touched by one young volunteer who travelled all the way from West London to give back to the community. All volunteers were presented with certificates of appreciation for their hard work.

The event was very well received, with many community members saying they had learned a great deal about bowel cancer and would now feel more confident taking part in screening.

This was the second event organised by Swasthya Chiya, following their first event on cervical cancer. Their next event will focus on lung cancer and is planned for July.