An Post – Male Minder!
8 June 2009
The 32 page booklet, with a foreword from international cycling champion, Sean Kelly, gives sound advice in simple language on lifestyle issues affecting men’s health as well as raising awareness of illnesses such as back pain, testicular cancer, erectile dysfunction and prostate problems. Male Minder is published by An Post in conjunction with the European Men’s Health Forum (EMHF) and the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI).
Dr Frank O’Reilly, Chief Medical Officer, An Post, explained that the Company is not being sexist by focussing on men’s health. “It’s a simple fact that we men are just not as good as women about looking after our health and that’s borne out by research – men do not live as long as women and are less likely to attend their GP.
“Be it through fear, ignorance or laziness, men often disregard the warning signs of illness, sometimes with drastic consequences. European Men’s Health Week gives us an opportunity to reach out to all our staff and explain, in simple terms, how they and the ‘significant’ males in their lives, can better look after themselves,” he said.
Pat Knight, Human Resources Director, An Post said that Male Minder is a collaborative effort between the Company and its Unions. “We want all our staff to enjoy good health through their working lives and long into retirement, so I hope
that the expert advice is taken on board,” he added.
Steve Fitzpatrick, General Secretary of the Communications Workers’ Union on behalf of the An Post Group of Unions welcomed the issue of the Male Minder booklet.
“This is a very positive initiative which I hope will prompt An Post staff to take better care of their health. Heeding the warning on the cover that reading it “may seriously improve your health”, would benefit us all!” said Steve.
An Post is one of the country’s largest companies, employing over 9,500 staff in the provision of mails, retail and financial services to Irish businesses and communities. The Company provides a fully resourced, national Occupational Health and Support (OHS) service to all staff on both personal and workplace health issues.
