This scheme of the Findhorn Bay Holistic Health Centre (FHBBC) was designed to promote health in the community, whereby people would be encouraged to take responsibility for their well being and would subscribe to the scheme.

It was also an experiment in finding a ‘solidarity scheme’ for health care in the Community as subscriptions created cash flow to cover expenses such as staff costs, printing newsletters, laundry, maintenance of Meridian, etc.

The hope was that it might be possible to scale up the scheme to a level that additional service provisions could be made to be sustainable.

Health Scheme flyer 1

Health Scheme flyer 2

There were four aspects

  • Annual Health Check (we called it Health Overhaul) with Cornelia Featherstone (medical doctor)
  • Monthly massage or similar bodywork session for only £2-£3 to cover the laundry costs. The free massage or similar bodywork sessions were offered gratis by generous therapists who wanted to support health in general and the FBHHC in particular
  • £20 voucher for a Holistic Health Education workshop per year, organised by FBHHC.. Examples included introductory / taster sessions (1 -2 days) in Polarity Therapy, Cranio-sacral therapy, Shiatsu, Belly Dancing, Fasting & Juicing, Art therapy, Voicework, Herbalism, Applied Homeopathy and more.
  • 50% off consultations with Cornelia

Take up for the People Care Scheme was good for a couple of years.

It was an excellent opportunity for therapists who were newly qualified or recently arrived in the community. Clients were very appreciative of the monthly massage and it was very beneficial for many people.

For two months in 1996 we were joined by David Ponka, a medical student from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He undertook a survey of Attitudes towards Health and the Community Health Scheme. It gave us invaluable feedback to assess the impact of the scheme and its potential evolution.

However, by 1997 the scheme started to weaken as there was so much on offer in the community. It was discontinued as the FBHHC closed in 1998.

Katie Lloyd-Nunn March 2024