Leisure Services, Charities, NHS therapy teams, and Social Care providers across Lancashire and South Cumbria have collaborated to launch the Active Wellbeing Group, aiming to support the NHS Ten-Year-Strategy.
The Group was created in response to increasing pressures on the healthcare system, including rising NHS waiting times and financial constraints, with the objective of integrating leisure and health services. Through this integration, the Active Wellbeing Group seeks to develop preventative and rehabilitative patient pathways that reduce NHS costs, improve patient outcomes, and support the objectives of the NHS 10-Year Plan.
Since its formation earlier this year, the Group has already initiated several successful pilot projects. Notably, a falls prevention programme led by Otago Burnley and Morecambe Health Trust demonstrates how leisure centres can contribute to both preventative care and step-down rehabilitation for individuals at risk of falls, through targeted strength and balance training. The pilot is being monitored and will potentially expand across the county if successful.
Tom Burton, Strategic Lead for Health and Wellbeing at Sport England, recently attended an Active Wellbeing meeting and was impressed with the actions being taken by the group: “We know people’s health is shaped by the places and communities they live in, so what’s really important to Sport England is that the changes we advocate for across the system are informed by local realities. This means understanding what is working, and what challenges local areas are facing.
“It’s clear that the Active Wellbeing group has a real energy and shared purpose about supporting people and communities. There’s definitely a role that Sport England can play nationally in supporting more groups like this, and it’s great to see this at a local level.”
Adrian Leather, CEO of Active Lancashire, and Stephen Sandford, Chief Allied Health Professions Officer at NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, reflected on the decision to form the group, as well as its success so far and plans for the future, “The Active Wellbeing group was formed as a response to some of the challenges we’ve seen the NHS, healthcare providers and leisure services face in the past few years. The group is really a forum for these individuals to come together and share their experiences, and meet people across organisations who they can begin to work with to tackle these challenges together.
“We’re hoping that the Active Wellbeing group can support the NHS’ 10 year plan of moving from a sickness model of health, to a health model of health by ensuring everybody, across local systems, is aware of what provision and support is available to encourage more collaborative projects such as the Falls Prevention group which is being successfully piloted in Burnley.”
Simon Gwynne, CEO of Pendle Leisure Trust, added, “it is clear that those involved in the group have a shared ambition and excitement for the work we are all doing. There’s fantastic opportunities for us to collaborate with one another, that will ultimately enable us to expand the support that is offered to our communities both now and in the future.”
The Active Wellbeing Group continues to work on expanding the role of leisure centres in supporting healthcare delivery, including advocating for their inclusion in hospital estates strategies, promoting co-location, and fostering joint investment opportunities. These efforts aim to further embed preventative and rehabilitative services into local practice and inform broader policy development.
For more information or to attend the next Active Wellbeing meeting, please visit www.activelancashire.org.uk or email news@activelancashire.org.uk
