Story and Images from Active Suffolk
Two years on since being one of the first in the county to be awarded the prestigious Sport England and Royal College of GPs Active Practice Charter, the team at Bildeston Health Centre have proudly maintained their Chartered status, where they are continuing to support the local community to be more active to improve health and wellbeing.
The Bildeston Health Centre based in the Babergh district of Suffolk and part of the South Rural Primary Care Network have supported over 100 local residents to access physical activity support in the local community thanks to the partnership with Active Suffolk. They have been recognised for their ongoing commitment to inspire and support local residents to be more active as a way of reducing long term health conditions and managing their physical and mental health.
Sport England teamed up with the Royal College of GPs to launch the Active Practice Charter in August 2019 through the support of National Lottery Funding. This launched after research revealed that one in four patients said they would be more active if it was recommended by a GP or nurse.
Active Suffolk have played a pivotal role in supporting the Bildeston Health Centre to achieve the accreditation after they were funded by the Babergh District Council to deliver their Active Wellbeing Service from the site. Through this collaboration the team at the Bildeston Health Centre were supported to access Physical Activity Champion Training, whilst also having a service in house which they could refer their patients into.
Louise Bissett Practice Manager at Bildeston Health Centre said:
“We regularly refer patients into physical activity through our partnerships with the local leisure providers offering exercise on referral. We also ensure that we display information regarding physical activity and the benefits it has to our health whilst also referring into the Active Wellbeing Service delivered by the Active Suffolk team on site.
We were really proud to have been awarded the Active Practice Charter, but this was just before the pandemic so It has been a challenging couple of years, however we are happy to have maintained this status and look forward to enhancing the support we offer to our patients and the local community going forward”
Research shows that doing regular physical activity can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke by as much as 35% and decrease the risk of early death by as much as 30%, which just emphasises the importance of movement particularly as we age. As well as the benefits to physical health, the latest results from the Active Wellbeing Service delivered by the team at Active Suffolk have shown that after just 3 months of increased movement and physical activity patients reported a 91% improvement in their mental health and 29% also said they felt they had better access to local opportunities, resulting in a decreased risk of social isolation and loneliness.
Chris Lawson, Project Officer from the Active Suffolk team said:
“Working with the team at Bildeston has been a pleasure and although we have supported them in maintaining their Active Practice status, it would not have been achieved without their commitment and passion for advocating physical activity.
The team have shown enthusiasm and have always been so accommodating of the Active Wellbeing Service being delivered on site. Since the start of this collaboration, we’ve seen over 100 patients who have benefitted from the service. The team have attended our Physical Activity Champion Training session and we have also worked in the wider community to deliver Functional Fitness Testing to older adults in Bildeston and delivered training for local volunteers which the Health Centre has supported.
Many of the staff have taken action themselves by committing to a more active lifestyle through the partnership we formed with the local leisure centres and instructors which helps them to act as trusted role models for their patients.”
Whilst many clinicians are aware of the benefits of physical activity, barriers to prescribing exercise or discussing physical activity can often be seen as a barrier.
Matt Brewer, Advanced Nurse Practitioner at Bildeston Health Centre proactively promotes physical activity and refers his patients into the local services, whilst also participating in regular physical activity himself. He said:
“Many of the staff here at Bildeston Health Centre are now more active since working in partnership with Active Suffolk and achieving the Active Practice Charter status, and I believe it helps us as clinicians when suggesting increased movement and activity to our patients.
Having my running numbers displayed in my clinic room often acts as a great conversation opener and being active myself means I am also very familiar with the benefits it has on my own health. When I am running it is sometimes the only time I get without any interruptions, it allows me to deal with stress, so sharing this with patients helps them to think about how it could help them too.”
After initial support from Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils, the Active Wellbeing Service is now funded by the South Rural Primary Care Network which enables Active Suffolk to continue working with inactive patients registered with the Bildeston Health Centre.
For more information about the Active Wellbeing Service delivered by the team at Active Suffolk, visit www.activesuffolk.org