photo: GM Active
In Greater Manchester UK we have over 3,500 staff and around 100 facilities that activity body GM Active wants to position as being part of the ‘army’ at the disposal of the NHS and Public Health colleagues across local authorities.
We have a strong desire to be part of the solution and contribute to people living healthier, happier, longer live (www.hcmmag.com/P4C).
It frustrates me immensely when I read numerous articles about how the NHS does not have the people-power to carry out many tasks that would – relatively easily – fit so well with our vision.
Whether this is helping to administer the new weight loss drugs that are coming to market, or carrying out health checks, we’re overlooked time and time again, even after being heavily involved in the vaccination programme very recently.
We can also add value to many of the services GP surgeries and pharmacies are paid to deliver because we can wrap around packages that they simply can’t. Using this approach people wouldn’t just get an NHS health check and be sent on their way – our highly qualified staff could offer a motivational interview and give advice on how to get more physically active, for example.
So why are we so obviously disregarded by the government and NHS? For me it’s all about credibility. We’re not viewed as being part of the ‘health system’ despite our best efforts to date.
I’ve recently argued that we need to reposition our sector, rebrand it to ‘Active Wellness’ and see it being moved from the DCMS to the Department of Health and Social Care. Look at the priorities for the DCMS and also for the Office of Health, Inequalities and Disparities (a health department) and tell me where you think we should sit?
‘Leisure’ is synonymous with ‘pleasure’ and arguably evokes thoughts of pubs and bars – a pastime, not an essential element of people’s lives related to their health and quality of life.
As a result, that’s how we were treated during the lockdown stages of the pandemic.
As we only touch about 18 per cent of the population through our facilities then maybe that’s fair enough, and I find myself asking some hard questions: is our claim to currently being a big part of the population health agenda flawed? What is our combined vision and purpose going forward? Can we write a national Population Health Wellbeing Plan that speaks to the recent paper by Labour’s Kim Leadbetter A New Approach to Health and Wellbeing Policy (www.hcmmag.com/leadbetter) and be an integral part of the potential new Labour Government’s manifesto? Can we move away from being ‘facility-centric’ and agree that we need fewer but better facilities, combined with more outreach that will see us collaborating with the voluntary sector and health and social care teams, combining our efforts to be more relevant to communities?
We can add value to
many of the services
GPs and pharmacies
are paid to deliver,
because we can wrap
around packages of
physical activity
they simply can’t