Pathways Project Continues to Make Progress

The Physical Activity for Health Pathways project is reaching a major milestone this week.

The 39 members of the Communities of Practice for this project, drawn from across England and from the health and physical activity sectors, will this week start the important work of co-developing solutions through engaging with their local system partners to explore what is needed to create fit for purpose pathways.

The aim of the Physical Activity for Health Pathways project is to develop a framework and toolkit that will support the health sector, engaging with physical activity providers, to make it easier for those living with or at risk of long-term health conditions to access the support they need to move more often. The Active Partnerships National Organisation (APNO) selected Move Consulting to collaborate on this Sport England-funded project.

Annie Holden, Strategic Lead for Health for the Active Partnerships National Organisation, said: “The Physical Activity for Health Pathways project is vitally important. One in four of us is living with multiple long-term health conditions, and that’s set to increase to two thirds of people aged over 65 by 2035. Physical activity is such an important part of preventative medicine and it’s crucial that we can support the health sector with a pathway framework so that it, in turn, can better support patients.”

Move Consulting’s Craig Blain added:  “We’re now at a really exciting part of the project. The Communities of Practice members are beginning to engage with their local networks to generate insights to help shape potential solutions. Importantly, we’re not reinventing wheels here, but seeking to understand if potential opportunities could be shaped and scaled, or what else is needed to unlock the potential we see for the sector.

“Working with our research partners at Coventry University, we are looking forward to continuing to explore the evidence base, practical approaches and required support for the system that’s comes from this phase, which is critical for creating the change we need to realise Physical Activity for Health Pathways in the future.”

The project team at Move Consulting also continues to work closely with APNO and key national stakeholders such as Sport England, NHS Horizons, CIMSPA, and ukactive, to develop a fit for purpose outcome, with plans to invite responses to a survey from those people working in the health and physical activity sectors.

The full list of the organisations involved in the Communities of Practice is as follows:

• Active Derbyshire
• Active Dorset
• Active Gloucestershire
• Active Hastings
• Active Kent and Medway
• Active Lancashire
• Active Oxfordshire
• Active Suffolk
• Active Surrey
• Active Together
• Amber Valley Borough Council
• Be Active
• Buckinghamshire Council
• Dorset Council
• Ealing Council
• EnergiseMe
• Energize S-T-W
• Get Berkshire Active
• GLL (Cumbria)
• GLL (South East London)
• Greater Manchester Moving
• Herts Sport and PA Partnership
• Horizon Rehabilitation
• Improving Lives Plymouth
• Ipswich Borough Council
• Leamington Spa Primary Care Trust
• London Borough Waltham Forest Council
• Medway Council
• Move It or Lose It Ltd
• MSP
• Mytime Active
• North Lincolnshire Council
• Northamptonshire Sport
• Rise
• Rotherham United Community Trust
• Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Sport Birmingham
• Wesport
• Yorkshire Sport Foundation

Want to stay informed?

To find out more about the collaboration between Move Consulting and the Active Partnerships National Organisation click here.

For more details on the Physical Activity for Health Pathways project please visit www.moveconsulting.co.uk/pathways-project

For regular updates about this project and other news from Move Consulting, please subscribe to our mailing list via www.moveconsulting.co.uk/subscribe