Designing Physical Activity into Health and Care

At the end of September, along with Sport England and NHS Horizons, we hosted the ‘Designing Physical Activity into Health and Care’ event and our Strategic Lead for Health, Annie Holden, has been reflecting on its success and the learnings from the day.

Working closely with Sport England and NHS Horizons, in Manchester, at the end of September, we hosted the latest in a number of events focused on the vital work being done to consider exactly what we mean by integrating physical activity into health and care. The aim of the event was to continue moving this work forward and maintaining momentum on the great progress that has been made in recent months.

One way that I believe we certainly achieved that aim, and the reason why for me this event felt like a crucial breakthrough, is that we had a wonderful mix of representatives from different sectors attending this event. I was so pleased to see so many people from the health and care sector in the room, coming together with those from the physical activity sector to share their ideas and work together on what is a complex challenge but one where collaboration is crucial.

The energy in the room was fantastic. You know you are bringing together the right people when the discussion is flowing so freely and you can hear ideas being shared at every single table in the room.

And much of that great conversation was initiated by our excellent speakers whose contributions were thought provoking and sparked a willingness for the delegates to share their experiences, challenges and explore potential solutions.

We heard from Sarah Price from NHS England about work being done within the organisation. It was great to hear Sarah speak about the enthusiasm and commitment within the NHS to embed physical activity into health and care. Sarah also talked about the support being provided by NHS Horizons to look at how the NHS can come together to have a positive, single narrative about physical activity, so that there is a clear and consistent reference tool.

It was also good to hear Sarah highlight what we’d recently been hearing from the new Government around their missions, especially those relating to health and growth, and how physical activity has a really important role to play in delivering on these missions, as we know the extensive benefits of moving more for those living with long-term conditions and chronic disease. It was incredibly motivational to hear Sarah very clearly endorse the power of physical activity from a primary and secondary prevention perspective – it can help prevent disease as well as help treat and manage diseases.

Speakers from Sport England, including Lisa Dodd-Mayne and Tom Burton highlighted the importance of this work in relation to the Uniting The Movement strategy and shared that health is a top priority in the places where Sport England is currently investing. Lisa also reinforced to delegates that Sport England and its partners are ‘unashamedly focusing’ on the places that need the most support.

The insights shared at the event showed the real depth and breadth of the work being undertaken now to integrate physical activity into health and care, and I sensed a strong appetite amongst all who attended to grasp this moment to make transformational change.

So what happens next? Well, we are currently analysing the information, ideas, and rich insight that was shared at and after the event, and we’re considering how to harness the current enthusiasm for this work. We want to continue moving in the right direction together as we know there is so much strength in our collaboration.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped to organise and facilitate the event, spoke on the day or contributed their thoughts and ideas – and importantly attended the event. We look forward to seeing delegates at the next event as we continue to accelerate this work.