Flexercise: Promoting mental health and wellbeing through regular chair-based activity
The more opportunities we can offer people in a community setting,
the more we can contribute to decreasing the level of chronic diseases, as well as helping individuals maintain a healthy body and mind
POSITIVE PARTNERSHIPS T
he Active Lifestyles post at Tone Leisure was created in 2006, in partnership with Somerset Primary Care Trust (PCT), to
develop and promote active and healthy living for all residents across Taunton Deane and offer opportunities for them to become more physically active. To ensure communities and individuals have access to local, community-based activities, a joint work plan was put in place in April 2010. “Partnership working plays a huge part
in our ability to offer the many initiatives that we do,” says Joel Chapman, commercial director for Tone Leisure.
“We’ve built strong partnerships with local groups and hubs to ensure we engage with as many people as possible in those communities. The partnerships enable us to carry out needs analyses and consultations, ensuring initiatives are what the residents want and need.” Tone Leisure’s physical activity
strategy encompasses a variety of approaches to ensure it’s benefi cial to both individuals and community groups. Its volunteer programme for example, which launched in April 2012, has 95 volunteers working in seven diverse
May 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
ORGANISATION Tone Leisure
PROJECT Active Lifestyles Programme
roles with one common objective: creating physical activity opportunities for residents of Somerset. Roles include customer-facing and delivery roles – such as Health Walk leaders, leisure assistants and promotional assistants – as well as behind-the-scenes administration jobs. NHS Health Checks is another
programme benefi ting individuals in a non-medical, community setting. The preventative programme is intended to help people stay healthy for longer, and provides an assessment of cardiovascular risk to all 40- to 74-year-olds who do not have existing diagnosed vascular disease, including chronic kidney disease, diabetes, renal disease or hypertension. The programme, initiated and run by
NHS Somerset, is delivered by Tone Leisure in a community setting to ensure
targeted groups of people can access the free service at a convenient location. To date, more than 280 residents have received a check, which can lead to referral to their GP or advice on lifestyle interventions. Flexercise is another initiative that
runs across Somerset to promote mental health and wellbeing through regular chair-based activity. Originally designed to benefi t older people in nursing and residential homes or sheltered housing, as well as older people attending day care centres, the 15- to 45-minute sessions also help people with physical disabilities, learning diffi culties and rehabilitation after a stroke. The programme – which involves equipment, songs and games – can also benefi t people at risk of social isolation or exclusion and people with, or at risk of, mental health problems. Chapman continues: “Tone Leisure
believes that, the more opportunities it can offer people in a community setting, the more it can contribute to decreasing the level of chronic diseases, as well as helping individuals maintain a healthy weight, body and mind, for health and social benefi ts.”
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