A local NHS Trust is a national pilot site in the ‘getting active’ patient project.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust have been selected as an ‘Active Hospital’ by Public Health England, Sport England, the National Lottery and project leader NHS Transformation Unit.
It is well known that being more active when recovering from illness or an operation has many benefits. Whilst inactivity is detrimental to both physical and mental health.
We are delighted that Public Health England, Sport England, the National Lottery and the NHS Transformation unit backed our bid and understood how passionate we are to help improve the levels of physical activity of the population we serve.
Outpatients manager, Michael Butler
Patient offer
- Working with patients to ask questions, understanding what matters most to them and putting them in control
- Helping patients to understand the benefits of physical activity in more detail. For example, an inpatient avoiding ‘deconditioning’ when recovering, or as an outpatient in relation to longer term health benefits.
- Offering physical activity empowerment groups (either online or group-based) to provide information and peer support
- Collaboration with Hartlepool Borough Council and Stockton Borough Council to offer patients options of physical activity groups
- Introduction of ‘I can’ boards above patient beds, providing a list of actionable goals the patient has agreed to
The Trust will be taking a three step approach to help improve the levels of activity of its patients.
Learnings from our Trust’s Active Hospital project will be shared among other Trusts around the country.
Recent events have placed an even greater importance on physical activity and the benefits it provides to the health and wellbeing of the population.
We are delighted to be working alongside the Active Hospital sites to create sustainable and seismic change across clinical care pathways, embedding innovations and the Active Hospitals approach.
Alex Heritage, Chief Executive for NHS Transformation Unit
The Trust was part of a nationwide pitch to be awarded Active Hospital Status.
Due to our mentoring and commitment partnerships, the Trust was selected to join Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust and Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in this pilot scheme.
We are delighted to be working with the three NHS Trusts and the NHS TU to gain valuable insight into how healthcare professionals can best support outpatients and inpatients to get active.
This is so important, as it can improve outcomes for patients, helping to manage health conditions and improve wellbeing. There is also evidence it can help reduce their length of stay, which is good for both the patient and the hospital.
We look forward to working with the hospitals and the wider community of practice to support NHS Trusts to develop a culture of physical activity across a range of services and care pathways
Sarah Ruane, Strategic Lead for Health at Sport England