Families, Fun and a Healthier Hatfield

On Friday 10th April, Hatfield Leisure Centre was buzzing as families poured in for Hatfield PCN’s Family Health Day; a vibrant celebration of movement, wellbeing and community, delivered in partnership with Hatfield Leisure Centre and Beezee Families. 

With no booking required, families enjoyed a full day (11am-3pm) of fun-packed activities designed to get people moving, talking and thinking differently about their health. 

From inflatables, tennis, badminton, dance fitness and table tennis to karate showcases and fitness challenges, the energy on the floor was contagious. Children dipped in and out of activity taster sessions, proving that small moments of movement can make a big difference. 

Alongside the fun, the event delivered real, accessible health support. Families visited a marketplace offering healthy eating advice from Beezee, mental wellbeing support, adult learning opportunities and living well lifestyle guidance. The Better Health Bus provided NHS Health Checks, the Fire Brigade and local Police were on hand to educate and engage children, while hands-on experiences like CPR practice, body scans and an interactive smoothie bike brought health messages to life. 

Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership (HSP) hosted a stall to promote the Moving More Activity Finder for residents to source local activity opportunities to themselves and their children. HSP were also apply to distribute donations from Goods for Goods – a partnership HSP have built over the years, that enables new, unsold surplus goods to be re-distributed that otherwise would have gone to landfill. During the day, HSP were able to donate skipping ropes, resistance bands, t-shirts, body wash, and toothpaste to attendees to boost their experience at the event - providing items that support involvement in physical activity and sport.  

The impact of the day has already extended beyond the event, helping families feel more confident in accessing local services. The promotion of parkrun on the day proved particularly successful, demonstrating how face-to-face engagement can translate into sustained participation. Louise Smith, parkrun Regional Ambassador, reflected on the impact:

"The feedback that I received from the team was that it was such a busy day with lots of interest for the local parkrun events. At the time they were not sure if this would translate into action, but it did. Birchwood Juniors had the highest attendance ever yesterday, with several families saying that they had heard about it on Friday"

This highlights the power of community health events in turning awareness into action and supporting families to build healthy routines together.

The Family Health Day perfectly reflects Hatfield PCN’s commitment as an RCGP Active Practice proving they are embedding physical activity and wellbeing into everyday life, making prevention everyone’s business. Hatfield PCN have organised another Health Day in July specifically for older adults, which we look forward to being a part of. By bringing healthcare into a familiar, welcoming community space, the PCN showed how powerful partnership working can be. 

Anna Skiba, Hatfield PCN Project Coordinator, commented on the day: 

“The Family Health Day was developed to support families with children, with a particular emphasis on children’s health, wellbeing, and early prevention, while also promoting healthy lifestyles for the entire family. It is widely recognised that prevention is preferable to cure, and that a healthy lifestyle forms the foundation for long-term health and wellbeing. 

The NHS 10-year plan places significant emphasis on promoting healthier lifestyles and delivering targeted lifestyle interventions. Our event clearly demonstrated the importance and value of such initiatives for the local community. 

The aim of the event was to raise awareness of the activities and services available within the local area, with a focus on preventative and supportive resources. It also sought to strengthen collaboration and connectivity between our work as a local healthcare provider and the wider network of partners. 

I was particularly pleased to hear from the junior parkrun team that they experienced a strong turnout of new families on Sunday, following the promotion of the parkrun at our event.” 

Events like this show how easy it can be to connect communities with health, movement and support in engaging ways. HSP encourage other GP Practices and PCNs to get inspired, build local partnerships, and bring health to life beyond the practice doors. Together, we can make active, healthy living the easy choice for every family.