HSP Leads GP Protected Learning Time to Integrate Physical Activity into Health

Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership (HSP) attended GP Protected Learning Time to upskill the health sector on how to embed physical activity into health with an overall message that movement is the best medicine. On the 8th of October, HSP was busy delivering at two protected learning times. 

HaLo Primary Care Network

We were very privileged that HaLo Primary Care Network (PCN), based in St Albans, dedicated their whole three-hour learning time to focus on the importance of physical activity. HSP delivered the following to an engaging audience made up of clinical and non-clinical roles from within the PCN: 

• One-hour’s Active Medicine Training – Understanding the barriers and top tips for being active, familiarisation of the national guidelines for physical activity, feeling more confident talking about being active (using behaviour change techniques), and learning about local and national resources/activities. Find out more about the training here.  

• Insights on the local area including an interactive quiz, highlighting the importance of movement for better health as well as prevalent stats on inactivity across St Albans. 

• Active Practice Charter table discussions - The Active Practice Charter workshop got the staff thinking about how they could make pledges for their surgery to improve both staff and patient activity levels. 

• An Active Travel survey - HaLo PCN have been working with an Active Travel expert, Peter Jordan (Sustainable Mobility Officer within Hertfordshire County Council). Along with his presentation, he prepared a travel survey for the PCN staff to complete. This will be going towards their Modeshift Stars accreditation supporting HaLo’s surgeries to embed active travel seamlessly. 

• An insightful talk from Everyone Active around their Exercise Referral Scheme. Rowell Gordon (Activities & Wellbeing Manager for Everyone Active) spoke around a piece of work he is embedding to increase staff activity across HaLo surgeries as well as enabling more understanding and guidance around their exercise referral scheme. 

We look forward to supporting HaLo PCN in their application to become an Active Practice. Overall, over 50 individuals attended our training day, and we hope to have got the message of ‘moving more’ on their brains to take back into their surgeries.  

A member of The Lodge practice commented on the training day: 

“Following on from the fantastic target afternoon I’ve made an accurx [how patients and healthcare professionals communicate] called ‘be active’ sharing the benefits of being active, recommendations, and the Moving More website details” 

North Watford Primary Care Network

Meanwhile, HSP attended North Watford PCN’s protected learning time with two-hours of delivery. North Watford PCN recently achieved Active Practice status for their three surgeries and this workshop was a great way to celebrate that and help them to sustain this status long-term. The first hour involved the Active Medicine Training, encouraging the attendees to feel more confident having a conversation with a patient around becoming more active. The second hour focused on Active Ageing and the importance of falls prevention. HSP Health Team members, Tania Woods and Charlotte Bird, are specialists in their work with older adults. They focus on positively changing the culture surrounding ageing, replacing the concept of care with a concept of enablement. No matter how old someone is and how many health conditions they have, the expectation should be that they can be enabled to regain lost ability and build a stronger quality of life. For more information around our work with older adults, check out the Live Longer Better in Hertfordshire revolution. 

Overall, 41 members of the PCN attended. Comments from North Watford PCN’s protected time included: 

“Excellent presentation. Good information on keeping people active and exercises for the elderly”. 

“Useful to know what programmes are available in Herts. I feel I am more aware of what is available to patients”. 

If you’d like HSP to organise workshops for your next protected learning time, get in touch by emailing hsphealth@herts.ac.uk