How many times will your GP practice have given patients advice about "doing a bit more walking" in the last month? Likely more than a few. If you're concerned about how many will go on to follow that advice, have you thought about encouraging a walking group to run routes from your building?
Linking patients in primary care with existing community led activities or projects is, of course, a tried and tested model, and the national focus on social prescribing (as well as the shared experience of national lockdowns where we all relied on daily fresh air to help us cope) is building the evidence even further.
Whereas exercise classes like yoga and pilates need venues, walking groups don't - meaning they typically have no cost to join. In addition, walking groups offer a wide range of mental and physical benefits including:
- Increased cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lungs) fitness
- Reduced risk of heart disease and stroke
- Improved management of conditions such as hypertensions (high blood pressure)
- High cholesterol, joint and muscular pain and stiffness, and diabetic
- Stronger bones and improved balance
- Increased muscle strength and endurance
- Reduced body fat
And it doesn't stop there. A new study has found that six months of regular brisk walks can lead to better cardiovascular fitness and improvements for the brain and memory while research by NHS England showed that social prescribing schemes such as walking groups can decrease patient demand for GPs and other appointments. With an estimated 20% of GP time spent on problems caused by social issues rather than medical ones, being able to connect people with non-medical interventions has a growing role to play in managing you workload.
With the right space, your premises can act as a logical community base for local walking groups to start and finish their regular strolls, or for groups to hold meetings and planning discussions. We've been working for a while to explore how our GP surgery buildings can act as a community resource to help more of us get walking.
Since our original project which created over 80 free wall maps of easy, one-mile walking routes from surgery buildings all over the country, we've supported the charity Active Cheshire to pilot a scheme with our Greenbank Surgery building in Warrington - testing the impact of a weekly community walk near the surgery. And we shout far and wide about primary care buildings such as Frome Medical Centre in Somerset, from which local health walks set off every week.
In 2020 we also supported a number of community walking groups through our Assura Community Fund including Motherwell Cheshire which is a wellbeing project aimed at helping women and girls experiencing anxiety/depression, low self-esteem and multiple inequalities through walking, reading and singing.
In getting your patients to take the first step, could your surgery building help to point the way?