Hartlepool hospital trust one of only three nationwide chosen for pilot to tackle inactivity levels

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust is one of only three in the country to be chosen to be an ‘Active Hospital’ to help improve the levels of activity of its patients and boost their physical and mental health.

The North East is reported to be the second most inactive region in the country and within this, Hartlepool is the most inactive town, with a third of adults doing less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week.

And only one in three children are classed as physically active.

The trust will establish physical activity empowerment groups, collaborate with neighbouring councils and voluntary sector groups to encourage people to be more active starting in hospital and continuing in the community.

Outpatients manager, Michael Butler said: “We firstly want to change the conversation with our patients to take a health coaching approach in all of our interactions.

"We’ll be asking questions when it comes to physical activity, not telling people what to do, partnering with our patients to understand what matters most to them.

"This puts our patients in control and helps us understand what we need to do to support them to take the first step.

“Secondly, we want to help people understand the benefits of physical activity in more detail, whether that be as an inpatient to avoid ‘deconditioning’ when recovering, or as an outpatient in relation to longer term health benefits.”

The trust was one of more than 20 nationwide which took part in a competitive pitch for Active Hospital Status awarded by Public Health England, Sport England, the National Lottery and project leader NHS Transformation Unit.

One way the trust plans to help improve inpatient’ mobility is with the introduction of ‘I can’ boards above beds with a simple tick-list of agreed physical activity goals.

Alex Heritage, chief executive for NHS Transformation Unit, said: “Recent events have placed an even greater importance on physical activity and the benefits it provides to the health and wellbeing of the population.”

Outcomes of project will be shared with other trusts around the country.

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