GP practices set to trailblaze 'movement and activity' hook-up with High Life Highland in bid to keep people active
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THE region's main provider of leisure and fitness facilities is teaming up with doctors to help keep people enjoy the health benefits of movement and staying active.
High Life Highland is working with two GP practices to collaboratively deliver a brand-new GP Movement and Activity Programme (MAP) which takes a new approach in supporting and empowering people across the region to be active.
The fundamental aim of the programme is to test how collaborating with primary care in NHS Highland can help people to experience everything highlife has on offer to benefit physical, mental, social health, and wellbeing.
Lynn Bauermeister, High Life Highland’s head of health and wellbeing, explained: “By working collaboratively with colleagues in GP practices, High Life Highland is able to provide added support for people who are not currently accessing High Life Highland services.
“As well as gyms, swimming pools, and fitness classes, High Life Highland leisure services also offer a wide range of activities for people with various long term health conditions, which include both in-person and interactive online classes.
“High Life Highland leisure centres are places that nurture good health and wellbeing which is why we want as many people as possible to access them. This programme is a way in which we can help people take a step forward to doing exactly that.”
As part of the initiative, participants can be signposted to High Life Highland leisure services such as Dingwall Leisure Centre or Tain Royal Academy Community Complex (TRACC), with Gairloch and Ullapool set to be made available in future.
In these locations, the High Life Highland on-site team will introduce participants to the facilities including full demonstrations of how they can improve aspects of health and wellbeing.
Then, a free seven-session pass will be made available to each participant, allowing them to test the benefits of High Life Highland facilities for themselves.
A spokesperson on behalf of GP’s from Tain and District, Tain and Fearn, and Dingwall Medical Practices, added: “As medical professionals, we see the benefits of exercise on a daily basis in our patient population.
“For many, this is a valued part of people’s lifestyle – but for others, there are real barriers to becoming more active. This collaborative scheme is greatly valued by GPs and patients as a way to introduce exercise into people’s usual routine by highlighting High Life Highland’s leisure facilities, and we expect to see significant benefits to the patients who we refer.”
The opportunity to join the GP Movement and Activity Programme (MAP) is offered via the recommendation of GPs and other health professionals.
You can find out more about the initiative on High Life Highland’s website:
https://www.highlifehighland.com/leisure/gp-movement-and-activity-programme/
