Hospital staff go Q-Active!
Issue Date: Tuesday 18th April 2006
Hospital staff in Nottingham are leading by example with the launch of the biggest hospital workplace fitness programmes in the country.
Geoff Cooke, former international cyclist and star of Channel 4's 'The Games', will be joining staff from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust to launch Q-active - a programme aimed at helping thousands of staff be healthier at work.
The initiative will be launched at the Queen's Medical Centre Campus in Nottingham on Monday 24th April.
A staff activity timetable will be unveiled and a new Wellbeing Room officially opened. During the launch week, there will also be taster sessions for staff - including Nordic Walking, yoga, salsa dancing and aerobics with health and nutrition information.
Q-active is one of the first dedicated programmes within a UK hospital devoted to removing barriers to participation in exercise and improving the health and wellbeing of staff.
The project has received £300,000 from Active England - an investment programme from Sport England and Big Lottery Fund - to facilitate innovative ideas including workplace activities.
The project was set up in response to the Government's 2004 White Paper 'Choosing Health'.
Dr Sandra Lee, the Active Workforce Manager, said: "The Trust is committed to improving working lives and we are proud to be leading the way and changing the culture so that staff feel it's ok to fit exercise into our busy working schedules. Having a fit and healthy workforce benefits everyone, including patients who are in our care. We hope many staff will benefit from the Q-active programme as this is just the start of this exciting initiative - the first of its kind in the UK."
Ilana Freestone Interim Regional Director of Sport England East Midlands said: "At Sport England we aim to give people of all ages and abilities the chance to start, stay and succeed in sport and physical activity at every level.
The development of the Q-active programme gives the opportunity for the hospital's staff to get involved in sport and physical activity and I hope they will take full advantage of it and enjoy what will be on offer."
The first phase of the programme gets underway on Monday 24th April when a new staff Wellbeing Room offering a range of activities and dance classes plus massage and other treatments will be open for the first time.
The Wellbeing Room is a converted smoking room on D floor in South Block on the Queen's Medical Centre Campus. This was made possible after smoking was banned both inside and outside across both the QMC and City hospital sites.
The new staff activity timetable for spring and summer will also be launched whilst an interactive website will enable staff to keep up with the Q-active programme as it develops over the next two years.
Each day of the launch week will have a different theme:
- Monday 24th - the official launch day when Geoff Cooke (former international cyclist and star of Channel 4s 'The Games') will open the Wellbeing Room.
- Tuesday 25th - Sport & Exercise Day when staff can try out some free Fitness Pilates, Yoga and Salsa classes.
- Wednesday 26th - a focus on Active Travel to and from work. Staff can try the latest European craze 'Nordic Walking'. Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is the first Trust in the UK to offer this unique and fun activity to staff
- Thursday 27th - a Health and Nutrition Day where staff can have wellness checks and learn about nutrition.
- Friday 28th - Wellbeing Day with free mini massages and manicures and a chance for us all to recover from a hectic week!
- There will also be a number of demonstrations and some competitions, fun and freebies each lunch time in the staff restaurant.
Ends
Filming / photo opportunities:
Monday 24th April:
12pm - Official opening of staff Wellbeing Room (with Geoff Cooke)
1pm - Nordic Walking Demonstration (with Geoff Cooke (outside East Block entrance)
Tue 25th April:
12pm - Taster Salsa class for staff (Wellbeing Room)
1pm - Taster Fitness Pilates class for staff (Wellbeing Room)
Wed 26th April:
12pm and 1pm Nordic Walking classes for staff (outside East Block entrance)
Notes to editors:
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the largest in the UK with an annual budget of more than £500 million.
It was formed on 1 April 2006, when two top-rated trusts - Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital - merged in order to develop a range of high-quality, sustainable patient services across the two campuses.
As a major teaching Trust, NUH enjoys close links with the city's universities and attracts and develops the highest caliber of staff. It continues to be the hospital of choice for patients, encourage investment and remain at the forefront of research.
It has one of the busiest emergency departments in the UK and has a total of 2,200 hospital beds across both campuses.
Sport England is the agency tasked with the development of community sport in England and invests Lottery and Exchequer funds into sport. www.sportengland.org
Sport England has nine Regional Sports Boards (RSBs), each made up of experts from areas such as business, local government, sport, health and education. The RSBs provide the strategic lead for sport in their regions and distribute investment for grassroots sport.
Sport England has invested more than £2.2bn of Lottery funds into sport across England and more than £550 million from the Exchequer.
Big Lottery Fund is the joint operating name of the New Opportunities Fund and the National Lottery Charities Board (which made grants under the name of the Community Fund). The Big Lottery Fund, launched on 1 June 2004, is distributing half of all National Lottery good cause funding across the UK.
The Big Lottery Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money. To date, the two-merged Fund's have committed more than £5 billion to initiatives with national, regional and local partners from the public, voluntary, charity and private sectors, with a particular focus on disadvantage.
Contact: writeto@qactive.co.ukwww.qactive.co.uk
