Where's the legacy?

Guest post: Mike Farrar, chief executive of the NHS Confederation.

This year we've witnessed the success of the greatest show on earth and we have been hearing a lot about health and wellbeing legacy-is there one? I'd argue there is and it's been created by staff in NHS organisations up and down the country.

In July 2010 myself and David Nicholson launched the NHS 2012 sport and physical activity challenge. The aim: to improve NHS staff health and wellbeing, reduce sickness absence and improve productivity using the inspirational power of London 2012, providing opportunities as part of or linked to their working day.



Why sport and physical activity and why the workplace?


When asked 'what are the barriers to you engaging in sport/physical activity?' many people cite the fact that they work full-time and don't have the time to exercise. I was keen to utilise that eight hour slot in people's working day to enable them to become more active. Not necessarily to push them in the direction of gyms or formal sporting activities but to create opportunities that engage them.


Why physical activity? The evidence base for the benefits of being active is very strong but the recent research into the impact of physical inactivity should be of greater concern to all of us.


Why sport? The power of the brand of sport to engage people in local communities cannot be underestimated. There are some fantastic examples of local rugby, football and cricket clubs collaborating to improve the health of local populations and we've collaborated with them to provide opportunities for NHS Staff in their workplace -touch rugby; NHS cricket; NHS football 5s.


Did it work?


In Leeds NHS staff clocked up more than 1million active minutes;


NHS in Somerset saved in the region of 100k by participating in the NHS Sport and Physical Activity challenge;


In NW over 60% of NHS orgs said staff were more engaged


In one London NHS org 75% of staff said:


-their attendance had improved


-More than 80% said they were finding it easier to carry out their work duties


In another NHS organisation:


-90% of staff playing sport said it improved their working relationships


-Sickness absence reduced from 4.09% to 3.78%


There is a legacy and it's created and being delivered by NHS staff.


Hear more from Mike Farrar at the Summit, 22nd November, London. Book your place now.


 

Chris Ryan says, ’Let’s Talk Tactics’

In a taster exert from the opening keynote speech which he will deliver to delegates at the 4^th annual FIA Flame Conference in Sheffield next, SAS hero Chris Ryan talks about how his team’s tactics could switch from stealth to violence in a blink of the eye, and how they had to be able to adapt to any situation in order to survive…

“When I was undergoing SAS continuation training, it was drummed in to all of us that the role of a special-forces operator is twofold. Sometimes we would be sent in to gather information: this meant putting in an observation post, lying low, watching and waiting. When that was the case we’d need to go in light – armed, of course, but only with the precision tools we needed for the job. Our role was to stay invisible.

“To do our job with the minimum of fuss and without anybody knowing we were there. If we were compromised, our tactic was to ‘shoot and scoot’ – to engage the enemy if necessary then exfiltrate as quickly and stealthily as possible.

“Sometimes, though, we’d be looking for a fight. If our orders were to take out personnel or installations, our tactics would need to be altered accordingly. Stealth would still be the order of the day at the beginning of the operation. Often we’d be setting up an ambush, so it would clearly be essential that we worked silently and without being seen. If it was possible to take out any of the enemy clinically, with suppressed weapons and without alerting anyone to our presence, we’d do that. One less person to worry about later on.

“At some point, though, we knew things would go noisy. When that happened, the tactics changed. Stealth was no longer our best friend; violence was. We’d use all the weaponry at our disposal to eliminate the enemy completely, or to destroy their installations. If things went according to plan, the operation would go noisy at a time and place of our choosing. Good for us. Bad for the enemy.

“Tier 1 operators need to be equally skilful with the scalpel and the hammer. They need to be the Grey Man, able to merge into the background – which is why a lot of the operators working in Afghanistan wear beards, so they don’t stand out when they’re among the locals in-country. But when the situation requires it, these men must be able to bring all the most brutal forces of war to bear in order to overcome the enemy and achieve their objectives…”

The battle field may be a long way from the gym floor, but the lesson we can all learn as professionals  from Chris, aside from sheer courage and perseverance, is adaptability. As the saying goes, all failure is failure to adapt.

You can hear more of Chris’ extraordinary story at the FIA Flame Conference on 27^th June, Sheffield. Places are going fast so book now.

Follow Flame Conference on Twitter @FIA_Flame, #tametheflame

Sprinting into 2012

Well, our Olympic year is finally here. And whilst it we may only be three weeks in to January, it’s all systems go at the FIA, where we already have lots to look forward to over the coming months.

Amid the predictable media flurry of January fitness fad stories, the FIA has sprinted into the new year, with the nationwide launch of a health and wellbeing programme with a difference.

A fantastic corporate partnership kicked off this month between the FIA’s Shift into Sports programme and the UK’s largest entertainment and communications company, Sky - a partnership that delivers a newly engaged audience to health and fitness operators across the country. 

We launched Shift into Sports in 2010, in partnership with Sport England, the Mayor of London, Addison Lee and our technology partner Haulmont. The programme offers sport and fitness activities supplied by FIA members, at reduced cost and off-peak hours to suit shift workers. The involvement of Sky now takes this nationwide – rolling the programme out to nearly 17,000 Sky employees.

It really is a win—win situation for all: employees can access brilliant fitness deals which fit around their shifts; their company benefits from happy, healthy and productive employees as a result and FIA members gain the opportunity to increase their footfall during off-peak hours.

Partnerships such as this will be key to the work of the FIA and our industry over the coming year, as all eyes turn to the UK to see whether we can deliver on ambitious Olympic legacy targets. Watch this space for announcements about future projects and partnerships which will mean we can rise to the challenge.

This month we also announced the dates and venues for the FIA’s annual Flame Conference, which will take place on 27th June. Any previous Flame Conference delegate will tell you – this is an event not to be missed! This year Flame is coming to Sheffield – where the magnificent Magna Centre will host the main conference. Of course, there is also the FIA Golf Day on 26th June (start practising that swing now!) and the Ball of Fire – I am already looking forward to being on stage to announce the winners of this year’s Flame Awards.

Finally, as the now world-renowned and instantly iconic London 2012 brand takes over the UK as the Olympics hots up, the FIA’s rebrand exercise will be in full swing, as we look to better position ourselves for what the physical activity sector can achieve in 2012 and beyond.

I hope you will follow myself and guest bloggers from the FIA team over the next 12 months. You can also join me on Twitter and LinkedIn – remember folks, the future is digital!

Together we can build an Olympic health legacy

I am still on a high following the great success of the FIA & IMSPA Industry Summit: Winning in 2012 and Beyond, which was held at the Congress Centre in central London this week.

Over 350 delegates from 241 organisations came to discuss, debate and network with their industry peers, and I am happy to say that the venue was buzzing throughout, as we engaged on the subject of working together as an industry to create a health legacy post 2012 Games.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, we were lucky enough to be joined by a great selection of high-profile guest speakers from the worlds of sport, fitness, politics, medicine and economics.

Highlights of the day included the brilliant John Inverdale, who expertly hosted proceedings, an announcement from the Public Health Minister Anne Milton about the Government’s national ambition for physical activity, and a fascinating talk from the Chief Medical Officer for the Olympics and Paralympics  Dr Richard Budgett, who provided an insight into looking after our athletes as well as our nation’s health during and after the Games.

Also, for the first time at an FIA event we had a Tweet Wall, which was a tremendous hit. Over 200 Tweets were sent in the run up to and during the event with the hash tag #LegacyReady. I hope that you will continue to keep in touch with me and the FIA team using #FIA and #LegacyReady to tell us how you are preparing for 2012.

The theme of partnership was highlighted by all of the speakers, and I look forward to the FIA collaborating with new partners in both the public and private sectors in the New Year. The next twelve months really will be key for establishing priority status for our sector on the political agenda, and we must all work together to achieve this.

With 40 million adults in the UK still not taking part in just one 30 minute session of exercise each week, we really do have our work cut out; but I am game for the challenge, and I hope that you are to.

The feedback on the Summit from those who attended has been extremely positive, and we look forward to welcoming this year’s delegates and plenty of new ones as well to our next Summit and other key events in 2012.

Introducing Ageing and Rehabilitation - “Untapped Markets” Seminar series…

One in four people born today will live to be over 100.

Based on current trends that number is set to rise by nearly 60% over the next 25 years.

With these stats in mind, isn’t it staggering to think that we, as an industry, don’t have more of a targeted and powerful strategy to engage with this ever-burgeoning demographic?

The guy who knows this market better than anyone is David Sinclair, Head of Policy and Research at the UK International Longevity Centre, and one of our speakers at the upcoming seminar – “Untapped Markets: Ageing and Rehabilitation” sponsored by BalanceMaster. David will be setting the scene of the current and projected demographics that could essentially be your future members.

Not only will the seminar show you where these gaps in the market lie, but our expert speakers and Chair, FIA’s Executive Director David Stalker, will show you how to engage with them.

Dr John Searle (FIA CMO), Bob Laventure (Consultant to the British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health) and David Smith (GB Athlete) will also be providing valuable contributions.

This is the latest in the FIA’s new line of topical seminars. With a few places remaining on the seminars (taking place in Luton and Birmingham at the end of this month).

I look forward to seeing you there and learning together how we can work together to get these groups moving.

To book your place click here, or just give me a tinkle!

Hayley Bevan

Events and Sponsorship Manager
Email – Hayley@fia.org.uk
Twitter - @hayleybevan