Gateway Family Services

A successful end – and new beginnings – for the twenty minute walking group Posted on 5th April 2013 by dannydhadda

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Yesterday saw the final session of our 20 minute walking group, based at Shenley Green Surgery.  As previously mentioned, the idea for this group was to provide some gentle group exercise for those who, for a range of reasons, can’t manage to join a regular walking group.

After a two week delay due to the bad weather, our intrepid group took a stroll up to Ley Hill Park in the sunshine yesterday.

Overall, the assisted gentle exercise programme has been a great success. The participants have found benefits not only physically but also socially. All the walkers have spoken of a boost in confidence and happiness levels. The two minute video below shows the group describing what they’ve got out of the six week course – and admiring the views.

Keiran drew lessons from the previous walking group he’s organised to develop and promote this programme – and to get as many people as possible to complete it. “I promoted this as a course with a completion date, to give the walkers an aim and encourage them to attend all the sessions,” he explains. “This was reinforced with mid-way incentives – we gave the attendees pedometers and, at the end, each participant received a small prize for completing the course.”

Although he had planned many aspects of the programme, Keiran still had to adapt his approach slightly as they went along. “In the first session, I found it harder than I’d anticipated to cater for slower and faster walkers – even after only 20 minutes, it’s surprising how much a walking group can separate,” he said.

“So we arranged for two Gateway volunteers to get involved in the planning of the next five sessions and to help co-lead the walks. This meant we could focus on individual needs more, allowing walkers to increase their capacity and make the most of their time.” Of course, it also allows the volunteers to gain some valuable experience in event planning and leadership.

Each of the sessions kicked off with a short health awareness talk before the walking began. Various things were covered, like diet advice and safe ways of exercising.

The future of the assisted gentle exercise programme is bright. Most walkers have said they’d like the group to continue and some have already arranged to meet next week. Keiran’s arranging some further volunteer support for them, so that – ideally – this group can continue to meet up fortnightly from the surgery. In the meantime, he’s working on starting up the next walking group, with new participants to start in six weeks time.

“Overall, I’m very happy with our success,” Keiran says. “I’m really looking forward to the next one!”

First steps for the new twenty minute walking group Posted on 15th February 2013 by dannydhadda

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Yesterday saw the first outing of our 20 minute walking group, a six week “assisted gentle exercise” programme in partnership with Shenley Green Surgery.

As we mentioned in our blog post about the main Shenley Green walking group a few weeks ago, the idea of the 20 minute walk is to provide some gentle group exercise for those who, for one reason or another, can’t manage a full hour.

The new group started their first session with a chat about exercise and the benefits of physical activity, then the six walkers did a 20 minute circuit of the surgery. They were led by Health Trainer Keiran, who has been working closely with the surgery to set up the group.

“We had a very varied group on yesterday’s walk, most of whom I already knew through my other Health Training work. It’s good to be able to offer an opportunity like this to people,” Keiran says. “The group enjoyed the walk, and look forward to the next five weeks, some of which will be led by other Health Trainers and will include presentations from other health professionals.”

Participants in the “assisted gentle exercise” programme tend to be referred by their GP. Most people who take part will be recovering from illness – perhaps from an operation, a fall, or a cardiac episode – or they will be awaiting treatment. At this point, doing something too strenuous would be a bad idea, but a gentle walk can be very beneficial.

The video below shows the group enjoying their first session – despite the rather hilly terrain!

As the NHS Choices website explains, regular walking has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, stroke and some cancers. Group activities like this are also beneficial for mental health – as participant Jenny says in the video, a walking group is a great way to get some fresh air and meet other people.

We hope that, over time, the gentle exercise from these regular 20 minute sessions will allow people to build up their stamina and, eventually, we’d love to see the 20 minute walkers join the main walking group.

Shenley Green patients walking to a healthier lifestyle Posted on 3rd January 2013 by dannydhadda

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It’s that time of year again when lots of people, spurred on by new years resolutions, are thinking about how to get more exercise. One of the easiest ways to get some gentle exercise is by walking. So when the Ramblers Association set up a walking group for patients at the Shenley Green Surgery, our Health Trainer Keiran was keen to help.

Keiran facilitated and supported the group. He promoted it, not only through his work at the Surgery, but via local community noticeboards. With his help, the Shenley Green group organised lots of walks to local parks and hidden beauty spots, including Bournville Yachting Pool, Frankley Reservoir and Woodgate Valley Country Park.

Keiran printed out maps from Walkit.com to share with walkers – and was on hand to chat about the benefits of exercise, healthy eating or about the journey ahead. The walking group grew from eight to 15 people.

Walking is one of the simplest ways to start exercising – it’s free and you can start off however slowly you like! However, many people find motivation difficult. Walking groups are a great way round this, providing incentive, support and even new friends. The Shenley Green Surgery walking group is becoming self sufficient, with several participants now taking the lead, planning walks and running the group themselves on a rota basis. Keiran says, “happily, the walkers testified that they enjoyed the company of others and wanted the group to continue”.

In this video, Keiran speaks to walker Mohini Howard, from the Ramblers Association, who explains a bit more about the group:

Coming soon: twenty minute walks

As the NHS Choices website explains, regular walking has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, stroke and some cancers. But walking is also very beneficial for those recovering from illness. So to help patients who are recovering, or simply need a more gentle introduction to walking as exercise, GPs at Shenley Green Surgery have asked Keiran to start a new “twenty minute walk” group.

The new group is still in development, although Keiran has high hopes. “The wet and windy weather has slowed development for the moment, but we’re prepared to start something indoors if that’s what it takes. The surgery is very keen to see something beneficial take place for their patients – and they’d like Gateway Family Services to run it.”