Major health sector award nomination for leading city leisure trust

2nd March 2017

Sheffield's leading non-profit leisure trust has been nominated for a major health sector award.

SIV, which runs sports venues including Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Concord Sports Centre and Heeley Swimming Pool, has been nominated in the 'Partnership with the NHS: Primary Care' category at the Yorkshire and Humber Medilink Awards 2017, which takes place on 2 March, for its work with Sloan Medical Centre in south Sheffield. The nomination comes as a result of SIV's delivery of a physical activity programme in Sloan Medical Centre, in an extension of the hugely successful Exercise Referral Scheme, which was set up in 2005 at SIV's Concord Sports Centre. The programme, which has been running for three years, has seen 450 physically inactive people engage with the service, of which around half have gone on to increase their physical activity levels and have sustained more active lifestyles for 12 months following an initial 12 weeks of the scheme. The scheme sees referrals come directly from GPs, with patients given an initial on-site assessment appointment with an Exercise Referral Scheme instructor. Patients then progress to exercise classes, and are encouraged to continue to their local SIV gym or swimming pool, or are supported to exercise independently. Doctor Ollie Hart, GP at Sloan Medical Centre and a key individual behind Sheffield's hugely successful Move More Month in 2016, said: "We could all do with moving a bit more, and some of our patients are prime examples of this. "Thanks to this truly innovative scheme, many more of our patients are moving more and feeling better for it." Dave Birds, Exercise Referral Manager at SIV, said: "Building on the incredibly successful SIV Exercise Referral Scheme, we know there were people who really needed us to come to them. "Some people need extra support before they get over their fear of being more active, and we're only too happy to provide that. "This scheme has really shown how delivering in communities can impact on people's health and wellbeing, and improve their long-term health conditions. "By working in partnership we can achieve so much more. This scheme is a great example of this and one which produces fantastic outcomes for the people of Sheffield. "This is also a great example of how we at SIV work out in the community, fulfilling our charitable purpose." SIV, which is part of the not-for-profit Sheffield City Trust (SCT) Group, has the primary objective of improving the health and wellbeing of the people of Sheffield. For more information on SIV visit www.siv.org.uk, follow '@siv_social' on Twitter and Instagram or like 'SIV: Sports and Activities in Sheffield' on Facebook.