In February the ERDP Unit hosted the seminar ‘Training Tomorrow’s Healthcare Professionals in Exercise Medicine: Prevention and therapeutic management including perioperatively’.

It was delivered on behalf of Public Health England by Ann B Gates, MRPharmS, Associate Editor for the British Journal of Sports Medicine & Mr Ian Ritchie, FRCSEd, Past President of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh and their message was very clear.

The UK is more physically inactive than many other developed nations in Europe and North America. Around 20 million adults in the UK are so inactive that they are at risk of non-communicable disease, immobility and premature death. This is a major public health matter for all who work in healthcare.

The evidence is that physical activity prevents disease, treats a variety of physical and mental health conditions and helps in the rehabilitation from acute episodes. It is also an effective part of the skillset for any healthcare worker in helping people to manage long term conditions.

Against this background, we believe that there is an imperative for all undergraduate courses to include teaching on physical activity (PA) in their curricula.

Not only is information about PA important, but so is teaching about how to raise the topic in consultations and how to tailor the discussion to meet the individual needs of patients.

The next generation of healthcare professionals have to understand and take on the leadership role on behalf of their communities to ensure that decisions about transport, housing and community facilities recognise the health benefits of encouraging people to walk more and be physically active.

This is a large topic, but there are many resources available at the #MovementForMovement site. These materials have been endorsed by the UK Council of Deans of Health. The UK Chief Medical Officers have also produced excellent infographics to inform about the minimum levels of activity for health for all ages.

For more information contact:

Stephen.mchanwell@newcastle.ac.uk

Ann Gates, Founder and CEO of Exercise Works! annbgates@googlemail.com

Ian Ritchie, Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh, i.ritchie@rcsed.ac.uk