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On behalf of the RCGP Physical Activity and Lifestyle Clinical Priority team, we welcome our colleagues’ article, providing GPs with a timely reminder that although we might think of ourselves as the ‘healer’ in the doctor/patient relationship, in reality we are all patients, and prone to the same risk factors as anyone else unless we take conscious steps to avoid them.
The article also highlights the additive benefit beyond our own health and wellbeing to making visible positive changes in terms of how we travel to work, and our work environment itself. GPs and their teams are uniquely placed to educate, empower and inspire change amongst our patients and actions speak louder than words. Recognising the unique role of primary care teams was a key motivator for our team to create a comprehensive open access online toolkit www...
The article also highlights the additive benefit beyond our own health and wellbeing to making visible positive changes in terms of how we travel to work, and our work environment itself. GPs and their teams are uniquely placed to educate, empower and inspire change amongst our patients and actions speak louder than words. Recognising the unique role of primary care teams was a key motivator for our team to create a comprehensive open access online toolkit www.rcgp.org.uk/clinical-and-research/resources/toolkits/physical-activity-and-lifestyle.aspx. Developed in partnership with Sport England, it brings together reliable, evidence based resources, factsheets, reports on physical activity for professionals and patients alike.
The success of the parkrun/RCGP partnership https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/49LX-52M/parkrunpractice demonstrates the enormous appetite amongst GPs to collaborate with local, trusted physical activity providers and assets. To date, over 1200 practices have partnered with their local parkrun and we hope even more will commit to the recently launched Active Practice charter https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/49LX-5IR/active-practice-charter.
However, creating a significantly more active society needs sustained support and funding from central and local government and GPs can play an activist role here too. As respected community leaders with an in-depth understanding of local needs and issues, GPs are well placed to lobby NHS leaders, commissioners and politicians, and sign up as high profile supporters of e.g. active transport and clean air campaigns. Thus we call on you, our GP colleagues, to be active activists – certainly in your surgeries, but also in your local communities and beyond, to be agents of change towards a society where activity is the norm not the exception.
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British Journal of General Practice
