Hi happy runners, this publicity thing is a bit like a large masonry structure being struck repeatedly by the topmost part of one’s anatomy………but it’ll be great when I stop.
1.I sent private messages to both the individuals who appear under the administrator heading, on the About Us tab of the Couch to 5k forum page, asking whether they could give advice on any copyright issues, or pass on the message to those who could, and requesting a response, so that I knew whether anything was happening or not. To date, I have had no reply.
2.I responded to the post from Laura about the new C25k app, hoping that someone in admin might read it. To date, I have had no reply.
3.Today I have sent the following email to the Practice Manager at my local GP practice and to be fair, they have not had a chance to reply yet.
I am writing to you as a patient of the practice, just to check your awareness of the NHS Couch to 5k (C25k) programme. As a graduate of the scheme, who has discovered a new lease of life as a consequence, I am keen to sing its praises and to help as many others as possible to benefit from this amazing method of improving activity and fitness levels.
NHS Couch to 5k is a free training plan, available as a phone app or mp3 downloads from nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/... designed to get even the most sofa bound individuals running continuously for thirty minutes, after a period of approximately nine weeks of training. The gently progressive scheme has a very high success rate and is backed by a highly supportive and inspirational community at the forum on the Health Unlocked website. healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
After discussions on the forum, it became clear that many GPs were unaware of the scheme and the members are now proactively attempting to redress this, by contacting GP practices and possibly even producing our own posters to distribute to appropriate sites in our own localities, such is our zeal and enthusiasm for C25k.
As an NHS sponsored initiative, we believe that this should be amongst a doctor’s prescription alternatives. It will cost the practice nothing, will improve the health of patients in countless ways and will inevitably lead to a saving for the NHS and GP practices in the future.
At the age of 57, I had almost accepted the decline in my stamina as inevitable, but discovering C25k has transformed me into a runner, who now exercises for a minimum of two hours per week, covering between 5k and 15k per session, having only started the scheme in June of this year. My wife is due to complete C25k this coming week, having always sworn that running was not for her. The structure of C25k builds confidence and self esteem alongside the physical benefits and most who start the course find that, against their expectation, they love running.
The forum members would love to see this scheme actively promoted across the NHS and especially in GPs waiting rooms. You may already know about it and advertise it, in which case I apologise for taking up your time. You may be able to access publicity materials from within the NHS, although I have drawn a blank in trying to trace any. If you would be interested in our posters, when we produce them, please contact me.
I hope that when I next visit the surgery that I will see some sign of Couch To 5K on your notice boards.
END
I hope that there is no objection to me talking for the community. It might be useful if other people sent their version of a similar email (copy as much as you like of the above) to their local practices in order to ascertain the wider awareness of C25k, the availability of publicity material within the NHS and whether or not they would use a poster produced by us. Assuming they reply. I will keep you posted.
Enjoy your running.
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IannodaTruffe
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Agree with Oldgirl. It'll be interesting to see what sort of reply you get; can you post it on here (or the gist of it at any rate). I'm assuming they won't say "bugger orf, we're not in the business of preventive medicine!", but you never know. I still think there may be some mileage in ALL of us (all 7000+ on the forum) writing individually to the Sec'y of State for Health to get him to wake up & realise his Dept is sitting on one of the great unsung success stories of preventive medicine.
I think we need a bit more exchanges to come to a consensus on what it is we are trying to do and who we are trying to influence.
I think the starting point is that we've all benefited from the programme, seen lifestyle and health changes and are now quite passionate about it. We may want others to join us partly out of altruism and a desire to widen the "club" and partly as responsible citizens and taxpayers who see it as a cost effective way of promoting health and well being.
So the ultimate recipients of the message might be other people who might benefit from the programme. However, all of us have got here through varying degrees of engagement with the web and social media and that may be what makes the programme more successful than would have been possible even say 10 years ago. For those already comfortable with the web and social media, it may be a case of promoting it more actively using those sort of tools. (I found out there was a Twitter feed @NHSC25K but it hasn't tweeted for over a month). For those not tech-savvy, there may be a need to analyse how much the podcasts and this blog are a key part of the success the programme and although posters in doctor's waiting rooms may help it might not serve to overcome some of the barriers.
Oldned suggested letters to the Secretary of State for Health but the Chief Medical officers in each country (England, Scotland, Wales and NI - that's devolution for you!) might be a better bet.
A slightly more unconventional approach might be to see if we can engage Michael Mosley's interest although it may be too late for the programmes he is broadcasting at the moment.
I also wonder if research by something like the Kings Fund or the Wellcome Trust might provide the evidence base to get it up the priority list of the various parts of the medical establishment.
At the end of the day, if the shared experiences on here are anything to go by, this is potentially a highly effective way of changing people's behaviour and perhaps with social media providing a key role. As such it would seem to be highly cost effective. Unfortunately I am slightly vary that by raising it's profile some nameless official will decide it doesn't need funding any more.
Sorry for the long rant. Time for others to give their views.
You are absolutely right about social media, of which I am pretty ignorant, but I do feel that if we all questioned our GPs, via the practice managers, then at least we could raise their awareness. I am sure that many C25kers were started on their journeys after consultations with doctors about their medical conditions and GPs are in a position of influence, which could sway individuals, if C25k was amongst recommended methods for improving health and fitness.
Great stuff and wording Iannoda and looking forward to seeing Oldneds letter.
Perhaps we could deliver the letter directly to the Sec state for health after a 7000 strong "Flash Jog" to Parliament he! he! Only kidding but the mental imagery of seeing 7000 joggers converging on the Houses from different directions was too difficult to resist.
Afternoon All. I'm attaching below the text of a draft letter to Jeremy Hunt, advocating that, through a steer from him, his Dept raises the profile of C25K with GPs. Before you get to the letter let me just set out the principles on which I've drafted it:
# it fits on a single side of A4 in a sensible font (Arial 11) and still leaves space for sender's address. This is important; a busy Minister won't read more than a single side.
# the first two short paras are attention-grabbers
# the next two, slightly longer, paras extol the virtues of C25K
# the next para sets out the problem
# the final para sets out what we want to see happen
I originally drafted it with a short section (2 sentences) about my own experience, to personalise the letter. But I felt it detracted from the "there is a problem" message and took it out again. You'll all have your own views of course. Mrs OldNed suggested it might go in a postscript, but still keeping it to one page of A4.
So here is the draft letter. I offer it in the spirit of starting a debate about the way forward, but also for anyone to take and use as they see fit. Feel free to suggest changes; I'm not in the least bit precious about it. And keep running!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP
Secretary of State
Department of Health
Richmond House
79 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2NS
Dear Secretary of State
Imagine if there was an NHS programme which would reduce resource pressure on the service by delivering significant health improvements for everyone who took part in it. And what if it was free?
I’m delighted to say there already is – the NHS Choices Couch to 5K programme, C25K for short.
Through a carefully graduated series of gently incremental steps C25K gets people off the couch to running 5K in only nine weeks. The health benefits, and reduced demand on the NHS, are self-evident. The structure of C25K builds confidence and self-esteem alongside the physical benefits and most who start the course find that, against their expectation, they love running. The programme has a very high success rate and is backed by a highly supportive and inspirational community at the forum on the Health Unlocked website.
Our experience on the forum is that it is an amazing, zero-cost, method of improving fitness and activity levels. There is a common theme of significantly increased fitness, often of reduced weight and a reduction, or sometimes complete disappearance, of conditions like high blood pressure.
But there is a problem with C25K. Our experience is that GPs, practice managers and nurses, front-line health professionals, are often simply unaware of it. As an NHS sponsored initiative, we believe that this should be amongst a doctor’s prescription alternatives. It will cost the practice nothing, will improve the health of patients in countless ways and will inevitably lead to a saving for the NHS and GP practices in the future. As responsible citizens and taxpayers who see it as a cost effective way of promoting health and well-being, C25K forum members believe this scheme should be actively promoted across the NHS and especially in GPs waiting rooms.
If you were able to support this approach with a policy steer throughout your Dept., and cascade it onwards to GPs, I believe the NHS would benefit significantly through the improved health of our citizens.
Good letter - but we need to be aware that we will be lucky if it goes anywhere near the Secretary of State's desk. My experience is that in many Departments is it would go for "official reply" at a relatively low level.
It's more likely to get attention if it comes from a constituent, via the local office. I don't know if we have anyone out there in Jeremy Hunt's constituency which according to his website covers most of the Waverley district of Surrey (excluding Cranleigh) and includes the towns of Farnham, Godalming and Haslemere. The Minister responsible for Public Health is Jane Ellison MP for Battersea. I think the Chief Medical Officers might be worth contacting too.
I am a bit confused by the governance and structures and who is actually responsible but I've picked up that the House of Commons Health Committee has just started on an inquiry into Public Health England.
We could try submitting our views as evidence to that and maybe lobby some of the committee members. The final session will usually be for the Minister to appear and answer the committee questions and if we raise the profile enough it might get a response.
.I'll also post a link to this blog chain on the Facebook group and see if we can get others interested.
Absolutely right Wilma that it'll most likely get a Treat Officially reply from a lower level. If I had £1 for every one of those I've written I'd have lots of pounds!! A constituent's letter is more likely to get onto his desk. I like the idea of submitting evidence to the HoC Health Cttee. It'll be interesting, and will inform further action, to see what emerges from the FB link.
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