Breadcrumbs
Your Countryside - Your Health
NCAF 17/1 YOUR COUNTRYSIDE – YOUR HEALTH
The Forum is invited to:(a) comment on this potential new programme of improving health through visiting the countryside, which forms part of the Countryside Agency’s spending review bid to DEFRA; and (b) suggest, in particular, how to make it more relevant and effective.
1. Questions to Guide Discussion
· Has the programme got the right mix of actions?
· What organisations could have a role in funding or implementation?
· Is there a need for a programme like this?
· Does it chime with current priorities?
· Is increased use of the countryside amongst disadvantaged communities/people in poor health an appropriate new Public Service Agreement for DEFRA?
Aim of the Programme
2. The aim of ‘Your Countryside Your Health’ is to improve the health of people who live in areas of poor health and who rarely visit the countryside. This will be achieved by community based programmes which:
· Build the capacity and confidence of target communities to visit the countryside through the provision of information, training and outreach activities; and
· Improve the quality of countryside destinations and routes to ensure enjoyable visits and to encourage repeat use.
3. It will build on existing experience from the ‘Walking the way to Health’ Initiative (WHI) and other programmes, national and local, which are working with communities that make little use of the countryside.
What is the evidence of need?
4. People who live in areas of poor health tend to be infrequent visitors to the countryside and have the poorest quality environments to live within. And 33 million people in England do not take enough activity to benefit their health. Overall participation in countryside recreation, and sports and physical activity in general, has been static for 20 years. Obesity and diabetes levels are increasing. The health and activity gaps between rich and poor are getting worse.
5. Physical inactivity is second only to smoking as a risk factor in coronary heart disease (England’s biggest killer). The British Heart Foundation estimates that physical inactivity contributes to 37% of the 135,000 annual deaths from coronary heart disease.
6. Several areas of research, backed up by a range of current initiatives (WHI, Green Gym), are confirming that the countryside contributes to good health as well as helping people recover from illness.
What is the wider Context?7. ‘Game Plan’ is a recent No 10 Strategy Unit report on sport and physical activity. It has set a very ambitious target of having 70% of the population active by 2020 (up from the current level of 32%). A cross Departmental Government Committee, called the Activities Co-ordination Team has been created to stimulate action to meet the target.
8. What will the Programme do?
· Concentrate on the 200 communities in poor health areas with low levels of countryside use (Essential to target at people in most need. 200 schemes necessary to give nationwide impetus, economy of scale and good choice of activities and locations for target groups);
· Identify programmes of outreach: using specially appointed facilitators, backed by volunteers, based in local authorities, primary care trusts, and community organisations to attract target groups to enjoy the countryside and give them the framework of social support and confidence to continue long term, providing information and support where target groups are likely to respond to it;
· Invest in improvements to paths, parks and open spaces close to where people live to make the experience convenient, safe and enjoyable, eg adding new well surfaced footpath and cycleway links to the existing network to create accessible circular routes, providing safe and convenient crossing points where main roads act as barriers; landscaping the routes to make them welcoming and safe; investing in country parks green spaces and their management to provide a wider range of activities;
· Create a nationwide support network to share resources and learning;
· Monitor, evaluate and report progress to funders.
Costs and Savings
9. A long term programme is needed to bring about significant and sustained improvements in health through the increased use and enjoyment of the countryside. We estimate that £25 million over 6 years would improve the health of 2 million people, most in poor health or at risk of poor health. £15 million of this would be needed during the first 3 years of the spending review and would benefit 1 million people.
10. There are potential saving to be made to the NHS which more than outweigh these costs. International data suggests that between 2.5% and 10% of health spending is linked to physical inactivity, this equates to around £7,000 million for England in 2004/05. We estimate that each person who is insufficiently active costs the NHS around £130 a year. We cautiously estimate that by the end of this programme savings to the NHS will be in the order of £90 million a year (on the safe assumption that many of the 2 million people in the programme do not reached the levels of physical activity recommended by the Department of Health).
Who could be involved in implementation?
11. The idea crosses many interests and so provides a good opportunity for partnership working nationally, regionally and locally, with potential involvement of Government Departments such as Department of Health and DCMS plus Sport England, existing user groups, health charities, local authorities, primary care trusts, and countryside recreation or management organisations as well as community groups.
PETER ASHCROFT October 2003
