Family doctors are set to help patients get healthier by highlighting the many benefits of physical activity. New ‘brief interventions’ will ask patients about their levels of physical activity and offer advice and follow-up support if appropriate, in the same way as already happens across the NHS for smoking and alcohol.
GPs and health professionals in six health board areas – including NHS Lothian – will encourage adults to get active in a bid to tackle a range of health problems, as physical inactivity contributes to nearly 2,500 premature deaths every year in Scotland and can cause heart disease, stroke, obesity or depression.
Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Sir Harry Burns recommends five periods of 30 minutes of moderate activity a week, 60 minutes for children under 16.
The year long pilot will embed the importance of physical activity in the NHS and initially focus on those who can benefit the most from being more active, such as people with chronic ill health, long term conditions or older people.
Speaking on a visit to Strathesk Medical Practice in Bonnyrigg, Sport Minister Shona Robison said: “Getting active is easy, simple and the most effective way to better health, reducing the risk of a multitude of conditions like heart disease, obesity or depression. Any activity, like walking, gardening or cycling, is better than none and makes you feel happier, less stressed and more energised. This is not about telling people to take more exercise, but health professionals offering advice to people who can get the most benefit, most quickly, ultimately reducing the need for further treatment and improving their lives.”
Dr David White, the Scottish Government’s Physical Activity specialist, said: “Regular physical activity really is man’s best medicine, providing a far greater range of health benefits than any medication. It’s been shown internationally that GPs and their teams offering accurate assessment alongside appropriate advice or brief intervention is both cost- and clinically-effective in helping patients become more active. The National Physical Activity Pathway, developed by NHS Health Scotland along with GPs, is a simple and effective resource to make a real difference.”
John Gillies, Chair of Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland, added: “Increasing physical activity is a simple, cheap and highly effective way of both staying healthy if you are well, and reducing the health risks of many chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. It works at any age. RCGP Scotland is happy to support this initiative, which will give GPs vital information on how to help patients increase activity and improve their health.”
Margaret Burns, Chair, NHS Health Scotland, said: “NHS Health Scotland know that three in five adults are not physically active enough to benefit their health and that getting active will increase life expectancy by almost a year. The cost to the NHS in Scotland alone of certain diseases resulting from physical inactivity is around £94 million every year and across the cost to the Scottish economy as a whole, far, far greater. That is why NHS Health Scotland, in partnership with Scottish Government and Royal College of General Practitioners, are supporting to staff motivate people to get active in their own way. The learning from the pilots will then be used to inform NHS practice across the country.”
The direct cost of physical inactivity to the NHS in Scotland is around £94 million per year.
The Chief Medical Officer’s latest Annual Report highlighted that the total annual costs to the Scottish economy of physical inactivity could be in the region of £660 million.
Research shows that brief advice/interventions for physical activity are a clinically proven and extremely cost effective method of improving physical activity within primary care.
The Active Scotland website provides information on local physical activity opportunities.
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