Our Natural Health Service

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Our Natural Health Service

• The NHS can help tackle health inequalities and
  promote physical and mental well-being by
  encouraging a greater understanding of the value
  of spending time in the natural environment.
• Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer
• .

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Who is Natural England?

• Natural England works to conserve and enhance
  the natural environment for its intrinsic value,
  the wellbeing and enjoyment of people and the
  economic prosperity that it brings.
• promoting nature conservation and protecting
  biodiversity
• conserving and enhancing the landscape
• securing the provision and improvement of
  facilities for the study, understanding and
  enjoyment of the natural environment
• promoting access to the countryside, open spaces
  and encouraging open air recreation and
• contributing in other ways to social and economic
  wellbeing through management of the natural
  environment.

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Health Policy Drivers

• Wanless Report (2002) suggested that a scenario
  in which people became fully engaged to look
  after their own health would save 30 billion
  compared to the slow uptake scenario.
• The Chief Medical Officers report At least 5 a
  week (2004) overwhelming evidence about the
  benefits of moderate physical activity.
• Choosing Health Choosing Activity (2005) helped
  to join up government departments and made first
  mention of natural environment.
• Healthy Weight, Healthy lives (2008) presented an
  obesity strategy in which a walking campaign
  would be launched.
• NICE Guidance (2008) on occupational therapy for
  elderly promotes health walks
• Be Active, Be Healthy (2009)

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Overview of Evidence supporting the Natural
Health Service
The natural environment can help with the major
health problems facing society
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Natural Englands health and wellbeing policy
Contact with the natural environment helps create
strong and healthy communities with more active
and less stressed individuals.
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The Natural Health Service

• An overarching concept to help deliver the
  health benefits of the natural environment
• What we want
• Every household in the country should be within
  five minutes walk of an area of green space of at
  least two hectares.
• Every GP or community nurse should have the
  opportunity to refer patients to an approved
  health walk or outdoor activity programme.
• Announced a partnership between DH and Natural
  England to expand Walking for Health with the aim
  of quadrupling participation by the 2012 Olympics.

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Aim 1 Every household within five minutes walk
of an area of green space of at least two
hectares.

• Creating health promoting environments
• Statutory Planning
• Advocacy Green Infrastructure
• Access Partnerships
• Public Rights of Way
• Green Flag Award
• Grants Aid Agri Environment Access
• Access to Nature
• Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund
• Delivery Angst pilots BAP

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Aim 2 Every GP or community nurse has the
opportunity to refer patients to an approved
health walk or outdoor activity programme.

• Go London aims to get 300,000 people active by
  2012 in London. (WFH target for London is 7000
  weekly by 2012 (1773 baseline)
• Vascular checks every person over the age of 45
  to be screened for vascular disease and physical
  activity levels
• Physical Activity Care Pathway to deliver
  physical activity in primary care
• PCTs vital signs including childhood obesity and
  cardiovascular targets
• Mayors Health Inequalities Strategy

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Aim 2 Case study Southwark GP Recommendation
Project
Aims To promote the use of the natural
environment to help increase and sustain physical
activity levels amongst local residents
Southwark, including patients with long term
conditions, linked to GP surgeries. How MI
Signposting to free, outdoors indoors
activities Follow up and monitoring
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How Walking for Health integrates with government
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Connecting people to the natural environment

• Taking it forward at Local/PCT level
• Review need delivery set local expansion
  targets for WfH.
• Work with local partners through LAAs, CSPs
  physical activity networks to expand delivery.
• Target WfH to link people greenspace.
• Link provision expansion of interventions to
  health checks PACP.
• Establish a single gateway for sport and
  recreation programmes.

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Thank you!
Walking is the nearest activity to perfect
exercise Professor J Morris and Dr Adrianne
Hardman 1997