Mission

Long before SARS CoV2 emerged the NHS and social care were in crisis. The multiple impacts of Covid-19 have exacerbated the problems we already had resulting from insufficient funding and a lack of staffing resource. The overall health of the population is deteriorating with an increase in the number of chronic or long term health conditions requiring treatment. The gap between the demand for health and care services and the ability to deliver is widening. This situation is unsustainable and we are seeing the consequences with difficulties in obtaining routing GP appointments, NHS ambulance delays in reaching patients in need and in handover to hospital A&E departments and of course the oft reported huge backlogs in receiving hospital treatment. As we are all living longer, it is important we each do our best to keep ourselves as physically and mentally well as possible. But knowing the actions we might take doesn't always equate with our motivation to act any more than being told what to do. Far better to help people understand the benefits and outcomes they might expect from the actions they take. This three minute video explains a challenge I set myself in 2019 in order to try and gain a national platform for traction in raising awareness of these important personal behaviours. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4C_OKR_YAgU I have a social enterprise, Going for Old CIC which had to be set dormant during the Covid years but is now ready to re- emerge to help. I want to encourage, motivate and inspire people to make iterative small changes to their lifestyle as an investment in their quality of life as they age. I also want to help change perceptions and expectations of ageing and older age. I'm developing workshops and courses that can be delivered either face to face or digitally which will provide people with information giving compellings to improve their health. I completed that challenge and set another in 2021 as part of kickstarting this important message. This film, 62@62, is 20 minutes long but again helps deliver my message: https://youtu.be/rvS3HqwnXhw I am known as 'therunninggranny' on social media where I discuss health topics in easy to digest bite sized chunks. FB: therunninggranny Instagram: therunninggranny

Category

Health

Additional Information

I am a doctor with a special interest in older people and their injuries and rehabilitation. I have also served as a Trustee with Age UK South Lakeland for five years. The aforementioned video and film explain my mission. The background to this is that both the NHS and social care services are in crisis and will simply not be able to provide the same level of care in the coming decades as they have done so far. Currently, the health and care of people with long term conditions consumes 70% of the whole NHS and care budgets . Our increasingly sedentary lifestyles over the past few decades now sees people developing long term conditions at earlier ages. Under 40 years the prevalence of these conditions is 14%. That rises to 60% at 60 years and over. With an increasingly ageing population, this is set to rise and the cost of care is simply unsustainable. The NHS would be unable to provide good levels of service for A&E, Intensive care, Elective surgery and so on if more money must be spent looking after people with long term conditions. The government has made little headway into preventative measures - else there would be a change of direction with the statistics. Covid-19 has significantly exacerbated the problem. Many long term conditions are largely preventable - high blood pressure, heart and lung disease, obesity, depression, diabetes can all be positively affected by making good lifestyle choices. Therunninggranny wants to take a different tack in educating, informing and helping people to make different lifestyle choices. 60 million informed individuals can make their own choices, improve their own quality of life and help reverse the crisis with our health and care services. This is a long term ROI. I need help with PR and marketing specifically with some health workshops and courses that I am developing and would welcome the opportunity to work with professionals who can get my messages where they need to be. Many thanks for reading.