Enabling healthcare professionals
Healthcare professionals can have significant influence in supporting more disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to be active for life. We are committed to working with a broad range of healthcare professionals and their national bodies. Here you will find lots of useful information for healthcare professionals looking to offer more inclusive activity.
Everyone deserves the right to be active. There are 11.5 million disabled people in England but the least active group in our society. Disabled people are twice as likely to be inactive than non-disabled people, yet seven in ten state they want to be more active.
Healthcare professionals are an important point of contact and referral for disabled people looking to be active. Evidence shows that one in four patients would be more active if advised by a healthcare professional.
We are proud to be working with Sport England and other partners in health. Created in partnership, our short feature film for healthcare professionals reinforces the need for more collaboration for greater health outcomes. It introduces the urgent case for change so more disabled people can reap the physical and mental health benefits.
Watch the healthcare professional film
Working in partnership
National collaboration: For our short feature film supporting healthcare professionals, we worked with Public Health England, Sport England and two local organisations, Essex-based Sport for Confidence and Yorkshire Sport Foundation’s Creating Connections programme.
Collaborative approach with The Richmond Group of charities: We collaborate with The Richmond Group of Charities, who represent 15 million people living with long-term health conditions, through their Movement for All programme. We are working together to combine our knowledge and share good practice to help increase physical activity levels as part of their £1.3 million Sport England National Lottery funding award.
Strategic partner of Mind and its Get Set to Go programme: Mind’s Get Set to Go programme helps people find the physical activity that's right for them. We support them having an inclusive approach, and they support us to think about mental health.
Internal collaboration: We have set up an internal health-working group to explore how we can work with and support our health partners. Through this, we identify ways in which we can influence the sector and provide the right support in areas of engagement, resources and programmes.
Engaging with health professionals: We have been featuring a series of health Q and A features from key leaders in health, and their calls for action for disabled people. Public Health England, Royal College of Occupational Therapists and The Richmond Group, amongst others, provide lots of useful information for healthcare professionals looking to offer more inclusive activity.
Resources and guidance
- Download advice for health professionals on current available opportunities.
- Our roadmap to supporting more disabled people to be active is a good place to start. Visit our being active at home page for more ideas too.
- Our research provide valuable insight to inform the health sector about disabled people and their supporters. This includes, the Physical Activity as a Therapy Choice study. Visit our research page and facts and statistics page for more.
- Our Inclusive Activity Programme can provide health professionals with the skills and confidence to support disabled people to be active.
- Our Get Out Get Active programme is a pioneering project in 21 localities across the UK. Funded by Spirit of 2012, it is getting the least active disabled people and non-disabled people, active together.
- The National Disability Sports Organisations (NDSOs) offer support and opportunities for people of all ages with specific impairments.
Useful links
Moving Healthcare Professionals programme led by Sport England and Public Health England
Public Health England Physical Activity for Disabled Adults infographic
Royal College of Occupational Therapists
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy