KEY GROUPS 

PATIENT GROUPS
These are the most important groups and their national organisations are often ahead of the professional services in understanding the importance of activity

NATIONAL AGENCIES 
these include 

• ukactive
• Public Health England 
• NHS England
• Sport England

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
Discussions are taking place with 

• the Royal College of Genral Practioners
• the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists 

Other societies are being approached 
 
LOCAL SERVICES 
At local level, the types of organisations that would be involved in most but not necessarily all health services include

• primary care, taking into account the immense time pressures and general practitioners.  The role is seen as leadership and stimulation, for example by giving ten seconds at the end of a consultation to print out a wellness prescription and hand it to the patient with empathy. The Royal College of General Practitioners already has an Active Practice programme which is developing and evaluating a wide range of resources bearing in mind the time pressures on General Practitioners
• Pharmacies are seen as having a very important part to play again reinforcing the message every time a person comes in for long term medication.  The pharmacist is aware of the medication and therefore usually the indication and is always aware of where the person lives allowing links to local activities to be highlighted.  The engagement of both general practice and pharmacy information system providers is seen as crucial.
• Specialist services.  Each specialist service should be providing intellectual leadership for the populations it serves. 
• Physiotherapists, nurses pharmacists and occupational therapists obviously play a key role in ensuring that local professionals in primary care and pharmacy have the support and resources they need tailored to local facilities. For people who are housebound district nurses and care services are of crucial importance.  The importance of maintaining and increasing strength and power in this particular group is seen as a high priority because it can reduce the need for social care by ensuring that individuals are still able to perform the key tasks of self-care, for example getting up from the chair with sufficient power and coordination and walking to the toilet in time.  It would be worth exploring the concept of care not just with these professional groups who are already full of insight into the problems that their clients face but with the broader public and press who need to be engaged with this group
• Local authorities are key providers of local facilities but so too are voluntary groups and private gyms and fitness centres. Gyms and fitness centres play an important part in the promotion of physical activity in the population in which they are sited.
• The role of voluntary groups is seen as crucial with personal trainers increasingly involved in groups who are at present conduct principally sedentary activities there is the opportunity for reaching large numbers of people and receiving a change in culture.
• Personal trainers with an interest in, and special training in, promoting activity for people with long term conditions will play a key role to allow the clinical services such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists to play a strategic role.  Furthermore trainers may be able to work with groups unable to attend the fitness centre working with groups of people, for example old peoples clubs which play a very significant role.
• Staff of old people’s homes and sheltered housing schemes are often supported by either people who specialise in promoting exercise, the Green Goddess for example or by organisations notably Oomph and Age UK whose generation games and activities within long term care provide an excellent example of activity therapy and practice.

​KEY NATIONAL AGENCIES