A sports academy is offering a health and exercise programme for people who endure mental, physical and neurological conditions.
The 12-week scheme at Greenbank Sports Academy supports people such as those who have had a stroke to people suffering from depression and physical disabilities.
Manager Mark Palmer said: “With some programmes, it can be free. It totally depends on the individual health service being offered. Our scheme is an £8 payment for 12 weeks and then if you wish to continue, it’s £2 every time you come.
“We also have an ‘Active to Exercise Programme’ for neurological conditions.
“You’d receive a health coach to monitor you on a six to 12-month basis. They’d focus on how well you’re doing, look for any improvements, see where or why you’re struggling and how to resolve this.
“As well as this, we can signpost individuals to not just gym work. This ranges from cycling, to power football all the way to hockey.”
With mental health specifically being very prominent in the media, with charities such as Samaritans campaigning in London for funding for suicide prevention, schemes like this can dramatically help those in need.
The academy has trained instructors to guarantee the knowledge used and techniques associated with sport will directly help.
Mark said: “We mainly focus on neurological conditions, and our instructors are level two and level three trained via GP referrals. We also have level four trained instructors solely for neurological conditions as well.
“You can see the positive impact it has on individuals by how much they come to use the exercise support. Their self esteem has increased, you can see the amount of times they go back to GP for support and around here it’s mainly confidence building. The reduction of support is also a key factor into how well they’re progressing. They become a lot more independent.”
