2000 GP surgeries in the UK now registered to parkrun practices

Wellspring Medical Practice in Killingworth, North Tyneside has today become the 2000th GP practice to register to the Royal College of GP's parkrun practices initiative.

Designed to promote the health and wellbeing of staff and patients through regular exercise, parkrun practices is a social prescribing initiative from the Royal College of GPs and parkrun UK.

The scheme supports participating GP teams to develop close links with local parkrun events, highlighting the pathways for staff members to volunteer and encourage patients to participate.

The 5km parkrun events - held on Saturdays across the UK - are organised by local volunteers and are free to take part in. They are inclusive of all ability levels and suitable for the whole family; attendees can run, jog, walk or volunteer.

By participating in regular physical activity, patients can improve their overall health, reducing their chance of developing both physical and mental health conditions. The voluntary and community focus of parkrun events also gives those attending the opportunity to form connections with others in their area, helping to address the negative health effects of loneliness.

Once registered and linked up with a local event, practices can access physical and digital promotional material, including a certificate, posters and flyers to display in their waiting room. They also have access to learning resources and toolkits offering guidance on how to initiate conversations with patients about the health benefits of regular physical activity, where appropriate.

The scheme is part of wider efforts from the Royal College of GPs to promote prevention for health, which is a clinical priority for the organisation.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "It's really good to see 2000 practices in the UK have now signed up to our initiative with parkrun UK - it's a significant landmark and shows that GP teams are being proactive in encouraging their patients to improve their overall health through lifestyle changes.

“The link between physical activity and health – both physical and mental - is well established. People who do exercise regularly tend to have a lower risk of developing a range of potentially serious conditions including obesity, diabetes, high-blood pressure, cardiovascular disease; even dementia or neurodegenerative diseases.

"Regular physical activity also promotes mental wellbeing and reduces stress - helped too by the community nature of parkrun. Going forward, we hope to see even more practices register to our initiative and see the benefits for both patients and staff first hand."

Dr Annie Rajan, Wellspring Medical Practice, said: "It's a pleasure to be the 2000th parkrun practice. As GPs, we know firsthand how important physical activity and a sense of community can be for the health of our patients and parkrun offers both.

"As a practice team, we'll be leading by example, engaging with our local parkrun volunteers and attending ourselves. We'll be encouraging our patients to participate regularly in events too - we hope to see many take advantage."

For practices looking to register with the scheme, they first contact their local parkrun team to express their interest in collaboration. Any member of the practice team can then register to the initiative, acting as the main contact for their surgery.

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.