On the right track after the pandemic
Possability People’s Right Track MSK Social Prescribing team provide a light touch, personalised service for people being treated by the Sussex MSK Partnership.
About one in five adults in the UK are affected in some way by pain, and for many of our service users, chronic pain is a part of life. Right Track supports people to find ways to manage living with their pain, in part by prescribing the services of our voluntary sector colleagues in organisations like Together Co or Age UK, who work with clients for a longer time on a wide range of health and wellbeing issues.
Throughout the pandemic, options available for Right Track to refer to were reduced. Many clients have shielded for the last two years, so the team are now looking at ways to encourage people to gradually and safely return to services that will improve their wellbeing and enable them to better manage their pain.
The team’s Fiona Szabo recently met Esther Watts, the regional lead for Thriving Communities in the South East, a new national support programme for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups who support communities. They discussed the impact of the pandemic on service users.
Fiona said:
“People have experienced longer periods of inactivity and may be feeling nervous or lacking the confidence to return to the things they used to do.
“There needs to be provision for reconditioning in appropriate ways, particularly for people who may have spent a long time shielding and are not sure about how to get moving again.
‘’What seems to matter to many people is being able to go back to appropriate health and leisure facilities. A need for warm water shallow pools with graded access and not narrow steps is often asked for from people we talk to. Adequate and improved changing rooms and facilities, disabled ramps, or lifts, in addition to regular transport links to their local hubs are also requested”.
Swim England chief executive Jane Nickerson says a new report warning that one in five swimming pools will permanently close due to the coronavirus pandemic is ‘massively concerning but not surprising’.
Esther and Fiona also discussed what might be missing for people in their communities because of the pandemic (now endemic), how some churches and community spaces have closed their doors, and how smaller run activities are no longer operating.
Fiona continued:
‘’Our patients are asking more than ever about hydrotherapy, yet we know many health centers are still not offering access to the shallow warmer pool, sticking to lane swimming only. Health clubs may also have taken away the Jacuzzi or closed the use of the steam room as a result of the pandemic. Heat and warm water are good therapeutic spaces, allowing people to safely move and exercise in ways that feel right for them’’.
The changes brought about by the pandemic have affected all our communities, including professional ones. Third sector staff have balanced a reduction of social interaction with colleagues and incorporated new habits into our work and live spaces to help us stay connected.
As a result of the meeting with Esther, Right Track have more resources to enable them to support people in a post pandemic world, including an ‘ideas hub’ and the Thriving Communities National Academy for Social Prescribing:
Thriving Communities | National Academy for Social Prescribing (socialprescribingacademy.org.uk)