Swim England and Good Boost to expand groundbreaking health partnership

A new formal collaboration agreement has been signed between Swim England and Good Boost which will see the award-winning programme expanded to even more pools across the country.

The national governing body has worked with Good Boost since 2019, initially to develop and test, then to increase access to the technology to pools across the country.

Good Boost, as a UK social enterprise, deliver community based musculoskeletal and long-term health conditions support in swimming pools.

Using artificial intelligence and intelligent decision-making powered exercise recommendation software, Good Boost supports people with long-term health conditions to improve their wellbeing and manage their conditions in an enjoyable and effective manner.

Sessions are delivered individually or in group classes in hundreds of pools across England, now also available in Scotland, Wales and internationally. The waterproof tablet devices showing participants how to complete the exercises are now commonplace on poolside.

With more people with multiple long-term health conditions than ever, choosing water as a space to be active, Good Boost provides structured options for rehabilitation and ongoing condition management.

A recent large-scale study of thousands of individuals with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions using the Good Boost digital aquatic exercise programme showed:

• notable improvements in anxiety and life satisfaction within six weeks.
• significant improvement in physical function.
• a cost saving of £168 per person compared to NHS physiotherapy sessions.

Andy Salmon, Swim England CEO, said: “This continued collaboration with Good Boost supports our vision and mission, enabling safe, enjoyable and successful experiences in water.

“We will continue to promote the huge benefits of aquatic activity and swimming for health, including advocating for and promoting Good Boost with strategic and delivery partners, to bring this exciting technology to more people, particularly those who will benefit most from it.

“As an integral part of our Water Wellbeing programme and accreditation scheme, we are encouraged to see a growing number of operators using this technology to compliment and grow existing aquatic offers, with the significant health impact we have observed for years now backed by strong evidence of its effectiveness.”

Ben Wilkins, Good Boost CEO, added: “It’s been fantastic working with Swim England over the past years to drive forward the role of pools in the health of the nation.

“We’re excited with the continued partnership to create more opportunities for the role of pools to deliver measurable health and wellbeing in every community.”

The continued collaboration will support continued research and development, including joint efforts to promote and improve access to Good Boost across the country, to support the health of the population and address the rising costs and pressures on the NHS.

For information on Good Boost see: https://www.goodboost.ai/

To find out more about the collaboration and Swim England’s Water Wellbeing programme, contact: [email protected]