NHS 10-Year Plan

Put aquatics at heart of NHS plans says Swim England

Yesterday the government published their NHS 10-Year Plan ‘Fit for the Future’.

Responding to the news, Swim England chief executive Andy Salmon said: “There is much to welcome in the government’s plan.

We need to help people live healthier and happier lives and so to see the importance of prevention recognised in the plan was very positive.

To make that a reality on the ground and help deliver the government’s aim of ‘getting millions more moving’ it is clear that there needs to be a key role for our swimming pools and leisure centres.

Already millions of adults, including almost 20% of adults with three or more health impairments, go swimming each year as they recognise the unique benefits of aquatic activity on their health and wellbeing.

Our Value of Swimming report showed that swimming prevents 80,000 cases of ill health each year, saving the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds each year and the network of over 200 ‘Water Wellbeing’ accredited swimming pools up and down the country are doing fantastic work that we want to see scaled up.

But it’s clear that our pools can do even more to support even greater numbers and we need to see better integration of aquatic, and wider leisure services, into care pathways.

The new ‘neighbourhood health service’ offers an opportunity to do just that. But if the government’s plans are to be successful it is now important that supporting physical activity is placed at the heart of these plans.

At Swim England we will keep working to promote awareness of the health benefits of swimming so that more people can enjoy the many benefits of getting in the water.