Hearty Lives Fenland hearty lives people together talking

There are significant health inequalities between the district of Fenland and the rest of Cambridgeshire and the East of England.

In partnership with Fenland District CouncilCam Quit, and NHS Cambridgeshire the Hearty Lives Fenland projects aims to tackle these inequalities and help high risk groups in Fenland.

Our successes so far

  • three weekly healthy heart fitness classes setup in three leisure centres  
  • a Health at Work programme to encourage physical activity in the work place, including a Health at Work seminar attended by thirteen companies 
  • training of seven Fitness Instructors in the BACPR phase 4 exercise course, to support people with a heart condition to improve their health   

We fund a dedicated a dedicated lifestyle coach in Fenland who is providing 3-month exercise programmes and fitness advice to the over 60s who live in rural and isolated communities. It is hoped that these programmes will leave a positive legacy and the participants will remain active after the 3 month initial support.

We are also working with NHS Cambridgeshire to provide support for the gypsy and traveller community in the area. We plan to deliver 200 Medicine Use Reviews (MURs) and cardiac literacy support to 35 individuals over the course of the project.

More info

Being able to exercise and chat with a group of people who have had similar experiences has been a great help to me

Mrs Drew from Wisbech says: "I was made to feel welcome and relaxed. There was lots of very helpful information and the health check I had highlighted that my blood pressure was high. Charlene (lifestyle coach) advised that I see my doctor and I am now on medication to control it.

I am so glad that I had the health check as I had no symptoms and this could have gone unnoticed until I had real problems. Everything was explained clearly by Charlene, and I would recommend anyone to have a health check. It's a very good service!"

For more information about Hearty Lives Fenland please contact Area Development Manager Diane Card on cardd@bhf.org.uk.