When it comes to active and sustainable travel, staff at an NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde hospital have got on their bikes and made things happen – for the benefit of patients and the nearby community.
The team at Leverndale Hospital in Glasgow have been working with patients over the past couple of years through its Pedal 4 Progress initiative, to get them active and help them enjoy the benefits to physical and mental health of cycling.
The hospitals sits in extensive grounds and is adjacent to National Cycle Route 75 – one of a network a cycle routes throughout Scotland run by Sustrans – making it an ideal spot for cycling, walking and other activities.
Initially, the team sourced a fleet of bikes and, with the help of Bikes for Good, a charity which supports cycling in the community, trained members of staff as cycle leaders, to take patients on to the cycle route.
Leverndale staff Angela Watson, Physiotherapy Team Lead, and Hannah Knox Specialist Physiotherapist, have been the driving forces behind the cycling initiative. Angela said: “The bikes proved to be incredibly popular, but they weren’t inclusive so people with additional needs couldn’t join in the cycling sessions and take advantage of the hospital’s surroundings.
“We wanted to do everything we could to make cycling accessible to as many people as possible, so we applied to Cycling Scotland for help in providing adaptive bikes.
“We had a wee trial, and the feedback was incredibly positive. The trial involved 19 people, around half of whom had done no physical activity before.”
Thanks to support from Cycling Scotland and the Energy Saving Trust, the trial led to the purchase of a set of adapted bikes, and the installation of storage facilities at the hospital.
“We now have six mountain bikes, six adapted bikes and four e-bikes, allowing us to support cyclists with a wide range of abilities,” Angela added. “Of our adapted bikes, the side-by-side tandem is the most popular, and it’s a great starting point for people who are new to cycling.”
The team now runs sessions every week, and cyclists are out in all but the most inclement of weather – but it took some additional work, and a further collaboration with Sustrans, to fully take advantage of the cycle route on their doorstep.
Hannah said: “It’s great having National Cycle Route 75 on our doorstep, but the main access to it from the hospital wasn’t suitable for adaptive cyclists, and that was something we needed to change.
“So we liaised with Sustrans, who agreed to fund a barrier update. The work has proved really positive, not just for us but for the wider cycling community.”
As well at the new access, the team has made further upgrades to the cycle network, including the installation of new benches on one of the main walking and cycling routes in the hospital grounds.
Hannah said: “We’re so lucky having this cycle round on our doorstep, and we’d like to thank all our partner organisations for their support in helping us to make the most of it.
“The benefits to our patients, and to our staff, have been huge. We run weekly cycling sessions to help improve physical activity levels and confidence in cycling. We have taken service users from not being on a bike in 20 years to using a bike as part of their daily routine both for leisure and transport.”
But Hannah and Angela don’t want to stop there. Following the success of the adaptive bikes, the Leverndale team want to add even further to the facilities they can offer patients.
Angela said: “We want to convert the side-by-side tandem to give us the option to run it as an e-bike, and we want to get a cycling FunTrain – a specially adapted cycle that allows one member of staff to take out up to three people.”
Cycling is only one of a number of initiatives at Leverndale to promote physical activity. As well as Pedal for Progress, the team also runs Meander for Mental Health walking activities, Mambo for Mental Health dancing sessions and a whole host of other activities.
And, for Angela, being involved in activities is the icing on the cake for her job. She said: “Giving the best possible care and support to patients is hugely rewarding, but being involved in providing these activities is a really enjoyable additional dimension to our role.
“I mean, how many people can say they get to cycle, walk and dance as part of their job? It’s just brilliant – and if it helps patients, so much the better.”
To find out more about Bike Week, go to: cyclinguk.org
To find out more about Sustrans and Scotland’s National Cycle Network, go to: sustrans.org.uk
To find out more about active and sustainable travel within NHSGGC, go to: nhsggc.scot
