Improving mental health through physical activity
A NEW service has been launched in County Wexford to help people who use mental health services to explore physical activity as part of their journey to recovery.
Waterford and Wexford HSE Mental Health Services have announced the appointment of Anna Flynn as the area’s first Integrated Exercise Practitioner for Mental Health.
Ms Flynn, who has an honours science degree in exercise and health studies, will work on the Exercise Effect Project, a full-time role covering the HSE Community Health services in Summerhill and Maryville, South Wexford CAMHS, Rehabilitation and Recovery and Psychiatry of Later Life in Wexford.
HSE Mental Health Services are partnered on the project by Sports Active Wexford ( Wexford County Council), which will put it into operation, and the initiative will be backed up by an expert team from Waterford Institute of Technology ( WIT) who will carry out research and evaluation of the programme. The project is funded by the Sláintecare Integration Fund of the Department of Health.
‘There is robust evidence of a therapeutic benefit from physical activity across different mental health diagnoses’, said Dr Sheila Kissane, Principal Clinical Psychologist with Wexford Mental Health Service.
‘So we are very excited to introduce our new practitioner – Anna Flynn. Her high level of expertise, including a BSc Hons Exercise and Health Studies, Cardiac Exercise Instructor training and her compassionate outlook is a winning combination and great addition to our service’, she said.
The Exercise Effect programme stems from Sláintecare’s ten-year plan to transform Irelands health and social care services and an additional €20 million Sláintecare Integration Fund which was launched in March of this year.
The Integration Fund focused on supporting the development of existing and new best practice projects capable of being scaled nationally.
A total of 477 proposals were received and 122 were successful. Among the successful submissions was ‘The Exercise Effect’, providing for professionally-led and community-based physical activity interventions for people with mental health difficulties in County Wexford.
The submission was collaborated on by Paula Lowney, HSE Mental Health Services; Fran Ronan, Sports Active Wexford; Dr Suzanne Denieffe and Dr Evan Matthews, WIT, and met three crucial criteria by demonstrating innovative ways in which citizens can engage in their own health, best practice in the management of chronic diseases and caring for older people, and encouraging innovations in the shift of care to the community and the promotion of hospital avoidance.
The Exercise Effect was formally launched in clinical practice on June 8 by Waterford Wexford HSE Mental Health Services in partnership with Sports Active Wexford and supported by the HSE Health and Wellbeing Division.
The aim is to support individuals who use the mental health sercies to explore and integrate physical activity as part of their recovery. As well as supporting people to ‘get started’, the Integrated Practitioner will work with individuals to help them connect with and stay involved in community-based physical activity as part of their individual self-management plan for mental and physical wellbeing.
With a high demand for mental health services in light of Covid-19, it is expected that the Exercise Effect programme will create an additional line of referral-based therapeutic intervention for users of services in Wexford and will operate within HSE Covid-19 guidelines. For more information contact the Exercise Effect Project Coordinator, Paula Lowney, on paula. lowney@hse.ie
JAIL was prescribed for a motorist who fled at speed when spotted by gardaí who knew he was already disqualified from driving.
Dean O’Brien, 101 Riverchapel View, Courtown, was seen at the wheel of a silver Volkswagen Golf on April 2, 2017.
He drove away at speed into the Beachside Estate, mounting the footpath before driving across green area and abandoning the vehicle.
The keys were left in the ignition and the Golf bore damage from where it had struck bollards.
Solicitor John O’Donovan told the District Court that the accused was now father of an 11-month-old baby and that his partner was pregnant.
For his dangerous driving O’Brien lost his licence and he was sentenced to four months imprisonment.
He was later freed on bail pending an appeal against the sentence.