The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Murray goes the extra mile in support of children’s exercise
Tennis star backs initiative to get young people more active
Sir Andy Murray has announced a partnership with the NHS to promote the benefits of exercise.
The tennis star has given his support to the Daily Mile initiative which encourages primary school children to run or jog a mile each day to improve their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Murray said he is “a huge supporter” of the NHS and healthier lifestyles can relieve some of the pressures on the health service.
The Daily Mile started at St Ninian’s Primary School in Stirling - close to Murray’s home town of Dunblane – in 2012 and is now has more than 4,000 schools taking part across the UK and world.
The partnership was announced as the 70th anniversary of the NHS is marked with Murray using his public profile to support health and fitness projects as he returns to top-level tennis following a lengthy hip injury.
He said: “I am a huge supporter of the NHS, but we all know it is under pressure. If we can increase levels of activity as a nation, it helps improve mood, self-esteem and energy, but it will also reduce the strain on the NHS by keeping us healthier.
“It’s especially important to instil these habits early and support and inspire young people to maintain them as they go through their teenage years.
“I am proud to be supporting The Daily Mile. It is a simple initiative which benefits children’s physical and mental health along with their wellbeing.”
Elaine Wyllie, founder of the Daily Mile, said: “To have Andy on board highlights the positive impact the Daily Mile is having across the UK. He is a fantastic sporting role model for the children of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
“We are confident that this will inspire more schools across the UK to sign-up to the Daily Mile and experience the transformational health and well-being benefits that the Daily Mile provides.”
Scotland’s chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, said: “Andy is without a doubt a fantastic sporting ambassador. He is hard working, committed and passionate about staying active, fit and healthy.
“It is wonderful to have him working alongside the NHS.”
Sir, – As you recently published in your newspaper, the public consultation on the future construct of health care in Fife will begin shortly.
I am a member of the Integrated Joint Board (IJB) for Health and Social Care, and was quoted as saying the consultation document was “not fit for purpose”.
Following intensive care, it’s a bit better, but not perfect. An enormous amount of clinical and organisational data has been squeezed and summarised in order to get it to fit into a size that people will read, but the consultation itself is not a sham. It’s a sincere effort to give the public a voice and my quoted comment referred to the quality of the draft document, not the IJB’S intent.
The key challenge is to balance increased demand versus Gp/nurse shortage. The status quo is broken and unsafe.
There is also no clear consensus on what combination of urgent out of hours care is most effective and sustainable in the longer term.
The last point is particularly important. The public reaction to this consultation is predictable and can be summarised as a wish for “the best possible care as close to me as possible”.
The consultation document should have spelled out the available resources and the full range of safe, effective and sustainable options that these could support – in other words clear signposting to enable effective public response.
But we are where we are, so I urge people to read the document, attend the public meetings and make their views known.
The two options offered in the document are not the only possible outcomes. It isn’t that clear cut and as far as I am concerned, the only option that is off the table is the status quo.
Just bear in mind that the IJB cannot “magic” more GPS and nurses, and don’t trust anyone who says you can have it all.
Cllr Tony Miklinski. Whitehill Farm, Cupar.