The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) are asking people to vote at their local Tesco store for a project to build an outdoor gym that will benefit the local community.

Tesco bags for help

The Tesco Bags of Help scheme is a grant that is available to support local projects that improve green spaces in communities across England, Wales and Scotland. The money is raised through the 5p carrier bag charge.

SaTH have submitted a project proposal called “Outside Workout – Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of our Staff and Local Community”, and it has been shortlisted regionally to receive funding of up to £12,000 based on a public vote.

Depending on public support the project will be awarded £8,000, £10,000 or £12,000. If successful, the Trust would be able to build an outdoor gym at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. The would follow on from other successful projects to develop outdoor spaces at our hospitals, including opening of three gardens – The Boningale Garden of Tranquillity, The Memory Garden and The Garden of Reflection – at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

Julia Clarke, Director of Corporate Governance at SaTH, said: “Feedback from our staff survey shows staff would like more recreational outdoor areas at the hospital. Therefore we would like to develop an outdoor gym, but not only for our staff but one that can be enjoyed by our patients, visitors and everyone in the local community.

“At SaTH we treat 500,000 people every year and therefore have a wonderful opportunity to improve the lives of our local community. Our mission is to have the healthiest population on the planet and therefore the health and wellbeing of everyone in our community is extremely high on our agenda. Being able to provide free outdoor facilities, which are accessible to all, will be of great benefit to everyone in our community.”

To vote for the SaTH “Outside Workout – Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of our Staff and Local Community” project, please visit the following Tesco stores between Monday 31 October 2016 and Sunday 13 November 2016: Shrewsbury Dither Express (SY1 4BD), Shrewsbury Pride Hill Express (SY1 1EX) and Shrewsbury Extra (SY1 4HZ).