An outdoor gym will be created at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) to support the health and wellbeing of staff and the local community – thanks to a £10,000 grant from Tesco.
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs RSH and the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford, applied for a grant from the supermarket’s Bags of Help scheme to create the gym on a grassed area near the Transforming Care Institute at the hospital.
And the bid has been successful with Tesco confirming the £10,000 following a public vote in store. It will lead to the creation of a multi-gym which will feature a range of exercise equipment. The gym is expected to be ready by the end of March and open to mark the national NHS Sustainability Day on 23 March 2017.
Julia Clarke, Director of Corporate Governance at SaTH, said: “Feedback from our national Staff Survey highlights that staff would like more recreational outdoor areas at the hospital. Nationally the NHS is promoting health and wellbeing and advocating the need for us as a nation to get healthier and more active. Being able to provide free outdoor facilities which are accessible to all will be of great benefit.
“We’re delighted that our application through the Tesco Bags of Help scheme has been successful and would like to thank everyone who voted for our project.
“We are really pleased that we’ll be able to create an outdoor gym at RSH in the New Year. By providing an outdoor space which can be accessed by staff and members of the communities we serve, we will be providing an area which will promote physical activity and the wellbeing of those who use it.
“As facilities at the hospital are primarily located indoors, we do have green spaces outdoors which are not restricted and easily accessible to all which will promote our mission for the population we serve to be the healthiest half million on the planet.”
The creation of the outdoor gym at RSH follows a lot of improvement work on the outdoor spaces at PRH, which has focused on developing gardens and courtyards for staff, patients and visitors to enjoy. It is also hoped that an outdoor gym could be created at PRH in the future, subject to funding.
Tesco’s Bags of Help sees the money raised from the 5p carrier bag charge in Tesco stores in England, Wales and Scotland being used to support community participation in the development and use of open spaces. Administration of the local funding is being managed by the community charity Groundwork, which specialises in transforming communities and the local environment for the better.