The Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee met to discuss initiatives for accessible sports and fitness for disabled residents, and a strategy for long-term condition prevention. The sub-committee reviewed an updated action plan in response to recommendations on empowering disabled residents, and also reviewed a presentation on the Tower Hamlets Strategy for Long-Term Condition Prevention: Vital 5.

Empowering Disabled Residents: Accessible Sports & Fitness Initiatives

The Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee reviewed an updated action plan in response to recommendations made on 4 June 2024 regarding accessible sports and fitness initiatives for disabled residents.

The original recommendations were made to tackle barriers experienced by people with disabilities and long-term conditions when accessing sports and exercise in the borough, as these residents are significantly less likely to participate in sports than abled people.

The sub-committee's recommendations were:

1. Disability Representation: Prioritise initiatives that enhance the visibility and representation of people with disabilities within the leisure, sports and fitness centre workforce.
   • Be Well service recruitment continues to align with the council’s equality and diversity recruitment policy and the Equality Act 2010.
   • An internal survey found that 9.7% of Be Well staff disclosed a physical or mental health condition, while 6.6% preferred not to disclose.
   • Be Well is collaborating with the ‘Steps Into Work’ programme and attending SEND forums to encourage applications from young people with disabilities.
2. Data Collection: Develop a comprehensive approach to collecting and analysing disability access and usage data.
   • The new Leisure Management System captures data on disabilities and long-term conditions, along with other demographics.
   • There have been 24,000 Be Well card sign-ups, with 300 individuals identified as having a disability.
3. Trusted Communication Channels: Engage community disability groups to co-design campaigns promoting sports and exercise initiatives.
   • A consultation and engagement event is being coordinated with the local disability community, involving partners such as REAL, ICM Foundation, Ability Bow, Apasen, and Disability Sport Coach.
   • The Be Well communications team is developing a co-designed campaign, aligning its messaging with Sport England’s 'We Are Undefeatable' initiative.
4. Sports and Exercise Disability Forum: Establish a forum that empowers residents with disabilities to review provision and make recommendations.
   • Be Well is establishing a forum with key stakeholders, including REAL, ICM Foundation, Ability Bow, Apasen, and Disability Sport Coach, to support collaboration and inclusivity. The first meeting is scheduled for April 2025.
5. Collaboration: Establish joint working protocols with primary care, NHS, healthcare partners, park services, and the voluntary and community sector.
   • Be Well is collaborating with Public Health, the NHS, and the ICB to develop targeted physical activity pathways for people with disabilities, allocating £24,000 for staff training in disability competency.
   • The ‘Protected Hours’ scheme is being rebranded and relaunched, and a disability concessionary membership is offered at £25 per month, with plans to reduce it to £15 per month pending Cabinet review.
6. Transitional Arrangements: Establish joint work protocols with community gyms to support residents with disabilities in transitioning to mainstream leisure centre facilities.
   • Be Well has submitted a ‘Leisure Improvement Capital’ bid to the Mayor’s Office, focusing on environmental enhancements and inclusive gym equipment upgrades.
   • A collaborative partnership is being developed with Ability Bow and other local specialist disability gyms.

Tower Hamlets Strategy for Long-Term Condition Prevention: Vital 5

The Health & Adults Scrutiny Sub-Committee reviewed a presentation on the Tower Hamlets Strategy for Long-Term Condition Prevention: Vital 5.

The strategy focuses on five key risk factors that are leading causes of death and disease in Tower Hamlets:

• Smoking
• Overweight & Obesity
• High Blood Pressure
• Mental Health
• Alcohol

The strategy aims to address health inequalities by focusing on these risk factors, which disproportionately affect certain groups and areas within the borough. Bangladeshi, Black, and Asian residents are more likely to be diagnosed with conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and respiratory disease.

The strategy is structured around four pillars:

1. Linking to better support: Enabling residents to access support around factors that drive poor health, such as housing, employment, income, and social connection.
   • A new digital platform called Joy is being implemented to integrate data across services and connect people with local support.
2. Community-centred prevention and health promotion: Empowering people at most risk of long-term conditions to take action and creating conditions for people to be as healthy as possible.
   • The Communities Keeping Well Programme is working with eight communities in Tower Hamlets to empower them to prevent long-term conditions.
3. Detection and enabling self-care: Identifying Vital 5 risk factors, enabling people to understand the implications, and supporting them to reduce these risks.
   • Workplace and community CVD checks and kiosks are being implemented.
   • MECC training is being developed for the workforce.
4. Active management and secondary prevention: Supporting people with diagnosed conditions or risk factors with effective secondary prevention to reduce harm.

Specific actions planned for 2025 include:

• Delivering seven health fairs focused on at-risk populations.
• Supporting over 80 resident-led Vital 5 projects through the Communities Keeping Well programme.
• Establishing community champions with training on Vital 5 messages.
• Redesigning the local NHS Health Checks programme.
• Increasing capacity for QRTH¹ smoking cessation and developing a new offer for residents with long-term conditions.
• Launching a project with Be Well leisure services to extend physical activity for eligible patients with diabetes.

The strategy also includes a focus on communications, with insights work to clarify messaging and the development of culturally appropriate resources for engagement.