Transport and Health - Transport Planning Society meeting (26th November 2013)

Overview:  The NHS in England is currently undergoing one of the largest reorganisations since its creation. Changes cover budgetary management, new clinical commissioning groups, greater local authority involvement, and so on.

The changes raise new opportunities for the transport and health sectors to enable achievement of mutually beneficial aims. Stronger links between the two sectors can help us to achieve improved health of the population, reduced levels of obesity, and a reduced resultant strain on NHS budgets through embedding active travel into the population’s daily lives. This event will provide an opportunity to identify the support both health and transport professionals can call on, to assist with development and delivery of complementary programmes now and in the future.

Speakers: 
Eleanor Roaf (Sustrans NW Regional Director)
Colin Cox (Public Health Consultant, Manchester City Council)
Nick Vaughan (Head of Transport Planning and Solutions – TfGM)
Dan Cassell (Transport and Access Manager – GM NHS)
NICE will also be represented

The presentations will be followed by a question and answer session.
 
We look forward to seeing you there – members and non-members welcome.
This event is free to attend for TPS/IHT/ILT/ICE/RTPI members (please bring your membership card with you); a £5 charge will be made for non-members.

TPS require that all attendees register for the event in advance (places are limited). Please reserve your place online or contact cheryl.maund@ice.org.uk if you have any difficulty. 

For all other event enquiries please contact Stacey.Silverman@jmp.co.uk
 
Lunch will be provided.

When: 12pm arrival for a 12:15pm start (duration: 2 hours approx.), Tuesday 26th November.
Location: Red Room One, City Tower, New York St, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester, M1 4BT

Inactivity..."the silent killer"

On 11th July, the Department for Health (DH) and NHS released a new report on the benefits of physical activity and the risks from inactivity.  The'Start Active, Stay Active - A report on physical activity for health from the four home countries’ Chief Medical Officers' document  highlights that 

"whatever our age, there is good scientific evidence that being physically active can help us lead healthier and even happier lives. We also know that inactivity is a silent killer."

For adults (19–64 years) the report recommends that (page 7):

1. Adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more – one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week.
 

2. Alternatively, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week or a combination of moderate and vigorous intensity activity.
 

3. Adults should also undertake physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week.
 

4. All adults should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.

The report recognises the varied benefits that could be achieved by increasing the number of people choosing to cycle and walk and notes that:

"cycling and walking will reduce transport costs, save money and help the environment. Fewer car journeys can reduce traffic, congestion and pollution, improving the health of communities. Other potential benefits linked to physical activity in children and young people include the acquisition of social skills through active play (leadership, teamwork and co-operation), better concentration in school and displacement of anti-social and criminal behaviour." [Page 9]

Also welcome, is the recognition that for most people the "easiest and most acceptable forms of physical activity are those that can be incorporated into everyday life." Such as cycling instead of travelling by car. 

Table 4 below (page 18) shows the amount of calories a person would 'burn' if they cycle at  'moderate' (10-12mph) or 'vigourous' (12-14 mph) speeds for 30 minutes. (Editor... no wonder I am always hungry!).

It is great to see that the Department of Health and NHS are promoting clear guidance on the wide ranging benefits of increasing the numbers of people choosing to walk or cycle. But as the report also recognises (Creating towns and cities for cycling).... "Central to this is the need for cycling to be prioritised as part of local authority transport plans." (Emphasis added).  The challenge now is to translate the clear health (and environmental) benefits into a progressive strategy to improve the active travel (walking and cycling) facilities and culture in Greater Manchester.  The recent successful Local Sustainable Transport Fund bid could help with this, but compared to many European and North American cities - we still have a long way to go.