Hannah Foxcroft, Bernard Kennedy and Sandra Rudd
STAFF and visitors to Blackpool Victoria Hospital can put their best foot forward after the launch of four walking trails around the site.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has worked in partnership with the resort’s Living Streets Charity to establish four trails around the site.
The trails were officially launched as part of the NHS’s 70th birthday celebrations.
The trail maps show four walking routes, one of which is cycle friendly which can be accessed from the hospital grounds.
Hannah Foxcroft, Healthier Workforce Manager at the Trust, said: “Walking doesn’t just make people feel healthier; it has also been proven to reduce stress level and make people feel happier.
“At Blackpool Teaching Hospitals we are proud to say we encourage our staff, patients and visitors to be more physically active in and around the workplace.
Walking these routes can take place before work, at lunchtime or after work. Alternatively staff are encourage to hold a walking meeting to increase their activity and their energy levels.’’
Bernard Kennedy, local project coordinator for Living Streets said: “It’s great to see the maps produced and I have enjoyed putting the maps together with staff from the hospital.
“They will be useful for giving staff a healthy lunchtime walk but also show routes that staff can take to get to work on foot and relieve congestion around the hospital.”
Living Streets is running walking promotion projects around the UK, which have been funded through the Department for Transport’s Access Fund, of which Blackpool is the lead authority.
This fund supports local authorities to deliver sustainable transport projects from 2017/18 through 2019/20 that seek to grow the economy by boosting levels of cycling and walking, and by improving access to jobs, skills, training and education.
Staff and visitors are encouraged whilst on site to remain physically active and to achieve the recommended exercise guidelines of 30 minutes, five days per week or 10,000 steps per day.
The routes shown on the map give an approximate; distance travelled, length of time to walk and number of steps to complete the route. These measurements can be used to assist you in knowing how much activity you have completed each day.
Hard copies of the trail maps can be picked up from the below locations across Blackpool Victoria Hospital;
- Main Reception
- Outpatients Reception
- Staff Health and Wellbeing Centre
- Physiotherapy department