Liverpool City Region Mayor encourages parents and pupils to get active on the School run

LIVERPOOL City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram met with pupils and parents at the St Peter and St Paul's Catholic Primary School in St Helens to talk about the benefits of a more active School run. The School is 1 of many across the Liverpool City Region celebrating Walk to School Week, a 5 day national event organised by Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking.

From 16 May to 20 May 2022, families are being encouraged to:- walk, wheel, cycle and scoot for the whole week to help improve young people's health and wellbeing as well as reducing congestion and harmful pollution around Schools.

Mayor Rotheram was joined at the School gates by the City Region's Walking and Cycling Commissioner and BAFTA award winning Actor and Presenter Simon O'Brien, Jane Rickwood, Schools project manager at Living Streets and Walk to School Week mascot:- 'Strider.'

A generation ago, 70% of Primary School aged children walked to School, now it's less than 50%. Living Streets is working with Schools to reverse the decline in walking rates. Schools that take part in Walk to School Week typically see an increase in walking rates by 23% with a 30% reduction in cars driving to the School gates.

64%% of pupils at St Peter and St Paul's Primary School are now:- walking, wheeling, cycling or scooting to School.

Encouraging more people to take short trips, such as those to and from School, by foot or on bike is an important part of plans to make the Liverpool City Region net zero carbon by 2040.

To make these active journeys easier and safer, Mayor Rotheram has committed tens of millions of pounds to expand and improve the Region's walking and cycling routes and better connect them to the rest of the wider public transport system.

Walk to School Week comes just a few days before the opening of the Liverpool City Region's 1st Active Travel Summit, on 24 May 2022, which will bring together advocates, activists and policymakers to discuss the future of walking and cycling in the Region.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region said:- "It's fantastic to see that so many Schools across the City Region are getting behind Walk to School Week and promoting healthier, greener ways for our young people to travel. The more we can encourage families to make small changes to their morning routine like ditching the car to walk to School, the better it will be not only for their health and wellbeing, but for the health of our planet too. I'm committed to making sure that we pass on a cleaner, greener, healthier Liverpool City Region to the next generation. People of all ages have a part to play in helping us to achieve that. It's why we've invested millions into delivering new walking and cycling routes, as well as making existing ones safer and more accessible to give people a genuine alternative to the car that makes getting from A to B easier than ever before. Hopefully it might even convince some people to ditch their car for good just like I have!"

The theme of this year's Walk to School Week, #PowerUp, will encourage pupils through video game inspired design, encouraging them to travel sustainably to School every day of the week.

 Last year, a record number of over 350,000 pupils across the country took part in Walk to School Week, with this year looking to be even bigger.

Jane Rickwood, Schools Project Manager at Living Streets said:- "We're thrilled Mayor Rotheram and our City Region Cycling and Walking Commissioner can join us to celebrate Walk to School Week and hear about the fantastic work being done by the School to get more active on the School run. Walking to School offers so many benefits, from fewer cars at the School gates to happier and more active children. I hope the visit today will inspire the pupils to keep putting 1 foot in front of the other."

Government on track to deliver 26,000 more primary care staff

THE Government is well over 50% on the way to delivering on its manifesto commitment of having 26,000 more primary care staff by March 2024, according to data. There are now over 18,200 more people working in general practice in March 2022 compared to March 2019, and nearly 30,000 overall.

This includes:- clinical pharmacists, mental health practitioners, nursing and physician associates, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists and social prescribing link workers, who refer patients to community services to support their wellbeing.

The additional staff form part of multi disciplinary teams within primary care, working alongside GPs to care for patients with complex needs, reducing pressure on GPs and increasing capacity. Sometimes a patient may see a different clinician:- a pharmacist, nurse or occupational therapist; instead of a GP as they may be the best person to meet a patient's needs and conditions. Clinical pharmacists, for example, are fully qualified to deal with a range of minor illnesses, providing advice and treatment.

The Government continues to support general practice and injected £520 million to improve access and expand GP capacity during the Pandemic, on top of the previously announced £1.5 billion to fund general practice recruitment and retention schemes.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:- "I am hugely grateful for the tireless work of GPs and primary care staff who act as the 'front door' to the NHS and provide advice and support to their patients. We have been working closely with the NHS to continue building the workforce and tackle the Covid backlog. With over 18,200 more primary care staff already, we are on track to deliver 26,000 more by 2024, backed by record funding to help increase capacity and get patients the care they need more quickly."

Dr Nikki Kanani, national medical director for Primary Care said:- "General Practice is a brilliant place to work, at the very the heart of the NHS with the chance to make a difference every day in local communities helping people and their families stay in good health, and being there for people during difficult moments. General Practice staff have worked flat-out over the Pandemic and it's fantastic 18,000 healthcare workers have joined general practice teams in just 3 years. With brilliant career prospects, there is no better time than now to apply search 'NHS careers' to find the role for you."

The Government is working to ensure it has the right number of staff with the skills to deliver high quality care to meet increasing demands, with plans to run a national recruitment campaign in the coming year.

There were over 1,400 more Doctors working in general practice in March 2022 compared to the same time in 2019 and a record breaking number started training as GPs last year, data from NHS Digital shows.

The Government and NHS is working to tackle the Covid backlog while reforming routine care services, ending long waits and improving patient care.

The Pandemic has put huge pressure on health and care services and over the next 3 years a record £39 billion will be invested through the Health and Care Levy, so the NHS has the funding it needs.

The NHS is opening new surgical hubs and up to 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to deliver more operations and give patients easier access to tests closer to home with 88 CDCs already open, delivering over 800,000 scans.