We caught up with Sarah Wimpenny from the ‘Well Together Service’ at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, to find out about they are improving local people’s health and wellbeing through walking. Read on to find out how you can be involved…
“Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust Well Together Service, previously known as Champions Show the Way, provides a range of interesting, sociable, health-led activities delivered by dedicated activity volunteers. Our activities are free of charge and run across Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven. Well Together is for adults aged 18 years or over and we welcome service users with long term health conditions and accept self-referrals and referrals from health professionals into the service. There are many groups available to join, including crafting, peer support and of course, our fabulous walking groups.
Our Well Together walking groups are based across the Bradford District and are led by trained volunteer walk leaders who have completed our bespoke Well Together Walks training programme. We currently offer 28 walking groups across the Bradford District of varying levels and abilities, including a walk dedicated for Carers and walks that discuss history, nature and plants relevant to the area.
Our walks are also important in aiding the recovery of both short and long-term health conditions as well as supporting general and mental wellbeing which has been instrumental in our mission to reduce social isolation within the Community, which we have seen a large increase in since Covid. Our walking groups often evolve into fantastic friendship groups where trips and meals out external to our walks are often arranged, and the support that our walk leaders provide to those attending the walks is phenomenal.
We would like to encourage more people to become volunteers and join us in becoming walk leaders for our service. We would welcome volunteers from any area across the Bradford District, in particularly, those from the Craven area. If you may be interested in learning more about our half day Well Together walks training sessions, which can be held both in person and virtually, please contact the Well Together team using the contact details below.
To access any of our activities or walks, you can self-refer to our service by either calling 01274 259190, emailing welltogether@bdct.nhs.uk or by completing our self-referral form on the webpage Well Together service – BDCT.
GPs and other health professionals wanting to make a referral on behalf of a patient can do this using the professionals’ referral form on the same webpage.