At Pennine GP Alliance, we believe in the power of movement to transform health and wellbeing. That’s why we’re proud to support a dedicated General Practice Physical Activity Champion working across Calderdale to embed physical activity into the heart of General Practice.
Our Physical Activity Champion is working in close partnership with all five Primary Care Networks in Calderdale, in support of ‘We’re All Active Calderdale’ – making being active embedded as part of day-to-day life. Together, we’re creating a culture that supports and encourages patients and staff to move more, feel better, and live healthier lives.
The role is focused on enabling GP practices to become Active Practices – spaces where conversations about physical activity become part of everyday care. From supporting staff training to building local relationships, our champion is helping practices identify new ways to promote movement in ways that work for their teams and communities.
We’re gathering local insight to guide decision-making and target areas where we can make the greatest impact. The role also supports data collection and evaluation to understand what’s working and how we can keep improving.
This work goes beyond step counts or gym sessions – it’s about making physical activity part of our environment, our conversations, and our community structures. We recognise that every person’s circumstances are different, and that health inequalities and wider social factors can shape how, when, and why people move.
We’re committed to supporting inclusive, practical opportunities for everyone to be more active, whether that’s through training staff, enhancing leadership, or building capacity to promote long-term change.
By integrating physical activity into General Practice, we aim to support healthier, more connected lives for people across Calderdale. And we’re just getting started.
The Project so far
So far, we’ve hit the ground running. We’ve launched a regular Monday Lunchtime Mood-Busting Walk that offers staff a chance to step away from their desks, get some fresh air, and reset for the week ahead. Practices from two different Primary Care Networks have already committed to becoming Active Practices, showing a real appetite for change across Calderdale. We’ve also made small but meaningful changes to our office environment to encourage everyday movement, because we know that even simple shifts can make a big difference. Most recently, we supported the Upper Valley PLT session focused on physical activity and helped launch a new initiative to get their teams moving more. It’s been an exciting start and there’s much more to come.
Visit the ‘We’re All Active Calderdale’ website here.
