Patford House Surgery

Patford House Surgery has launched a free programme consisting of three modules specifically designed for families which seek to both assess and improve health and fitness of primary school pupils.  In its first cohort, the practice engaged with over 200 year 4 children. arents are involved in a 12 week programme which includes nutritional advice from a Michelin starred chef.  Topics include healthy eating, portion sizing, food labels, shopping and planning, snacks and drinks, rewards, slip ups, special occasions and food myths.

Data is being collected as the programme progresses and this will continue after the end of the programme.

What sort of organisation can run programmes like this?

 The surgery says 'In terms of funding, although the baseline contract with the NHS includes weight management, it only extends to routine clinical applications, not the type of programme we have designed. Funding therefore has to be found elsewhere, plus a regular group of committed individuals who are prepared to give their time.  It took 15 months between normal clinical activity to put aside time to create a programme that was both robust and sustainable.'