Health and care workforce
Being active has never been more important for maintaining and improving both our physical health and mental wellbeing.
Health and social care professionals are positioned to influence and encourage positive lifestyle changes among their patients and clients, by promoting physical activity and enabling their patients to be active. By supporting the workforce, we can make sure everyone accessing health and care services is empowered to be more active.
Our aim is to enhance the great care that healthcare professionals are already doing to keep people fit and healthy for longer, and get everyone benefiting from the physical, mental and social benefits of being more active. We are here to help everyone working in health and social care, including both paid and voluntary roles, from GPs, nurses, and allied health and social care workforces to social care workers and befrienders. With a wide range of training and courses available across Yorkshire, this page will support you in identifying the right training for your role and organisation.
In-person training (face-to-face and virtual)
Time: 90 minutes | Audience: Clinical teams | Price: Free
The PACC programme provides free face-to-face (online or in person) training to people working in healthcare, delivered nationwide by physical activity champions. The aim of this training is to increase knowledge, skills and confidence of practicing HCPs, enabling them to more effectively incorporate physical activity within their clinical care.
The training is 1-2.5 hours and can be flexible to meet the audience needs. The primary target audience is health care professionals, but anyone who works in health and care or a physical activity setting is welcome to attend. The training is generally online but depending on location and the availability of trainers, PACC may be able to offer some face-to-face training.
For more information, please contact PACC@shu.ac.uk
Listen to a podcast episode - How to talk about exercise with Diabetes patients
Time: Three hours | Audience: Non-clinical teams | Price: Free
Helping People to Move More is a training framework designed by Yorkshire Sport Foundation to strengthen non-clinical health and social care workforce to recognise wider health, economic, social and organisational value in living a more active lifestyle.
The training is a three-hour face-to-face programme, made up of six modules to increase confidence, skills and knowledge in workforce to approach active conversations with patients and people living in our communities.
We support and work with partners in the district level Activity Partnerships. We have a team embedded in these partnerships, putting us in a unique position to connect local services providing physical activity with the health and care workforce. We can also signpost people once initial conversations and behaviour change processes have taken place.
We want to work with partners across South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to position physical activity training into wider workforce development practice and can provide a train the trainer course free of charge to strengthen and support services across districts to deliver this training package.
For more information, please contact katy Fillingham katy.fillingham@yorkshiresport.org.
Time: 1-2 hours | Audience: Health and care teams | Price: Free
Making Every Contact Count (MECC) is about using the day-to-day interactions we have with others to help people make positive changes to their physical and mental health, and access the support they need. It is intended for anyone who has contact with people to "Make Every Contact Count".
MECC training is available to support staff to gain the skills and confidence needed to have conversations with others about health and wellbeing and then signpost to support services. The training is designed to support you to make the most of your everyday conversations and respond appropriately to cues for issues that come up in conversations and may be affecting residents' wellbeing, such as money worries, finding a job, mental health and changes to lifestyle such as healthy eating or stopping smoking.
MECC training consists of a one hour e-learning module followed by a two-hour interactive online session which will enable you to practice MECC conversation skills with a MECC trainer.
If you're interested in providing training to your own team and would like to become a MECC trainer, MECC 'Train-the-Trainer' courses are also available. These consist of four, two-hour online interactive sessions. You'll become a member of the MECC trainer network and be invited to other CPD and behaviour change focussed events.
To find our more information on MECC training opportunities in your area contact katy.fillingham@yorkshiresport.org
Audience: Adult Social Care Teams | Price: £160 per person - minimum 8 people | Duration: Minimum two days
Care to Move (CTM) is a whole workforce approach because its primary aim is to bring consistency (of language, correct messages) to teams delivering packages of care or those regularly engaging with older people in their homes.
CTM provides a series of consistent ‘movement prompts’ to use and embed into existing movements of daily living. It also offers a series of key messages to communicate during all interactions about sitting and moving more with a view to encouraging and empowering older people to make different decisions in the longer term to better contribute to their health, well-being, confidence and independence.
The course has three key themes/approaches;
1. Communication skills to have purposeful conversations about movement (providing a structured framework)
2. A series of targeted, specific movements and prompts (for key movements already being performed as part of the usual package of care, daily living)
3. And where applicable motivating and empowering older people to carry out home exercise programmes prescribed by therapy services.
These three themes are all designed to give support workers, volunteers confidence to have empowering and motivating interactions with clients, patients and service uses across any setting or service working with older people
Time: Two days (in person) or four three-and-a-half hour modules | Audience: Clinical/Non-clinical Healthcare Professionals | Price: £350
Love to Move Programme is an age and dementia friendly seated gymnastics programme which is transforming the lives of people living with dementia, led by the British Gymnastics Foundation.
The face-to-face courses run over 2 days, 9am – 5pm. Our online courses are broken up into 4 modules of 3.5hours each and contain every aspect of the face to face course.
To take part in the online course, you need to have a computer or lap-top with a camera and microphone as it is interactive, and tutor led. For the practical elements of the course, you will need to be able to sit far enough away from the camera for the tutor and other learners to see your head and your feet in a seated position.
The cost of the course is £350 per learner. This includes the tutor led modules, pre-course e-learning, the Love to Move music, Resource book and Workbook, online mentoring post-course, and your assessment.
Find out more and book a place.
Virtual training courses
Moving Medicine is an award winning free online resource to help healthcare professionals integrate physical activity conversations into routine clinical care. Find step by step conversation guides and patient leaflets for condition-specific consultations.
National E-learning Courses
Learn at a time and location to suit you and choose from a variety of e-learning courses, ranging in length from 1 hour to 12-weeks. The courses included below are produced by accredited organisations and offer CPD points.
Time: 12 weeks (16 CPD points) | Audience: Clinical roles | Price: £150
Moving Medicine's Active Conversations is a practical, evidence-based online learning course developed by clinicians, for clinicians that teaches you how to have quick, effective and positive conversations that encourage patients to do more physical activity. Register for the next course here: https://movingmedicine.ac.uk/activeconversations/
Time: 1-hour | Audience: Everyone | Cost: Free
PHE's All Our Health: Physical activity is a short interactive e-learning course designed to give healthcare professionals an overview of physical activity including key evidence, data and signposts. Access via Health Education England's learning portal (registration needed) - https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Component/Details/571297
Time: 1 hour | Audience: Everyone | Cost: Free
PHE and NHS's Making Every Contact Count (MECC) course is a short interactive e-learning that looks at how we can use our everyday interactions to support behaviour change, without adding to busy workloads, and focuses on asking open questions and reflective listening. Access via Health Education England's learning portal (no registration needed) - https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/making-every-contact-count/
Time: 1 hour | Audience: Clinical roles | Cost: Free
BMJ and PHE's Motivational Interviewing course is a short 1-hour module explaining what motivational interviewing is, its uses and explanations. Access via BMJ learning (registration needed) - https://learning.bmj.com/learning/module-intro/.html?moduleId=10051582
Time: 9 modules (4.5 hours total) | Audience: Clinical roles | Cost: Free
BMJ and PHE's Physical Activity in the treatment of long-term conditions course covers 9 modules including cancer, diabetes, osteoarthritis and low back pain, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease (COPD and asthma), depression, anxiety, sleep and dementia. Plus, a module on promoting physical activity in primary care. Access via BMJ Learning (registration needed) - https://learning.bmj.com/learning/course-intro/physical-activity.html?courseId=10051913
Clinical | 11 modules (25 minutes per module) | Free
This eLearning course prepares GPs, nurses and other healthcare professionals to champion the benefits of physical activity with their patients and, in doing so, help prevent and/or manage a range of common physical and mental health conditions.
The course will familiarise the learner with the UK Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidelines, the underpinning evidence base and how to incorporate it into their daily clinical care.
BMJ a curated collation of free CPD courses design specifically for Hospital Doctors, GPS, Nurses, and medical students (registration needed) including the important of physical activity, how does physical activity produce health benefits, and motivational interviewing in brief consultation.
Time: Various | Audience: Clinical/Non-clinical Healthcare Professionals | Price: Free
The Personalised Care Institute (PCI) educate and inspire health and care professionals to deliver universal personalised care that takes into account an individual’s strengths, needs and expectations, in order to deliver the right care for them.
Katy Fillingham
People and Skills Manager
katy.fillngham@YorkshireSport.org