As originally appeared in The Belfast Telegraph, Tuesday 29 March 2022
Regional Director of GLL Gareth Kirk
The return of spring and brighter evenings brings with it the refreshing sight of runners filling the pavements and families walking in parks on sunny mornings. It brings a renewed commitment to getting outdoors and being active, and one that is always welcome after the dark of winter.
Though the evidence of this is beginning to appear in our local communities in line with the change of seasons, the step-change in the public’s attitude towards health and wellbeing has been clear within the leisure sector for some time now.
There is no doubt the pandemic years changed our relationship with exercise. For many it became an escape from reality, a break in the repetitive daily cycle that was lockdown. Walking or running outdoors and working out on zoom became the norm for most of us, and the notion of exercise as a mental wellbeing tool grew in momentum.
Two years on, it is clear this commitment has stuck. In Belfast alone, usage rates at gyms and leisure centres right across the city have reached an all-time high as membership numbers surpass pre-pandemic levels.
As a charitable social enterprise working to support people to live active and healthy lifestyles, we are pleased to be delivering leisure services to over 20,000 individuals. That’s an additional five thousand individuals investing in their wellbeing compared to before the pandemic, plus the thousands more that make use of our services without a financial commitment.
While this may be a relatively quick change in the public attitude, it is vital that we ensure it is converted into positive societal impact for years to come.
Over 350,000 people in Northern Ireland are now known to be waiting for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment, according to the Department of Health. These pressures are continuing to grow, yet behind every one is an individual waiting for answers, often living in discomfort and pain as they make their way up the list.
Though this is an issue that will take years to work through, there is a renewed sense of commitment among the public to doing all that we can, as citizens, to ease the pressure. The threat that Covid-19 posed to many people’s health, including those with underlying conditions, came as a wake-up call to many, and one that is no doubt reflected in the uplift in usage numbers we are seeing right across Belfast.
This is an encouraging reaction, yet one that we must ensure is transformed into sustained improvements across the public health sphere. The people of Belfast are some of the most active across the whole of the UK, as evidenced by the 120% return to activity compared to an average 80% return in other regions, but we must convert this into tangible improvements in the areas that impact the health, wellbeing and daily lives of individuals.
Leisure has the power to lower obesity rates, support diabetes patients, provide rehabilitation services to the public and ease the pressure on physical and mental health services. It also has the power to stimulate the economy and we are already seeing our ability to create new employment opportunities and offer new training programmes grow.
Currently, we are filling roles within our new customer service centre in Belfast, which provides direct support to users of the 371 Better facilities across the UK and gives candidates the chance to learn on the job. Our trainee management scheme continues as demand at centres across the city grows, and the Leisure Employment Academy provides on the job training and qualifications for the economically inactive.
This shift in demand shows us the momentum for healthier living is there, and the public has already began taking matters into their own hands and working towards a healthier and brighter future and every benefit that comes with it.
Now is the time to build on that momentum, and as a social enterprise, we know it is vital that leisure remains to be accessible and affordable for all if we are to achieve this.