Trusts step out together for the global challenge

More than five million steps were notched up between the winning teams in this year’s NHS step challenge.

Staff from the county’s three main healthcare providers, Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT), Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS), and United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT), have been battling it out in teams since May in a bid to go one step beyond.

The 100 day virtual journey was launched as part of the Global Challenge which took participants around the world. The more active team members were each day, the further they progressed achieving trophies along the way. The initiative is a part of joint NHS staff wellbeing programme to help everyone be more active and improve their health and wellbeing. The challenge also looked at nutrition, psychological wellbeing and sleep patterns.

Each participant who signed up received their own pedometer to record their daily steps, which counted towards their team’s position on the global leader board. The competition included teams from all parts of the world and various organisations.

Together, Lincolnshire healthcare staff walked over 200,000 miles which equates to 8.2 times around the world and burnt the amount of calories which equates to eating 43,564 burgers.

Richard Holmes, Staff Side and Health and Safety Lead and the captain of “Are We There Yet?” -  a winning team from LPFT said: “NHS staff have some of the most vital but demanding jobs so it’s important that our employers create healthy and supportive workplaces where staff wellbeing is put on a par with the health of people we care for.

“The challenge has definitely had a positive impact on all members of our team. The ultimate victory of the competition for us was the inner satisfaction of knowing we had done our best and that we had got the most out of what we had given to each other as a team. Despite this we were mindful the minute we stepped off the podium was the minute we started preparing for the next challenge.”

Lyndsey Clapham, HR Officer, LCHS said: “The Global Challenge has given all participants the opportunity to improve their fitness, and to become more aware of their overall health and lifestyle choices.   

“Following the conclusion of the challenge, we discovered that 68 percent of those employees who participated now meet the recommended 10,000 steps per day, as opposed to 17 percent  beforehand. Our staff also found that through becoming more active their productivity and concentration levels increased. This demonstrates that there is a clear link between physical activity and general wellbeing.”

Team leader Jo Dyer, Clerical Officer in Health Records at Lincoln County Hospital said: “As a team we really worked hard to go that extra mile. I walked my dogs for hours and hours at a time. Other team members did 50 mile bike rides, swimming, pub crawls, hill walking in Scotland and trampolining.

 “We found the challenge exhausting at times but we worked harder and harder towards the end and were all quite sad when it was over."