Liverpool City Council, Britdoc, Merseyside Sport and Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust are working together to deliver a FREE Ping Pong Healthcare event in Liverpool.
Taking place on Monday 12 August from 9.30am – 1.30pm at Parklands High School in Speke, the event will offer anyone working with older people in Liverpool the opportunity to get them active through ping pong.
The event is part of the Ping Pong Care Campaign, a national initiative funded by the Big Lottery, which is touring venues across the UK with the aim of helping to encourage active ageing.
Aimed at any professionals or organisations working with older people to promote health and wellbeing or reduce social isolation, the event will provide opportunity to learn how to use the Ping Pong Care Campaign in your locality, including basic training sessions and offers a FREE Ping Pong Care Pack which includes all of the resources and information to help you network with your local Active Ageing community and to get older people playing.
Diane Singleton Service lead for Liverpool Community Health (LCH) NHS Trust’s award-winning Liveability Service which specialises in promoting physical activity among older people in Liverpool explains,”As a service, we’ve been involved in setting up this event which we believe is a really exciting opportunity to get older people active in any setting.
“Since table tennis can be played anywhere using any table, including in care homes, nursing homes, peoples own homes or in community centres, it’s a fantastic way to get older people to take part in physical activity – which can make a big difference to their overall health.”
There are over 160,000 Liverpool residents aged between 50 and 90 currently living in Liverpool, and this number is set to increase dramatically in the next few years, so helping to keep people active and healthy later in life is an increasingly important priority for local health services, social care and other groups.
Diane adds, “We know that making part in regular, moderate levels of physical activity such as a gentle game of ping pong can make a big difference to older people’s overall health and wellbeing, and we would encourage anyone working with over 50’s in the area to come along, and find out more..”
Liveability is a nurse-led service which provides instructor-led exercise classes and gym sessions year round, that help to increase strength, fitness, coordination and balance amongst the over 50’s, as well as offering home assessments to help reduce the risk of falls and of social isolation.
For more information about the event, please visit: http://liverpoolpingpong.eventbrite.co.uk or for a short film with more information, you can also visit: www.pingpongfilm.co.uk/campaign
