Thousands to benefit from innovative scheme in Thornbury

Thousands of people will benefit from an innovative scheme bringing together NHS physiotherapy clinics and a towns leisure services launched by Sirona care & health.

Outpatient clinics run by Sirona, the provider of NHS community services in South Gloucestershire, now operate from Thornbury Active Lifestyle Centre, run by the Circadian Trust, which, like Sirona, is a non-profit organisation.

This means people recovering from an injury, surgery or painful muscles and joints are being treated at a state-of-the-art lifestyle centre in the heart of the community rather than a traditional hospital setting. Where appropriate, therapists have access to use the centres gym and pool to help individuals in their therapy sessions.

The move was made possible through the support of the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group to relocate the rehabilitation services previously provided on the Thornbury Hospital site to more modern facilities.

Paul Wilson, Sirona’s Strategic Lead for Prevention and Wellbeing, said: By using the Active Lifestyle Centre in Thornbury, we can support people to become more physically active both during and after their period of treatment.  This will not only benefit them physically but will also increase their level of social contact and teach them new ways to keep themselves active and well.  This is very much in line with our ethos of supporting people to look after their overall health and wellbeing and remain independent.

There will also be benefits for people’s mental health as improved physical health, stronger social connections and a positive learning experience often result in improved psychological and emotional health too; our aim through our work and by working with partners is always to treat the whole person and not just an individuals body.

Jenny Theed, Director of Nursing and Operations, added: “We are committed to making sure our high quality care is tailored to an individual, and this holistic approach will improve rehabilitation and recovery for people by giving them the chance to see facilities available to continue their rehabilitation journey after treatment, if they wish.”

“We are delighted to be working with Circadian Trust to ensure there is a facility for people in Thornbury and beyond, and we are really pleased that they will be offering those attending outpatient clinics special offers to join the lifestyle centre or one of the others run by Circadian across South Gloucestershire so they can continue their journey.”

Craig Smart, Operations Director for Circadian Trust said, “Our mission as an organisation is to inspire active lifestyles and maximise participation across all levels of health and wellbeing, so we are thrilled to be working in partnership with Sirona to provide this outpatient service. We look forward to welcoming Sirona’s clients to our Centres and hope we can inspire them to adopt a healthier level of physical activity as we assist with their prevention and rehabilitation therapies.”

For any new visitors to the Thornbury Active Lifestyle Centre, it can be found at the bottom of Alveston Hill in Thornbury (BS35 3JB).