BH Live has teamed up with Breathe Easy Southsea Support Group to roll-out a new exercise class for Portsmouth residents living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
COPD is a collective term for progressive lung diseases including emphysema, chronic bronchitis and refractory (non-reversible) asthma. It is estimated that 1.2 million† people in the UK are living with diagnosed COPD and 19,000†† of those are in Hampshire.
It is a common condition that typically affects middle-aged or older adults who smoke. Breathing problems associated with COPD have a tendency to worsen over time and normal activities can become difficult.
While COPD can’t be cured, medical and lifestyle interventions can help keep the symptoms under control. These include medication, healthy eating, stopping smoking and Pulmonary rehabilitation – an exercise and education programme.
Sponsored by Portsmouth Lottery, the new exercise class will take place at Mountbatten Leisure Centre and be delivered by BH Live’s exercise referral team. It has been created to help COPD patients take positive steps towards slowing the development of their condition and control symptoms. Breathe Easy was awarded £1,560.00 last year by the Portsmouth Lottery to provide exercise sessions for people with COPD.
Paul Lipscombe, Chairman of Breathe Easy Southsea Support Group added, “Living with a condition associated with COPD can be a very lonely and isolating experience with many people afraid to leave the security of the home environment. By bringing activities into the community, and in a friendly setting, we aim to break down those barriers and encourage more people to take part. On a personal note, being more active has increased my own lung capacity by 2%. This has spurred me on to emphatically endorse exercise as part of a COPD treatment programme and throw our support behind this scheme.”
Emma George, BH Live’s exercise referral instructor will be running the class. She said, “Being more active is proven to improve the quality of life for those living with COPD. For us, helping more local residents feel better through exercise is what we are all about and we are so pleased to be introducing this class in conjunction with our partners.”
Classes will run at Mountbatten Leisure Centre on Tuesdays from 20 February 2018 between 10am-11am. It will cost participants £3 per person per session.
People who could benefit from the exercise programme will need to be referred onto the classes by their health practitioner, such as a GP, physiotherapist or COPD nurse, on completion of a NHS pulmonary rehabilitation programme.
Steven Wibberley, chief operating officer, for the British Lung Foundation, said, “If you’ve been inactive for a while due to a lung condition, exercising can sometimes seem like a mammoth task, but it’s vital. By increasing your fitness and strengthening your muscles, you’ll get less out of breath doing everyday activities like going shopping or climbing the stairs. You may even re-discover activities you thought you could no longer do.”
Cllr Linda Symes, Portsmouth City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, said: “These exercise classes will be really beneficial to residents with COPD. The classes are also a great way to meet new people and make new friendships which has a huge benefit to people’s social lives and wellbeing. It’s great to see the money generated by the Portsmouth Lottery being invested into something so valuable.”
Find out more about the class by contacting BH Live’s exercise referral team at Mountbatten on telephone 02393 200358 or email exercisereferralmlc@bhlive.org.uk.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
† Source https://statistics.blf.org.uk/copd
†† Source http://documents.hants.gov.uk/public-health/jsna-2013/COPDJSNA2013.pdf
Photo caption:
(C) At Mountbatten Leisure Centre with exercise equipment purchased thanks to Portsmouth Lottery. Left to right: Paul Lipscombe, Chairman of Breathe Easy Southsea Support Group, Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Ken Ellcome and Lady Mayoress Mrs Jo, Ellcome, Arthur Harmer, Secretary for Breathe Easy Southsea Support Group, Councillor Linda Symes, Portsmouth City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport and representatives from Breathe Easy.
Photographs taken by BH Live: Pictures should not be passed on to any third party, without prior written consent. Manipulation of the image or use of only a portion of the image may only take place with the written permission from BH Live. Photograph should only be used in connection with this feature and may not be used to illustrate other content without prior permission from BH Live and an image credit.
For more information about BH Live please contact:
Elizabeth Symmons, PR & Corporate Communications Executive
E: press.office@bhlive.org.uk
T: (01202) 055562
About BH Live
BH Live is the south coast’s leading operator of leisure and event venues; a social enterprise that designs and builds engaging experiences to inspire people and enrich lives.
With 3.4 million visits a year and over £39 million turnover we are changing lives and are at the heart of the UK’s growing social economy.
In 2016/17 we had 2.9 million leisure centre attendances, hosted more than 500 events and sold over half a million cultural, sporting and entertainment event tickets. We also welcomed 100,000 conference and exhibition delegates into our venues. This contributed an estimated £44 million to the local economy through business and cultural tourism.
For more visit bhlive.org.uk
Get social with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter @BHLIVE_UK
BH Live operates the following venues in partnership with Portsmouth City Council:
- Mountbatten Leisure Centre – Portsmouth’s flagship leisure and event venue with a national-class 50m swimming pool, 150 station gym, eight court sports hall, two squash courts, spin and dance studios, a cycle velodrome, athletics track, function suites with bars and café.
- Pyramids Centre – one of Portsmouth’s leading entertainment and leisure venues overlooking Southsea beach and the Solent. It has fun pools, flumes, a wave machine and a three-level soft play adventure world. There is also a multipurpose gym, 60+ weekly fitness classes and a spa. It also hosts regular live music events, conferences, exhibitions.
- Portsmouth Gymnastics Centre – state-of-the-art gymnastics hall, physiotherapy room and meeting room.
- Portsmouth Tennis Centre – A 10 court tennis facility in the north of Portsmouth consisting of four indoor courts and six floodlit outdoor courts. A comprehensive tennis coaching programme caters for all ages and abilities and is the area’s hub of accessible tennis. The programme runs sessions for tots, juniors, adults and also includes variations of the sport such as cardio tennis and touch tennis.
- Eastney Swimming Pool – 20m swimming pool and a spectators’ area.
- Wimbledon Park Sports Centre – 20 station gym, five badminton courts, basketball court and sports hall.
- Charter Community Sports Centre – 20m swimming pool, 20 station gym, sports hall and an outdoor multi-use games area.
Notes about the Lottery
The Portsmouth Lottery was launched in September 2016, with the first draw taking place on Saturday 5 November 2016. 60p from every £1 ticket will go to charities, voluntary organisations and other good causes that work in the city.
Players of the lottery can win a £25,000 jackpot, plus smaller prizes. A lottery management company, Gatherwell, has been appointed to run the scheme.
About the British Lung Foundation and Breathe Easy Southsea support group
Breathe Easy Southsea support group is a self-sustaining community group supported by the British Lung Foundation.
For press and media enquiries about the British Lung Foundation call 020 7688 5580 or email press@blf.org.uk