Primary care network (PCN) staff walked more than one million paces as part of a month-long challenge that has 'boosted morale', encouraged healthier habits, and helped reduce stress.

The walking competition in Warrington, in the north west, ran throughout May and had 136 participants who completed a total of 1,261,222 average steps.

Staff from five Warrington PCNs took part in the challenge, with East Warrington PCN crowned the winners with an average of 301,278 steps.

Pulse PCN was told that the feedback from participants suggested staff mental health has ‘significantly improved’ as a result of taking part.

*Because there were different numbers of staff in each PCN group, the organisers worked out the average steps walked per PCN over the four weeks to make it fairer across the teams.

Central and West Warrington PCN care coordinator and Step up Challenge Lead Nicola Heywood said: ‘The impact on staff wellbeing across the PCN has been extremely positive.

‘The challenge boosted morale, encouraged healthier habits, and helped reduce stress by giving colleagues time to prioritise their own wellbeing.

‘Many staff felt more energised and motivated, and the challenge strengthened relationships across teams by bringing everyone together with a common goal.’

Ms Heywood also said the challenge ‘created a real sense of teamwork and encouraged colleagues to support one another’.

She added: ‘We took part in the "Move More in May" challenge because we wanted to encourage our colleagues to become more active, support their physical and mental wellbeing, and bring our PCN together through a fun and positive initiative.

‘Working in primary care can be demanding, so it was important to create an opportunity for staff to focus on their own health while enjoying a shared team challenge.’

Ms Heywood said they introduced walking meetings and walking lunches throughout the month, which gave staff the chance to step away from the desks to get some fresh air and do some physical activity.

‘The success of the challenge has shown that small changes, such as moving more during the working day, can have a big impact on both staff wellbeing and the way we work together,’ she added.

The clinical director at Central and West Warrington PCN, Dr Laura Mount, said: ‘People got very motivated and there was lots of healthy competition, even within our PCN.   

‘I love walking, but it motivated me to increase my steps by 25% over the month of the challenge. We introduced walking meetings and lunches.  We will definitely be repeating the challenge again in the future.’

Marie-Ann Hunter, strategic manager for Central East, East and South Warrington PCNs, came up with the idea of the challenge.

She said that by prioritising staff health and wellbeing, the teams hoped to lead by example and help create a healthier, more active Warrington.

Ms Hunter also said that early feedback has indicated: 

  • 100% of respondents said they would now be more likely to choose walking as a mode of transport;
  • Mental health has significantly improved in those who took part;
  • 100% of respondents will take part again next year; and
  • 100% of respondents felt benefits during the challenge, including increased physical activity levels, less stress, weight loss, and had fun.

Ms Hunter said the PCNs plan to do the challenge again next year, but this time including cycling, swimming and other activities, so those who may do other forms of exercise can get involved.

The participants used a free app called ‘StepUp’ to log steps, gave weekly updates via a leaderboard and everyone got a certificate for taking part, with the winners awarded a cup.