Saltwell Junior parkrunners celebrate NHS turning 75 with blue lights and sirens
**** Media invite ****
WHAT:
Lights and sirens will join scores of young runners and volunteers at this coming week’s Saltwell Junior Parkrun in Gateshead to celebrate the NHS 75th birthday.
North East Ambulance Service has teamed up with the event organisers, along with NHS and health representatives from across the area.
An emergency ambulance and branded NHS75 transport vehicle from the Queen Elizabeth hospital will also be present with NHS staff to cheer on the runners.
WHO:
Event directors – husband and wife team Ruth and Graham Tebbut (Graham manages North East Ambulance Service’s fleet of emergency vehicles)
Scores of young runners aged 4 to 14
Volunteers, including NHS employees
Deputy Chief Executive at North East Ambulance Service, Karen O’Brien
Dr Lynn Wilson, Director for the Gateshead System with Gateshead Council and North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Deputy Director of People and OD, Dan Venner
WHERE: Bowling Green, Saltwell Park, Gateshead
WHEN: 8.30-8.45am arrival / 9am run starts / 9.30-9.45 finish
SALTWELL JUNIOR PARKRUNNERS CELEBRATE NHS TURNING 75 WITH BLUE LIGHTS AND SIRENS
Blue lights and sirens will be visiting Saltwell Junior parkrun in Gateshead this weekend to celebrate the NHS turning 75.
Husband and wife team, Ruth and Graham Tebbutt set up the event in September 2019 and have been running the Saltwell parkrun event ever since, with the support of many volunteers, including NHS employees, who come along to help, as well as their three children.
Event Director and keen runner, Graham was eager to mark the occasion as the NHS is at the heart of his day job. As managing director for North East Ambulance Service’s fleet of 170 ambulances at the Trust’s wholly owned subsidiary NEASUS, Graham is responsible for ensuring the Trust’s vehicles can respond to thousands of emergencies and transport thousands of patients to and from hospital across the region each year.
Joining the weekly team for the special event will be Deputy Chief Executive at North
East Ambulance Service (NEAS), Karen O’Brien, Dr Lynn Wilson, Director for the
Gateshead System with Gateshead Council and North East and North Cumbria
Integrated Care Board and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Deputy Director of People and
Organisational Development, Dan Venner.
Event Director, Ruth explains, “We still love it as much as we did when we first started. There is no better start to a Sunday morning! It’s such a lovely community, a beautiful park and seeing the kids running around and trying their best is always a highlight of the week. We are delighted to be celebrating 75 years of the NHS at junior parkrun as we have so many volunteers and parents who work for the NHS and we are so grateful to all of them!”
Karen O’Brien from NEAS added, “What a great way to celebrate NHS75 – supporting youngsters and families in our region, using one of the great open spaces we have in the local area, helping all of our mental wellbeing through outdoor activity, and coming together with partners across the health and social care system to recognise the amazing work our services and colleagues do every day for the people of the North East.”
Dr Lynn Wilson, Director for the Gateshead System with Gateshead Council and North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board said: "I'm really looking forward to being part of this historic parkrun as we mark 75 years of the NHS. There is so much we have to be proud of in the North East and North Cumbria and I am particularly proud of the strong ties we have with key partners across the health and social care system to ensure that our people are able to access good quality services that have a positive effect on them and the communities in which they live."
In total, 927 juniors have run Saltwell Junior Parkrun at 116 events, averaging 63 per week, with as many as 131 on the busiest day. They welcome juniors of all abilities age 4 to14 and are recognised regularly with milestone wristbands for those who complete 11, 21, 50, 100 and 250 junior parkruns to mark their achievement.
The event team volunteer several hours each week to sort out the volunteer roster, communications and social media during the week and to set up and manage the run each Sunday. Graham and Ruth’s three children take an important role too, whilst often running along with the others.
375 different volunteers have supported the run at Saltwell since it began, with 24 to 35 volunteers every week, which includes parents/guardians/grandparents of our juniors, Duke of Edinburgh volunteers, GoodGym volunteers, parkrunners and many more.
Saltwell Junior’s case studies
For more case studies visit: Facebook
Runner stories:
Izzy, 11 years old from Chester le Street, said,
“Saltwell Junior parkrun is my favourite parkrun. The volunteers are really friendly and encouraging along the route. And the people who run around my time are always nice and we all say well done to each other at the end. We push each on but in a good way! It's quite a hard run because of the hill but it has really helped me with my athletics and cross country. The best parkrun I had was getting under eight minutes for the first time. I had a few weeks of 8.01 and 8.02's so to finally get under was amazing. I love to run and Saltwell Junior parkrun is a great opportunity to just run and have fun. And the hot chocolate and scone at the end is the icing on the cake.”
Name: Billy Grey
Age: 13
Reasons for doing parkrun: My parents took me there at age four and I really enjoyed it so never stopped.
Best experience at parkrun: Having a friendly chat with a boy about my age and fitness level while running/making a friend.
How do you feel about parkrun: It's great fun, and a really good way to keep fit.
Dad's comment: parkrun has played an incredible part in enthusing Billy about exercising and volunteering, which he's done well over 100 times.
Emily aged 10 from Gateshead. I like doing parkrun because it keeps you fit and has helped me run faster when I am playing football. My best experience of parkrun is when I get a new PB, I knocked 20 seconds off and it maid me believe in myself more. Yes I sometimes volunteer sorting the finish tokens. I am at Saltwell junior parkrun nearly every week, my brother Ollie runs also. My mam, dad and brother James all volunteer.
Volunteer stories –
NHS worker:
“I’m Charlotte and I regularly volunteer at Saltwell juniors and I’m now part of the team of run directors. I’ve volunteered at parkrun over 100 times. I love volunteering as it gives me so much motivation and confidence, and I’ve met so many new people.
“I’ve worked in the NHS for over 8 years now, previously as a Physiotherapy Assistant on Intensive Care at the Freeman Hospital (including through Covid). I’ve recently just started in my first year of a Degree Apprenticeship in Mental Health Nursing (Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust and University of Sunderland)
“I have a rare disease (Osteogenesis Imperfecta) which affects approximately 5,000 people in the UK. My condition is invisible to others, so if you see me volunteering on a Sunday, you probably wouldn’t notice. I’m grateful for all the NHS has done for me including the amazing care that I have received over the years. My condition means that I can be prone to fractures and injuries, so volunteering at parkrun is brilliant as there is always something I can help out with!
Pictures available of case studies on request. Picture caption above - Graham Tebbutt.
-ends-
Media contact: Sam Reed at North East Ambulance Service, Tel: 07559 918672 or email public.relations@neas.nhs.uk.
Notes to editors
About parkrun
This is the second time parkrun UK and the NHS have worked together in this way. In 2018, for the 70th anniversary of the NHS, an incredible UK-wide celebration was held which saw more than 146,000 people taking part as walkers, joggers, runners and volunteers, many of whom had never been to a parkrun before. The celebration was spearheaded by regular parkrunner, former nursing assistant and Olympic gold medallist, Dame Kelly Holmes.
‘parkrun for the NHS’ will not only recognise and celebrate this huge milestone for the NHS, it will also encourage many more people to get involved with their local parkrun or junior parkrun and to make steps towards a more healthy, active lifestyle.
parkrun already has a well-established relationship with GPs, which sees GP surgeries partnered with their local parkrun events in the ‘parkrun practice’ initiative. Both patients and staff are signposted to local parkruns to improve both mental and physical health.
Chrissie Wellington, Global Head of Health and Wellbeing at parkrun, said:
“We are thrilled to be joining forces with the NHS across the UK to celebrate its 75th anniversary. We know that participating in parkrun is incredibly beneficial to people’s mental and physical health, and best of all the events are local, they are accessible, they are free, and they are fun! They’re also there every week, and we’d love to see those taking part continue to join us in the future. ‘parkrun for the NHS’ is the perfect way for us to increase awareness of parkrun across the health sector while at the same time paying tribute to the enormous and incredibly valuable contribution of NHS staff and volunteers to the health of our nation.”
Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England said:
“For 75 years, the NHS, its staff and volunteers have been there for us. From the midwives who help bring us into the world, the GPs, practice nurses and pharmacists who are our first port of call when we are sick, the nurses, doctors and other clinicians who use their expertise to care for us in our time of need, the porters and cleaners who keep our hospitals moving, and the hundreds of thousands of dedicated staff and volunteers in between.
“Therefore, I’m delighted that the NHS has teamed up with parkrun UK in a celebration of the NHS’s 75th anniversary in July. I know it will be popular and I encourage as many people as possible – from local communities to NHS staff and volunteers – to get involved, whether it’s by walking, jogging or running the course, or lending a hand as a volunteer. Or just coming along to watch and soak up the atmosphere.
“As well as being a great way to thank NHS staff and volunteers during the NHS’s 75th year, we hope ‘parkrun for the NHS’ will help encourage people to consider being more active. We know physical activity is great for your body and mind. Some is good – more is better still.”
About NHS75:
Since the NHS was founded on 5 July 1948, it has always innovated and adapted to meet to needs of each generation. The founding principles remain as relevant, and valued, today as they were 75 years ago. The public still support having a national health service, and it is what makes our people most proud to be British. As we mark 75 years of the NHS, we’re looking back on the history and achievements of our organisation – and its staff and volunteers – and the opportunities that lie ahead to shape the next 75. The NHS has been a constant presence throughout all our lives, and we can all play a role in supporting the NHS this special birthday year.
To learn more about the NHS’s 75th anniversary, including how you can get involved, visit www.england.nhs.uk/NHSBirthday.