Chief Medical Officer Visits ANGUSalive Venues

Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Gregor Smith, visited Montrose on Thursday 10th April to see first-hand the prevention and proactive care work in Angus. The work is a collaboration between Angus Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS Tayside, Angus Council and ourselves.

During his visit, Professor Smith learned about the wide-ranging initiatives aimed at supporting people to live better for longer. Presentations were delivered by a range of teams, including Angus Community Mental Health, Angus Integrated Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service and ANGUSalive.

The short walk from Links Health Centre to Montrose Sports Centre in beautiful sunshine provided the perfect opportunity for Health Walk Coordinator Rhona Guild, along with 3 volunteer health walk leaders, to give him an overview of Healthy Steps Angus and the impact health walks have on individuals and communities.

Senior Manager for Sport & Leisure, Colin Knight, provided a tour of the centre before Kirstie Abbey, Health & Wellbeing Lead, introduced Professor Smith to participants of ANGUSalives’s BE ACTIVE Live Well programme, which supports individuals living with long-term health conditions to become more active.

To finish his visit, he joined participants in taking part in a gentle exercise class and met people taking part in a physio led pulmonary rehabilitation programme, which is delivered in ANGUSalive venues.

Professor Smith said: “It was wonderful to have had the opportunity to visit Angus this week, to speak to the team and to people accessing services, about how this work is making a real difference to the quality of their lives. 

“The work being undertaken as part of the partnership between Angus Health & Social Care Partnership, Angus Council and ANGUSalive recognises patients as people and supports them to take control of their own lives, manage their conditions, and live with a sense of independence. This is Realistic Medicine in practice. This is kind and careful care.”