PHOTO: ANYTIME FITNESS UK

As a sector, we must continue to campaign for the same VAT relief enjoyed by the hospitality sector

Randall says tens of thousands of new members have joined

Neil Randall Anytime Fitness

The opportunity exists to create a new model for health Gareth Presch World

Health Innovation Summit

During the Global Solutions Summit in Berlin recently, I moderated an expert panel with James Sanderson, CEO of the National Academy of Social Prescribing; Roland Schatz, CEO, UNGSII and Päivi Sillanaukee, Finnish ambassador for health and wellbeing. The group discussed pandemic recovery in relation to improving health and wellbeing and strengthening health

April was the busiest month for new memberships at Anytime Fitness since we began trading in the UK, with tens of thousands joining, following unprecedented demand. It would seem that more people than ever are seeing the importance of their own personal health, having come through such a challenging year. As independent business owners, our franchisees have shared those challenges but have shown initiative in attracting so many new members. While these figures make fantastic reading, our sector still requires more government support to secure the future of facilities.

Our clubs have made great early inroads in rebuilding their membership bases, but many have had more than eight months with no income in the past year, with no deferrals on sizeable payments, such as rent. The moratorium preventing commercial evictions has now been lifted, presenting a significant challenge to the industry. As a sector, we must continue to campaign for the same VAT relief enjoyed by the hospitality sector, as well as legislative support around landlord and tenant relationships.

systems, while implementing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030 – specifically SDG 3 which focuses on health and wellbeing. COVID-19 has dramatically unveiled health inequalities that exist in societies across the world, as well as the fragile state of the world’s health. We discussed how healthcare costs have been rising rapidly, creating unsustainable demand and how current healthcare systems tend to be based on a sick-care model. We also looked at challenges with global staff shortages – predicted to be 18m by 2030 (BMJ). It was agreed a one-size-fits-all approach to health isn’t working and consumer preference for convenience and affordability and demand for more efficient, personalised delivery models is growing.

The opportunity exists to create a new model for health and wellbeing, based on prevention, early intervention and the use of different resources, such as social prescribing. The World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS) has a model that demonstrates that £1 invested creates £36 of societal value, for example. The aim is to enable people and communities to thrive and improve their health and wellbeing, to support existing health services and create new and meaningful jobs while implementing the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals. A Global Social Prescribing Alliance playbook (link below) has also been created to support this work. More: www.gspalliance.com and https://whis.uk

More: www.HCMmag.com/randall

©Cybertrek 2021 Issue 5 2021

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