Plymouth to focus on better mental wellbeing as part of ten year strategy to improve health and narrow health inequalities

A major event is being held to kick off year four of a campaign to make Plymouth a healthier and happier city.

The focus of year four of Thrive Plymouth – the city’s ten year plan to be healthier – will be on improving everyone’s mental wellbeing, and it is being launched on World Mental Health Day, Tuesday 10 October.

The event, which is being held at The Marquee, Rolle Plaza, Plymouth University, is being led by Plymouth City Council and is aimed at encouraging local stakeholders to help promote the range of different ways we can all improve our wellbeing. Around 150 stakeholders from a range of organisations are expected to attend.

Councillor Lynda Bowyer, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care for Plymouth will open the event and there will also be a video message from Johnny Mercer MP. Speakers will include Dr Ruth Harrell, Director of Public Health for the Council, Sarah Stewart-Brown, Professor of Public Health for Warwick Medical School, Cindy Willcocks from Arterne CIC, and Sarah Bird and Sarah Lees, from the Council’s Public Health team. There will also be a series of activities on ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’, and the premiere of a video of a dedicated voiceover for Plymouth from a special celebrity guest with local connections.

Councillor Lynda Bowyer said: “We are very pleased to launch year four of Thrive Plymouth, following the success of our previous three years’ work with schools, workplaces, and most recently, on localising the national One You campaign. This has seen our local Thrive Plymouth Network go from strength to strength.

“It is particularly timely that we are launching this year’s theme on World Mental Health Day itself. We’ll be asking all partner organisations to help share the ways we can all stay well and promote the use of the Five Ways To Wellbeing framework.”

The Five Ways to Wellbeing or CLANG are:

Connect – link up with the people around you
Learn – explore something new
Active – discover an activity you enjoy
Notice – be curious about the world you enjoy
Give – share something with others.

Dr Ruth Harrell said: “It’s all about spending a bit of time each week connecting with the people around us, learning and discovering activities we enjoy, and taking interest in the world around us.

“The reality is that many of us are doing these things already, and they are free and easy. Walking into town on a Saturday to go shopping, tweeting your friends during Strictly, trying a new recipe, taking up a course to learn something you’ve never done before – all these things can be fitted into your routine and can have a big impact on your wellbeing.

“We really hope the rest of the city gets on board with this.”

More information on Thrive Plymouth is available on their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/thriveplymouth/