Work to align Aberdeen public leisure facilities with the health service could one day end up with your doctor being based at your local sports centre.
Sport Aberdeen chief executive Keith Heslop is predicting even closer links between his city leisure operator and the NHS as budgets shrink in the coming years.
But it’s more than just fiscal pressure; it’s all about the charity’s drive to help people of all ages to stay active and improve their health.
It’s an easier endeavour in the sunny summer months in Aberdeen, but “more difficult the other 11 months of the year,” Keith laughs.
Sport Aberdeen: ‘More than sports centres’
He adds: “Being honest, I’m not a great lover of the name Sport Aberdeen.
“I think the word ‘sport’ puts a lot of people off.
“I know walking into a gym for the first time can be intimidating but we are really driven to make our venues welcoming, inclusive, happy places to be.
“We have discussions all the time about how to describe our services. What would the ideal look like? I talk about a wellbeing model.
“Yes, ‘Get Active’ is Northfield’s name but actually, it’s a wellbeing centre where we provide physical activity, mental and emotional health support, and social engagement.
“It’s something more than a gym, swimming pool or tennis court.”
He mentions Northfield because local health services are already woven into the fabric of that recently refurbished Sport Aberdeen centre.
Two treatment rooms are used by Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership (ACHSCP) for community work.
The doctor will see you now at Sport Aberdeen
But Keith is striving to go further and emulate what he’s seen down south.
“I think there will come a time when there’s potentially GPs sitting in the same location as Sport Aberdeen,” he tells us.
“And they won’t only be writing up prescriptions for a particular drug treatment but also signing off for a particular physical activity to be done, which we will support.
“If I go to the doctor for my dodgy knee, I might get some anti-inflammatory pills but might also get told to go and see someone at Sport Aberdeen who will provide a physio programme for me.
“By providing that, hopefully Sport Aberdeen can help to prevent further damage and more expensive NHS treatment in the future.
“We’ve seen it in England.
“And that to me is a really sensible model that would just take a bit of resource and time to implement properly.”
Which GP surgery could be first in line to join up with the charity?
There are already signs of the NHS, ACHSCP and Sport Aberdeen working hand-in-hand.
But Keith hopes it can one day be just part of everyday practice.
And one Sport Aberdeen building immediately jumps out as fitting the bill.
The chief executive adds: “If I could have merged the Get Active at Jesmond in Bridge of Don with Old Machar Medical Practice right next door, that would be the type of facility I’m thinking about.
“That would be us really working hand-in-hand with the NHS to improve the wellbeing of that particular individual.
“If we were starting again, I would build multipurpose facilities – huge wellbeing centres – which are really closed linked with the NHS.
“If we could we would expand on what we’re doing at Northfield but, obviously, capital constraints means we can’t just throw up a new facility tomorrow.
“So we need to work with the council to get a long-term plan adopted and implemented.”
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