The Bury Live Well Service compromises of four neighbourhood teams that focus on the needs and priorities of each neighbourhood.
Our teams will provide free personalised support. We believe in creating a healthier community where everyone can:
We help people to…
We have supported thousands of people across the Borough of Bury to reach a healthy weight; build more activity into their daily life; stop smoking; eat better; and generally improve their health and wellbeing.
We are here to help people stay well, stay independent, and enjoy life for longer. We help people to…
Cheryl was referred to us by the stroke team at Fairfield Hospital following a stroke in 2022 and kept falling, which had a huge impact on her quality of life.
Cheryl’s confidence massively declined as she chose to stay at home due to having a fear of falling when she was on her own.
While Cheryl was receiving regular physio after her initial stroke to restore loss of movement, she could not drive. She was very restricted and felt like she put a lot of pressure on her husband who was taking her to the appointments so gradually stopped going.
Over six months of regularly supporting Cheryl with regular check ins and face-to-face chats there was a massive change in Cheryl’s wellbeing.
Cheryl started attending two wellbeing classes per week and can do the advanced options of the exercises set.
Cheryl thought she had lost her independence forever, and never thought she would be able to drive again. She now independently drives herself to the classes every week, which was a huge milestone for her and her family.
Live Well Officer Lizzie Howard says:
“From meeting with Cheryl face-to face in her initial consultation, I could see how much of an impact the physical and mental health outcomes from the stroke had had on her life, the sudden changes at home, at work and in her relationship.
“Cheryl did not feel safe exercising on her own therefore I suggested we started off with trying one strength and balance exercise class at her local leisure centre, as I felt they provided the correct support for her to feel confident whilst exercising.
“Cheryl started to come to my strength and balance class on a Friday morning. This was great as I was able to have regular contact with her, checking in with her week by week, setting her little tasks to do each week, making sure she was making progress and giving her the praise she deserved.
“Some tasks involved reaching out to friends and going for a coffee or going to the garden centre and treating herself.”
Cheryl is no longer a frequent faller, since being under Bury Live Well Service Cheryl hasn’t had a single fall, with Cheryl’s strength, balance and mobility getting better each week, she has the confidence to do other activities she never dreamt of doing.
Cheryl says:
“For the first few weeks I found the exercises quite difficult and was very tired afterwards.
“After a few months, I was more able to complete the exercises and started to notice improvements in my mobility. At this point, I started a second chair-based class and began to go to classes twice a week.
“The improvements to my mobility and balance have been terrific. I now can walk much further and feel my balance has greatly improved and have I have not had any falls since starting the classes.
“Another great improvement has been the ability to stand up from a chair and sit back down, which is particularly useful when there are no disabled toilet facilities available!
“My family and friends have all commented on the improvement I’ve made. My husband says it is startling.”
Ideas and projects are continuously evolving and progressing at GM Active. View our latest news stories below to find out how we are moving as one and contributing towards building the healthy, happy and prosperous Greater Manchester we all aspire to.
