Fitness First Wigan reinvents gym membership and increases mission to support members’ health

• 611,000 North West England adults spent a combined 21,000 days on the phone waiting to book an appointment• An estimated 611,000 adults from the North West of England are predicted to spend over two days of their adult life on hold for a GP appointment based on the time spent on hold in the last year. • Over half (56%) of adults in the North West say they have actively ignored symptoms due to being unable to secure a timely appointment

As Wigan ramps up for National Fitness Day 2024 on the 18th September, the spotlight is firmly on lifelong health and inspiring people to get active. Lifelong health involves many factors, and whilst activity levels are rising, the UK and the North Western region are simultaneously facing a crisis with the NHS healthcare system and access to both preventative and medical healthcare.

In a move that changes the role that gyms can play in supporting longevity and wellness, gym chain Fitness First in Wigan has launched a new premium membership, with access to HealthHero’s virtual health services including GPs, physios, dietitians and mental health counsellors. It is the first UK gym chain to offer members the full range of HealthHero’s whole health services, reinventing what the typical gym membership includes, offering unlimited access to 360 wellness services, including access to remote GP appointments which are available 8am – 10pm, 364 days a year. Kids are covered too, with the GP service extended to all household dependents under the age of 18.

To mark National Fitness Day 2024 and encourage Wigan locals to get active and support their lifelong health, Fitness First in Wigan is offering new members 3 months half-price membership and no joining fee. The offer is available for three days only from 16th – 18th September and the premium membership can be bolted on.

To reinforce the scale of the problem in the North West with accessing GPs and preventative healthcare, Fitness First commissioned new online research that revealed the excessive time adults spend on hold to book a GP appointment. In the last year alone, 611,000 North West adults spent a combined 21,000 days on the phone waiting to book an appointment and, based on time spent on hold in the last year, are predicted to spend over 2 days of their adult life on hold for a GP appointment.

The research also revealed that a quarter (26%) of respondents had to wait over a week to see a doctor, and over half (56%) of adults in the North West say they have actively ignored symptoms due to being unable to secure a timely appointment, underlining the growing wait times.

ukactive CEO, Huw Edwards, commented: "Our members across the physical activity sector play an essential role in reducing pressure on the NHS through our core mission to get more people active and now we’re seeing gyms exploring new, targeted ways to go even further.

"Many fitness operators are reshaping the typical gym membership to provide holistic healthcare support, including GP appointments, to drive further integration with the healthcare sector. Ultimately, doing this is an example of deploying the fitness sector's services to their fullest towards the mission of supporting both improved health and economic growth."

Justin Musgrove, CEO at Fitness First, said “The numbers behind GP waiting times should be a catalyst to the fitness industry stepping up and doing more to support the holistic health of its members. We feel our new premium membership does just this, adding services you would expect to find as part of an expensive private healthcare policy and making them accessible to our members.

“We want to be able to help our members on their health journey even when they’re not in one of our gyms, which means moving beyond just helping people get physically fit and creating a joined-up health system, this feels like a natural progression for us.”

Fitness First premium membership is available now. More information can be found at https://www.fitnessfirst.co.uk/premiummembership or drop into Fitness First in Wigan and speak to a member of the team.