03/06/2010
Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.
Mayor Mick Duff on behalf of South Dublin County Council officially launches the new Peamount Slí na Sláinte walking route on Thursday, 3rdJune 2010 at 11.00am in Peamount Hospital in front of Main House (at the Slí na Sláinte Map Board).
Slí@ work, an Irish Heart Foundation programme, is designed to encourage Irish employees to walk more as part of their work day. Whether you want to walk to improve your general health, to control your weight, to keep fit, or to help with stress, walking can help. It costs nothing, and can fit in with any lifestyle and can be done with work colleagues, other family members and children.
Getting more active can help people reduce their risk of many diseases, such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, stroke and some cancers. It also makes people feel good and is a great stress buster during the working day. It is recommended to be active for at least 30 minutes five days a week, at a moderate intensity, similar to a brisk walk. If it’s not possible to fit 30 minutes in during the working day, walk for 10-15 minutes and build up to the 30 minutes over the whole day.
The Slí@ work programme involves the creation of an outdoor Slí na Sláinte walking route, as well as a series of motivational signs to encourage staff and residents to get out and get active. Peamount Physiotherapy Department has worked with the Irish Heart Foundation in developing mapped routes outside the premises which can be used by both staff, patients, residents and visitors. The circular routes can be walked during breaks, lunchtime or anytime that suits walkers. Out-patients attending the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programme use the smaller Slí Na Sláinte route to build up tolerance and lung capacity to improve quality of life. To encourage becoming more active the Irish Heart Foundation has a number of initiatives through its Happy Heart at Work programme which a company can roll out, such as the Walking Challenge, the Step Challenge or for general heart health the Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award and the Heart Health Checks.
South Dublin Council has implementedSlí Na Sláinte routes across the county in Corkagh Park, Saggart-Rathcoole, Tallaght, Glenaulin Park and St. Cuthbert’s Park. Theseroutes aim to encourage and increase the number of people walking in South County Dublin. Each established walking route is mapped out with Kilometre intervals, as a result informing people of the distance they have walked.
Virtual Slí Na Sláinte is a workplace initiative developed by the Irish Heart Foundation to encourage walking as part of your everyday lifestyle. The workplace initiative uses” unmarked" routes to encourage walking before, during and after work. The Virtual route implemented in South County Dublin is that of the Belgard Circuit, a walking route frequently used by staff.
The Irish Heart Foundation hopes to encourage the corporate and state sectors, all national, voluntary and community organisations to collaborate and encourage the public to be more physically active. Anyone interested in implementing Sli@work or other elements of the Happy Heart at Work programme should Contact the Irish Heart Foundation on 01-6685001 or visit www.irishheart.ie