Staff at Shropdoc are hitting the road as part of the nationwide Cycle to Work scheme – a Government initiative aimed at promoting a healthier lifestyle and taking more vehicles off the road.
Dr Simon Chapple from Shrewsbury and Ian Hoy from Telford are saddling up on a daily basis and joining countless others across the country who are taking up cycling as a good and simple way to make a difference – helping to reduce car emissions while also benefiting from a great way of keeping in shape.
Cycle to Work is also good news for employers with savings on bikes and accessories with no up-front payments as they are taken tax-efficiently from a salary by the employer. The scheme has proved to be hugely successful with cyclists from more than one million businesses who have already taken advantage of it.
Dr Chapple, Medical Director at Shropdoc, said: “Anything that can promote healthier journeys to work has got to be a good thing. It’s important to raise awareness about the need for good health and wellbeing and maintaining a general level of fitness.
“Cycling is an excellent way of achieving this – it is a cheap alternative to using the car, particularly in today’s world of rising fuel prices, and taking part in the scheme is also of financial benefit to an employer.
“The other consideration is the environment and we should all be mindful of our obligations to protect and safeguard it for the benefit of future generations. Cycling is a cleaner, greener option and one which should be used more.”
Mr Hoy, Estates and Health and Safety Manager, said: “Cycling to work is a complete no-brainer for me, it’s helping me to stay active and I feel much better for doing it. I believe more people should be considering cycling as there are so many journeys which could be undertaken without using a car.
“Cycling is a simple way of getting more exercise and the knock-on effects of that are invaluable. It would be great to think that the Cycle to Work scheme will encourage more people to get involved and add to the high numbers already taking advantage of it.
“It’s also important to tackle environmental pollution and cycling is something we can all do to help meet that challenge.”
Shropdoc provides out-of-hours urgent primary healthcare in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Powys and is celebrating its 25th birthday this year.
The not-for-profit organisation delivers high quality care, providing services for 600,000 patients across the region while dealing with more than 200,000 calls and 50,000 patients every year. It has more than 200 GP members and 200 employees and provides £1.6bn worth of health and social care services through urgent care 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
