Douglas Alexander MP has met with representatives of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM), a Haddington-based charity with a global reputation for promoting healthier living.
Lifestyle Medicine is evidence-based, clinical care that supports behaviour change through person-centred techniques in improving mental wellbeing, encouraging social connection, healthy eating patterns, physical activity, restorative sleep and minimisation of harmful substances and behaviours, whilst acknowledging the upstream determinants of health.
The BSLM is an independent charity set up to promote the role of lifestyle medicine in improving people’s health and wellbeing. It empowers healthcare professionals to support patients to prevent, manage and even reverse many long-term chronic conditions through education.
The charity now has more than 3,000 members focusing on multi-disciplinary teams including primary and secondary care clinicians, allied and public health professionals, scientists, educators, researchers and patients.
Mr Alexander met with Dr Rob Lawson, who was one of the BSLM’s founders, Dr Fraser Quin, its Executive Director, and Emma Mulligan, Chief Operating Officer. They discussed the charity’s history since it was founded in 2016 and its mission to equip and inspire healthcare professionals and patients with the knowledge and skills to support sustainable lifestyle changes, sharing more information on local delivery models through Live Well East Lothian.
The BSLM team also informed Mr Alexander of the charity’s involvement in the European Lifestyle Medicine Council and World Lifestyle Medicine Organisation, as well as its growing role in providing Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for healthcare professionals.
Speaking after the meeting, Douglas Alexander MP said:
“It was a pleasure to meet with the BSLM team. It’s clear that the charity is playing an important role in developing the knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals in the area of lifestyle medicine.
“The key aspects of lifestyle medicine are increasingly recognised and accepted as being crucial to enabling people to adopt a healthier, happier and more sustainable approach to their lives.
“It’s good to know that a charity that began its work here in East Lothian and remains locally based is now having such a positive influence on this agenda across the UK and beyond.”
Dr Fraser Quin, BSLM Executive Director, said:
“BSLM is proud to be rooted in East Lothian, Scotland, and in the UK, and proud of its impact in inspiring and educating health professionals to a fresh and effective approach to our nations’ health.
“It was a pleasure hosting Douglas Alexander MP at our headquarters in Haddington House.
“Incidentally, we hope we can entice him into joining one of our 16 weekly Live Well East Lothian classes in due course!”
