Exercise equipment boost for patients after CPFT’s Head to Toe charity secures grant from Sport England
Patients at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust are set to benefit from a grant from Sport England which will be used to help them improve their physical and mental health.
The grant has been awarded to CPFT’s official charity Head To Toe and will pay for new exercise equipment at the Trust’s sites at Fulbourn Hospital and the Cavell Centre. Peterborough, as well as additional training for frontline staff.
Both sites house a number of mental health inpatient wards for adults and older people.
Kate Brown, mental health physiotherapy team lead (pictured with Rob Ellis, occupational therapy team manager), said: “Physical activity and exercise is so valuable in mental health care.
“Our teams work with patients throughout their stay and support them to improve their physical health which, in turn, helps them manage their mental health symptoms.
“We are incredibly grateful to Sport England for enabling us to widen the opportunities available to our patients and we look forward to using the new equipment as well as taking up the additional training opportunities to enhance the care we provide."
The Trust’s physiotherapy and occupational therapy staff work alongside inpatient nursing teams to encourage patients to improve their physical health while they are being treated for mental health issues.
At both Fulbourn Hospital and the Cavell Centre there are gyms for the patients to use while staff also run other activities on the wards.
The funding from Sport England will be used to provide additional sports equipment including exercise bikes and a strength and conditioning multi-gym along with new activity bags for the inpatients wards which will include badminton and pickleball sets.
It will also pay for further gym instructor training for two staff and a course in Tai Chi for several colleagues which has been proven to help participants with wellbeing and managing stress, and can also be particularly useful for older people wishing to improve their balance, flexibility and reduce their risk of falls.
Alex Gordon, fundraising manager for Head to Toe, said: “As the charity of CPFT we are always looking for ways to help enhance the services the Trust’s teams provide.
“We are delighted to have been able to secure this funding from Sport England to help our staff to improve the care they give to patients.”
Sport England’s funding has been provided by The National Lottery. Find out more about supporting Head to Toe by visiting the CPFT website.
CPFT provides community physical health services for older people and adults with long term conditions, mental health services, children community services in Peterborough and learning disability services. The Trust is also renowned for its research and development work and in June 2025, CPFT was awarded Teaching Partner status by the University of Cambridge.
ENDS
For more information contact:
Andy Burrows, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Deputy Head of Communications
E communications@cpft.nhs.uk