Refreshing the focus for Freehab in difficult economic times.

It’s no secret that the UK is trying to cope with? a challenging economic and political environment, you only have to turn on the news for a brief moment to be met with stories of HS2 being scrapped, Tory party infighting, and hard-working people relying on foodbanks to feed their kids.?

The economy is expected to contract this year, with inflation at a 40-year high. Interest rates are elevated compared to recent norms, meaning households face crippling mortgage and rental costs, and as the cost of other essential goods and services continues to soar, families and businesses alike are having to deal with the harsh realities of the cost of living crisis.?

The political landscape is also unstable. The government is deeply divided, with a number of high-profile resignations in recent months. There is also growing public dissatisfaction with the government's handling of the economy and, not least, in health services where we continue to see doctors strike in a fight for fair pay, while waiting lists are so great that nobody can even see the light at the end of the tunnel.?

These things seem like macro economic issues, but they matter. A healthy economy is essential for a healthy nation, as Nelson Mandela once said: "Economic development is not an end in itself, but a means to improve the quality of life for all, including health."

It’s not just about direct investment into the healthcare services, it’s about the wider determinants of health; fostering an environment and culture in which leading a healthy life is actively facilitated and supported. To be blunt, it’s hard for a school to invest in extracurricular (like sport and cooking classes) exercises when they’re having to worry about whether the concrete roof is going to fall in while the class practice spellings.?

We created Freehab with a clear motive: to provide a free service for people who currently can’t wait for the NHS or can’t afford private physio. We intentionally structured Freehab to be a free to access public service with the efficiency, speed and ease of private.?

This morning we had a board meeting, bringing together all the wonderful people that help us to operationalise this mission, and it reaffirmed our purpose more than ever.

We’re in a “perfect storm” politically and economically, a tug-of-war between an NHS on its knees and a cost of living crisis…Freehab provides a solution, at least to the MSK part.?

Our focus now, as a team, is to actually make that happen. To work with organisations that believe in that mission and want to be part of the solution, who want to provide Freehab to their employees/audience, and who want to help improve the lives of the 1 in 10 working people who live with pain from a musculoskeletal condition.?

As is the challenge for many social enterprises, our ability to help as many people as possible is throttled by a lack of resource. I can’t turn to my Business Development Manager and ask them to crack on with our outreach strategy because I haven’t got one. So for now, we resort to shouting on the internet about the injustice of access to recovery, and the burden of musculoskeletal conditions in the hope that there’s people out there reading who care enough to have a chat and help us do something about it.?

As we refocus our efforts now and into 2024, we’ll be out there looking for those people and organisations. If in the meantime, you’ve happened to stumble into us, don’t be shy.?

Freehab is for you, it’s for everyone. It always has been and it always will be.?

Thank you for reading.?

Yours in health,?

Ollie - Founder, Freehab?

Find out more at www.freehab.co.uk