Bradford District Care Trust is supporting volunteers to get involved at their local GP practice through a new Practice Health Champion project.

And among the 150 volunteer champions is Anna Howells, from Skipton.

She will work with the town’s Fisher Medical Centre to identify the health and well-being needs of the practice and then lead activities to help patients to better self-care.

Anna said: “This opportunity came at the right time for me.

“My son has started school, and I found that I had some spare time. I have an interest in health and wanted to meet like-minded people.

“I went along wanting to find out more about my local community and how I could get involved. The training was fun and informative. I met people with different talents, backgrounds and skills.

“We’ve all got different ideas and I’m looking forward to working with them and staff at the practice.”

Catherine Pitts, programme leader, said: “Champions like Anna will greatly improve the work in GP practices. They will provide a vital source of support for patients.”

All champions receive a two-day training course covering behaviour change and practical tips about how to run a group activity.

For more information, e-mail practice.champions@ bdct.nhs.uk or call 01274 322662.