Our CIMSPA Conference panel session will bring together leading voices from the world of health to discuss integration with our sector
With NHS services under sustained pressure, the UK faces an urgent challenge: how to better prevent, manage and support recovery from long-term and chronic health conditions. The sport, physical activity and active wellbeing workforce has the skills, reach and community connection to be a critical part of the solution, but this potential is still underutilised at scale.
At the CIMSPA Conference, our panel session, Connecting the Dots to Better Health, will bring together leading voices from healthcare, commissioning, policy, research and frontline delivery to explore how our sector can become an integrated and indispensable partner in the health system.
Dr Davina Deniszczyc, Charity and Medical Director at Nuffield Health, offers the perspective of a practising GP and experienced health leader who has championed the integration of physical activity into community healthcare. Over more than a decade with Nuffield, she has spearheaded innovative, evidence-based programmes such as joint-pain management and long-COVID recovery that both improve individual wellbeing and reduce demand on NHS services. Her work shows how scalable, structured interventions can make a measurable difference to population health.
Nick Berners-Price, founder of 4D Fitness and the National Register of Parkinson’s Specialist Personal Trainers, brings both personal and professional insight. Living with multiple sclerosis since 2006, Nick has channelled his lived experience into creating specialist training pathways for personal trainers working with people living with Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions. His ‘marginal gains’ philosophy, adapted from elite sport, demonstrates how small, targeted improvements can have profound, life-changing effects, offering a powerful model for personalised, condition-specific activity.
Lyndsey Barrett, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Lead Occupational Therapist at Sport for Confidence, is a trailblazer in embedding occupational therapists alongside sports and activity coaches within leisure centres. Her approach removes barriers to participation, promotes health equity, and ensures that physical activity opportunities are truly inclusive. Lyndsey’s perspective highlights how sector collaboration can address not only physical health but also social and occupational wellbeing, bringing healthcare and community based physical activity closer than ever before.
Dr David Bartlett, Senior Lecturer in Exercise Immunology at the University of Surrey and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Duke University, specialises in understanding how exercise influences immune function, particularly in chronic diseases such as cancer and arthritis. His research-led approach translates laboratory evidence into real-world rehabilitation and prehabilitation programmes, showing how exercise can directly improve recovery outcomes and long-term health.
Practical solutions, proven results
This panel will tackle key questions facing our sector:
- How targeted, place-based physical activity interventions are already reducing pressure on clinical services.
- Why recognised standards, qualifications and clear professional pathways are essential for building trust between health and sport sectors.
- What’s needed to scale up innovative models of integrated care that place our workforce at their core.
- How to move from isolated programmes to a national, strategic role for sport and physical activity in population health.
Scaling up for lasting impact
Drawing on lived experience, frontline delivery practice, healthcare leadership and cutting-edge research, the panellists will challenge delegates to think bigger, act faster and collaborate more deeply. They will share case studies where sport and physical activity professionals have already transformed lives and explore what’s required to embed these successes within the health system on a national scale.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from leaders shaping the future of health and wellbeing. Whether you’re a policymaker, practitioner, academic or employer, this panel will give you the insight and inspiration to help our workforce step into a national health role that is both urgent and essential.
Book your place at the CIMSPA Conference today and be part of the conversation that moves our sector from ambition to action. The future of community health and wellbeing needs your voice, your expertise and your commitment. Secure your ticket now and help connect the dots to better health.