about livewell

Livewell is Derby City Council’s healthy lifestyle service.  The scheme provides free support to adults and children for up to 12 months to help them lose weight, become more active, quit smoking and improve their health. It includes a specialist programme for people with learning disabilities and a partnership with Derby County Community Trust to deliver the Live IT programme for children and families.

Focussing on long term behaviour change, Livewell combines individual and group support with exercise sessions and educational courses to support people to better their health outcomes, particularly in areas of the city where healthy life expectancy is lower. 

Livewell began as a weight loss pilot in 2011 called b-You. In 2013 it took over the city’s smoking cessation service and introduced community-based NHS Health Checks under its current brand Livewell. Since its inception, the service has supported thousands of people in Derby to transform their lifestyles and in 2019 it received national recognition from the Association for Public Health Excellence (APSE) when it was awarded the UK’s best Health and Wellbeing Initiative accolade. 

Over the years, Livewell has developed innovative partnerships with large and small businesses, community organisations, University Hospitals Derby and Burton NHS Trust (UHBD), and Derbyshire County Council’s similar service, Live Life Better Derbyshire.

Today, Livewell employs 25 passionate and caring staff, some of which have been with the project from the start including manager, Rob Smithers. Around 30 volunteers also help deliver vital services in local communities. 

The service is proud to maintain 90% good or very good rating and the same recommendation rate from its quarterly NHS Friends and Family survey.