William Bird (doctor)
Encyclopedia
Dr William Bird is a general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...

 in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, England. He has set up schemes to encourage people in the United Kingdom to exercise in order to promote good health, and he was awarded an MBE for his contributions to health and physical activity in the Queen's New Year Honours 2010.

Health forecasting

Bird helped to set up a health forecasting
Health forecasting
Health forecasting is a new health care discipline initiated by the Met Office when Dr William Bird, a GP, became its first Clinical Director in 2002. It is currently the subject of an innovative project run jointly by the Met Office and the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.The...

 unit at the Met Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...

 where he was clinical director for five years. The forecasts help the public and health professionals plan for of weather-related illness.

Green Gym

Bird set up the first Green Gym
Green Gym
BTCV's Green Gym programme aims to provide people with a way to enhance their fitness and health while taking action to improve the outdoor environment...

 at Sonning Common
Sonning Common
Sonning Common is a village and civil parish the Chiltern Hills west of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire. It is on the B481 road between Reading, Berkshire to the south and Nettlebed to the north.-History:...

, Oxfordshire in 1998 to promote physical activity and well-being in the participants who volunteer to work on environmental or conservation projects. Working with BTCV
BTCV
BTCV is a British charitable organisation that works to facilitate environmental conservation through practical tasks undertaken by volunteers...

 the scheme now has about 100 centres in the UK and one in Australia.

Walking initiative

Bird set up health walks from his practice in Sonning Common and then worked with the Countryside Agency
Countryside Agency
The Countryside Agency in England was a statutory body set up in 1999 with the task of improving the quality of the rural environment and the lives of those living in it. The Agency was formed by merging the Countryside Commission and the Rural Development Commission...

 and the British Heart Foundation
British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation is a charity organisation in Britain that funds research, education, care and awareness campaigns aimed to prevent heart diseases in humans.-Foundation:...

 to expand it nationally. The aim is to have a nationwide network where every GP can recommend a local walk for those inactive patients who need to become more active.

Personal life

William is married to Annie. They have three children named Theo, Rory and Georgie.

Books

  • William Bird, Veronica Reynolds: Walking for Health and Happiness. Readers Digest, 2002, ISBN 0762103647.

External links

  • http://www.greenerhealthcare.org/who-we-are
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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