Veterans Keep In Trim At New Bespoke Gym

Residents at Broughton House Veteran Care Village are keeping in trim at a new bespoke gym created as part of its £13m redevelopment.

Specially-designed equipment has been installed at the care village in Salford after it received a £24,000 grant from the Peter Harrison Foundation, a charity which helps fund self-development through participation in sport.

Broughton House chief executive Karen Miller said: “The ability for our residents to have access to a gym is crucial to their physical and mental wellbeing, particularly as care homes have been, and will continue to be, subject to a number of restrictions due to the pandemic.

“This gym provides a welcome safe space for our residents to keep fit and active, and it is proving a huge hit with them. We have been able to provide add-ons which give improved accessibility and safe use to those veterans who have limited mobility or physical disability.

“The gym is a wonderful feature of our new care village and has been made possible by a generous grant from the Peter Harrison Foundation. It’s having a positive impact on the residents and we are sincerely grateful to the foundation and its trustees for their fantastic support.”

Andrew Ross, director of the Peter Harrison Foundation, said: “The late Peter Harrison visited Broughton House on one of his trips to Manchester to watch Chelsea play, and he was hugely impressed with its history of care for veterans. He was brought up in the north west and was also keenly interested in, and knowledgeable about, military history.

“The plan to invest in a specialised gym to enhance fitness and rehabilitation programmes for the veterans was a perfect fit for the Foundation’s use of funds to promote sport and exercise for people with disabilities.

“Peter was pleased to help this initiative with a grant for the Foundation to pay for fitting out the new gym with specialised exercise equipment.”

World War Two veteran Derrick Corfield, 94, who moved into Broughton House earlier this year following an accident on his electric scooter, said: “It’s great having the gym. I put on a bit of weight after my accident when I couldn’t move around as much as I used to. Now that I’m using the gym, I can notice the difference. I’m getting stronger, but I still need to lose a few pounds, so I think I’m going to increase my sessions.”