Matt Stebbings of SLT Group talks about the creation of their Community Portal, a new platform that aims to help anyone to get active, whether that’s inside or outside of SLT’s facilities

What is the SLT Group Community Portal?
SLT Group Community is a virtual online community where users can interact with one another and find vital services in the local community. These services include: adult weight management, smoking cessation, mental health and wellbeing, physical health and more.

Through the SLT Group Community portal users can connect with like-minded people with similar barriers to physical activity and join specific groups such as mental wellbeing support, diabetes support, cardiac health support and pre- and post-natal support, to name a few.

The community can connect users in new ways and help each other through their own health and wellbeing. They can create new and fun opportunities to improve their own health and wellbeing, simply by connecting and communicating with one another.

The portal also allows users to connect with other support networks run by our trusted partners, such as One Life Suffolk. All of the support groups have dedicated and qualified health professionals on hand to answer questions and users can share experiences with others. A problem shared is a problem halved.

How does this fit with SLT’s #thecompleteyou app?
Our community portal is an addition to the #thecompleteyou app – we’ve harnessed the power of our already successful #thecompleteyou app to bring users a new way of interacting, learning and improving their health, wellbeing and education all in one place.

The original #thecompleteyou app was a facility-based app but the community bolt-on is aimed at anyone wanting to become physically active both outside and inside our facilities.

Our #thecompleteyou app is now split between our facility members portal and the new community portal. We’re utilising the traditional model to still actively engage our members using the site-specific portals within #thecompleteyou. Meanwhile, the community portal enables users to sign up and access free content, community groups, local like-minded people and more. Users can also upgrade to our PRO service which includes additional nutritional support and home workouts.

How did the Community Portal come about?
The SLT Group Community is an idea that was discussed before the pandemic, to help our local community become more physically active in and around their community. We understand that many inactive populations do not feel comfortable setting foot in a fitness facility, so the community app was a way for people to interact, engage and participate in physical activity and wellbeing activities from home or in a community setting. When the first lockdown was put in place, it became apparent very quickly that this app was needed sooner and so it was implemented during the first part of lockdown.

How was the app designed?
The app was developed by Virtuagym. We have now been working with them for a number of years and see them as a trusted and successful partner.

The two pronged approach of the facility-based portal and community portal allows us to interact with our current paying facility members and also to begin to reach the wider community. The mobile strategy allows us to engage with users across the county. Our community portal allows us to reach those people who perhaps need extra support in making positive lifestyle changes.

What features help to bring people together?
The virtual online community is where users can interact with one another and find vital services in the local community. Users can connect with people who have similar barriers to physical activity and they can join specific groups such as mental wellbeing support, diabetes support, cardiac health support, pre- and post-natal support, and more.

Users can create new and fun opportunities to improve their own health and wellbeing, simply by connecting and communicating with one another. The portal also allows users to connect with other support networks run by our trusted partners. All of the support groups have dedicated and qualified health professionals on hand to answer questions and users can share experiences with others.

What are your goals for the app?
The aim of the app is to grow it nationally to encourage other local communities to get involved. We also want to grow our health partnerships and incorporate others into the app so that it can become the one stop shop for all health, wellbeing and education for the nation.