Exercise Referral Scheme - Shape up!

Date published: 26/10/2005

The Exercise Referral Scheme is set to have heart attack victims back into shape with their specialised work out programme.

Health professionals have teamed up with Rochdale Council’s Leisure Services to kick start exercise classes for those patients who need to get active following heart surgery.

The two hour sessions that take place at Rochdale Central Baths, Entwistle Road, Rochdale are already proving to be a great success.

Participants undergo a circuit based exercise regime in which they move through a variety of exercise stations designed to improve their overall fitness, boost strength and speed up recovery.

At the end of each session there is an informal educational discussion around topics such as diet, physical activity, Coronary Heart Disease, coping with stress and improving motivation.

The sessions are a key element of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme. Patients who are referred onto the scheme following discharge from hospital with a heart condition or heart attack have to undergo a four phase rehabilitation process. The final stage of the programme can now for the first time be delivered within the community eliminating the need for patients to attend hospital again.

In accordance with the British Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation (BACR) patients perform a wide variety of different exercises and follow a specialised routine and each session is delivered by a fully qualified BACR instructor.

The Exercise Referral Scheme is planning to set up more classes to take place in community settings throughout the borough of Rochdale.

Carl Mackie, Exercise Development Officer said, “Research shows that cardiac rehabilitation through moderate exercise results in a 20-25% reduction in the number of deaths. The community based BACR phase IV classes will act as a significant part of the patients cardiac rehabilitation programme in supporting recovery and reducing the risks of a second heart attack”.

For more information please contact Carl Mackie, Exercise Development Officer on 01706 517624.