Wednesday 20 July 2011

Dr. John Searle OBE, discusses the latest draft of the Professional and Operational Standards for Exercise Referral


-Dr. John Searle-






FIA Chief Medical Officer and Chair of the Joint Consultative Forum, Dr. John Searle OBE, discusses the latest draft of the Professional and Operational Standards for Exercise Referral, and what he is hoping to achieve through the consultation. 

The consultation on the Professional and Operational Standards for Exercise Referral has been live now for a couple of weeks, however we have been working on this for much, much longer. Those of you who regularly read this blog will know that work to establish the Joint Consultative Forum began almost two years ago!

In late 2009 we started negotiations with the Royal Colleges to establish a forum investigating an area of medical practice that does not often feature on the medical undergraduate curriculum, nor high on the priority list of GPs. However, we presented the evidence why establishing exercise in the prevention and management of chronic disease, and should be a priority for all GPs. After much negotiation the forum first met in the Summer of 2010 and less than a year later I am delighted that we are now seeking the views of the fitness sector and beyond on new Standards for Exercise Referral.
From the very first meeting of the Joint Consultative Forum, Exercise Referral has always been viewed as the logical first step for our work. From countless articles in peer reviewed journals we know that exercise is effective in the management of chronic disease, however we also know that NICE states that Exercise Referral Schemes are not effective and shouldn’t be commissioned unless for research purposes………….so this begs the question what is wrong with the delivery of exercise in the management of chronic disease.
I must say that I have witnessed countless examples of where exercise referral schemes improve the management of chronic conditions, a patient’s quality of life, and establish long term physical activity. However we need standards which assure commissioners of health services & treatment that all individuals within an exercise referral scheme are working to a common standard and I hope this is what the Professional and Operational Standards do!
The Professional and Operational Standards for Exercise Referral define the process, delivery and the evaluation of exercise referral services using current evidence so that auditable and comparable outcomes of services can be produced. We have not written the standards with tunnel vision ignoring what has come before, rather we have learnt from the lessons of 2001 National Quality Assurance Framework and the 2010 British Heart Foundation Exercise Referral Toolkit.
The standards set out the minimum requirements for:
     Risk stratification of patients

    The assessment and measurement of patients – how to measure physical activity, quality of life etc

     Communication between patient, exercise referral instructors, and doctors

     Sustaining long term physical activity through exit strategies

     Record keeping, liability and medico-legal considerations

     Reporting to commissioners

The standards will mark a change for many exercise referral scheme. However we are not expecting things to change overnight.  I have no doubt that in time the detail outlined in the standards will no doubt form the basis of what commissioners look for before signing off on any exercise referral schemes.

So the consultation is your first opportunity to shape the future of exercise referral and I hope you will all take it, to read the standards click here, and to tell us what you think about them click here.

Friday 15 July 2011

And the winners are............. FIA & Matrix Flame Award Winners 2011

- David Stalker -
Following months of scrutiny from the judges, I was delighted to announce the Winners of the FIA & Matrix Flame Awards 2011 on Wednesday evening at the Ball of Fire in Telford, before an audience of over 800 people. I hope all that came enjoyed the evening.

The Awards celebrate excellence and honour those who make a profound contribution to the industry, both through their organisation and community.

Attracting a record number of submissions and with more awards up for grabs than ever before, this year’s entries were of a calibre that we should all be proud of. In some cases, the difference between winner and runner up was just a fraction of a percentage point. As well as endorsement of the industry’s representative, the award winners will now reap the rewards of what has become a great accolade. Well done to all the winners!
 
Club of the Year (Under 1000 Members)
WINNER: Breadsall Priory, a Marriott Hotel and Country Club

Club of the Year (1000-4000 Members)
WINNER: Chartham Park Golf & Country Club

Club of the Year (Over 4000 Members)
WINNER: Lichfield Golf & Country Club

Centre of the Year
WINNER: Rainbow Leisure Centre

Educational Club of the Year
WINNER: Ethos Sports Centre, Sport Imperial

Corporate Club of the Year
WINNER: Nuffield Health RBS Fitness & Wellbeing Centre

Health Club Operator of the Year
WINNER: LA Fitness

Leisure Centre Operator of the Year
WINNER: Everyone Active (formerly SLM)

Future of Flame
WINNER: Bob Halls

Spark of Innovation
WINNER: William Gregg VC Leisure Centre, DC Leisure

The Award Ceremony took place following our Annual Conference at the Telford International Centre around the theme of ‘Creating Connections’.
Great people, great event, great work. What a fantastic week! We should all be proud.

 
 


Tuesday 5 July 2011

What’s all this about then…


-Carl Bennett -
With all these changes going on within the NHS and Local Government, at a speed never before seen, you could be forgiven if you feel as if you are in the slow lane. There have been so many announcements recently, and I have to say this, so many U turns, one could be feeling a little off the pace. With the changes in the NHS taking a warp speed approach how best can we keep up with what the changes might mean for you as an individual and you as a leisure sector professional?
There have been 2 key announcements in recent weeks. One relates to the Future Forum Report – here
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_127443  and the other is the Governments response to the FFR (available a little down the page linked above).
It seems as if the main points of the suggested NHS reforms are continuing and in some areas Consortia led health systems are already in shadow form and working with PCT colleagues to embed the changes proposed by Andrew Lansley ahead of the 2013 key time point.
With this in mind Carl will try and place these changes in context and he has already updated his presentation for FIA Flame to ensure you are provided with information about the changes and the possible opportunities and threats it provides you as the NHS reforms take grip.

If you are interested in becoming a physical activity provider to the NHS and hearing what a NHS Commissioner is looking for and what you need to demonstrate and be thinking about, Carl’s session might be the one for you.

FIA Flame Conference – “Creating Connections – The Key to our future”

Wednesday July 13th at the Telford International Centre.

Small group training building communities and profits

-  Steve Jack -

The burgeoning trend of working with small groups means that not only does results-based programming become cheaper for members, it also drives a higher yield from staff. 

One of the biggest advantages of small group training is the sense of community that develops between participants. These people feel part of a tribe and establish close relationships with other group members (something the industry has been trying to achieve for years).

At the Flame Conference I will be discussing in some depth how to make small group training work, but here are a few thoughts for now:

1. You need to consider the environment for group training - typically the gym floor doesn’t work that well

2. You also need the whole programme pre-choreographed; leaving it up to the instructors always leads to quality control issues and the breakdown of the programme’s integrity 

3. Small group programming must be targeted to specific outcomes 

4. Quality control and performance indicators should be built into systems

5. Continuation programmes must be developed or members simply fall off the back and have nowhere to go

6. Group members must receive a lot of extra support material so the programming is easily distinguishable from a class.

Small group training can be incredibly effective and highly profitable but only when you avoid the deadly mistakes that I will reveal in my seminar.

FIA Flame Conference – “Creating Connections – The Key to our future”

Wednesday July 13th at the Telford International Centre.

Clickhere to book your place now!