REPS NEWS Exercise referral standards

The Joint Consultative Forum (JCF) has just completed a consultation period on the latest standards for Exercise Referral, which aims to improve the delivery of exercise in the management of chronic conditions.

The new standards build on the work of the 2001 National Quality Assurance Framework for Exercise Referral Systems and the more recent British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health Exercise Referral Toolkit. The standards set out the minimum requirements for: l Risk stratification of patients l The assessment and measurement of patients – how to measure aspects like physical activity and quality of life

l Communication between patient, exercise referral instructors and doctors

l Sustaining long term physical activity through exit strategies l Record keeping, liability and medico-legal considerations l Reporting to commissioners.

Commenting on the release of the standards, The Joint Consultative Forum Chairman and FIA Chief Medical Officer, Dr. John Searle OBE stated: “When the Joint Consultative Forum was first established it quickly decided that its first task would be the production of standards

for Exercise Referral. The evidence base for exercise in the prevention and management of disease is widely acknowledged however there is variable practice and evaluation of exercise referral services, which has prevented the wider uptake of exercise in primary care.

“It is our hope that the Standards will provide a benchmark which will define the role of exercise referral schemes, assist the evaluation of exercise referral services, and most of all improve the quality of care for patients.”

The Joint Consultative Forum was established with a number of Royal Medical Colleges and faculties, including the Royal College of General Practitioners, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, to better use exercise in both preventing ill-health and treating disease in primary care. The Forum is the first of its kind and sees exercise professionals, including REPs and the FIA, sharing a table with medical professionals to establish better ways in which healthcare professionals can refer individuals to exercise.

The Joint Consultative Forum hopes to publish the standards in late 2011/early 2012.

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The REPs Journal 2011;22(September):5-7