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BH Live project leader Layne
Hamerston says that a new eight-week programme is currently underway, including talks, introductions to group- based activities such as tai chi, Zumba, Nordic walking, and bespoke classes such as body reconditioning. In the long term, Hamerston says BH
Live is looking to establish Littledown Centre as an integrated rehabilitation hub. “We believe leisure facilities have the potential to play a key role in the future of cancer survivorship. Programmes such as the ones we have piloted show how cost savings can be made in the post-treatment phase; partnerships involving healthcare providers, charities, leisure centres and patients are important to the future of delivering such community programmes.”
new markets Funding remains a complex issue, and one that may need to be addressed from government level down. But what is clear is that commercial health clubs with a holistic approach are open to becoming part of the process. Asher, for example, says he would be comfortable for The Third Space’s PTs to prescribe remedial exercise if there were initial and ongoing communication with the individual’s healthcare professional. And at Nuffi eld Health Fitness
& Wellbeing Centres, there are embryonic plans to initiate a wellbeing programme that would be suitable for
october 2011 © cybertrek 2011
Four million people in the UK are forecast to be living with and beyond cancer by 2030
cancer survivors and others suffering health problems, involving tailor-made prescriptions for individuals. Dauncey says that partnering with local health services or charities will be vitally important “to ensure consistent messages and easy pathways into exercise services”, but that Nuffi eld’s physiologists and fi tness staff – all qualifi ed to at least REPs Level 3 – are capable of developing prescriptions and motivating survivors. Nuffi eld’s Health MOT – carried out
with all new members – also alerts staff via a questionnaire if new members are being treated or recovering from cancer, and prompts them to follow up with a call to GPs where appropriate. In the US, meanwhile, an inspiring
case study is to be found at West Coast Athletic Clubs (WCAC), where an over-subscribed Cancer Wellfi t programme for individuals in treatment or within nine months of diagnosis is run in two locations in California: Santa Barbara and Goleta. Providing free, full membership to the club for 10 weeks, the programme is built around two strength training sessions each week, supervised by Wellfi t-certifi ed trainers. “We experimented with other
exercises, but found that for a group of between 10 and 14 participants,
strength training in a standard weight room worked best because it allowed trainers to safely take members through a routine, personalising workouts from the outset and introducing new equipment as progress is made,” says Cancer Wellfi t director Paula Lilly. Funded by WCAC and the Santa
Barbara Cancer Center, the 17-year- old programme is a powerful way of the club giving back to the community. There have been some associated benefi ts, however, with 40 per cent of participants becoming fee-paying members post-programme. This is something that clubs should
take into account when considering whether to participate in referral schemes and invest in staff training. As Thomas concludes: “Organisations such as The Wright Foundation have been carrying out research to assess the conversion rate of people who, after completing an initial 12-week programme, end up joining the same gym and creating a new income stream. “At the same time, wealthy survivors
will be looking to pay for personalised sessions with trained PTs. These are groups who have never exercised before and never attended a gym, but who are committed to staying fi t because they feel as though they have been given a new lease of life.”
healthclub@leisuremedia.com neena dhillon
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 63
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