interview
and parcel of what the industry should be aspiring towards. “But, although I believe the industry
is really trying, setting up some good conversations and taking steps in the right direction, it will be hard to fi nd the investment necessary to deliver this in an increasingly competitive marketplace – driven by the budget clubs – as well as in the current economic climate. “I also believe, without wanting to be
critical of the industry, that it sometimes uses wellbeing as a means of selling – a promotional tool – rather than a means of truly understanding what’s happening with customers and really trying to make a difference.”
new ventures So what other initiatives has Nuffield
been developing? “We started a weight management pilot last year, but we didn’t want to do an online scheme or a WeightWatchers-type approach where you go into a group and step on scales. We bought a small company called Food Calculator – an online tool – which we use as a means of assessing people’s dietary habits, but our programme is as much about the relationship with food
– the emotional side. “We put together a nine-month
programme, aligned to NICE guidelines, with a view to sustainable weight loss, in which participants have a one-hour, one- to-one session with a physiologist every month. We’ve benchmarked it against WeightWatchers and Slimming World and we’ve had some terrifi c results, but the really interesting thing is that, even though it cost an additional £25 per member, we had 98 per cent retention across the nine months.”
Nuffi eld’s new in-depth health assessment includes tests such as a spinal postural assessment
“WITHOUT WANTING TO BE CRITICAL OF THE INDUSTRY, IT SOMETIMES USES WELLBEING AS A MEANS OF SELLING”
And how about specialist programmes
for specifi c conditions, as per the diabetes programme currently available in 35 Nuffi eld centres around the country (see HCM Oct 11, p50)? “There are two big projects at the
moment. We’ve signed a contract with Great Ormond Street whereby we’re looking after cystic fi brosis children, predominantly in Bloomsbury but across our network as well. They’re using our swimming pools with our physiotherapists, and also our gyms where appropriate. “The second is with Macmillan,
looking at ways of helping both carers and recovering cancer patients. But as with our diabetes programmes, where we found people didn’t want to be labelled, we’re doing it subtly. Those with diabetes wanted a membership like everybody else, in which they were simply treated in a slightly different way. Similarly, it wouldn’t be appropriate to launch cancer memberships – it’s more about handling individuals respectfully and appropriately. “So we have relationships with
Diabetes UK, Macmillan and Great Ormond Street, and we’re very proud of the things we’re doing with those organisations.”
national reach And how about coming out of public
sector leisure centre operation, handing over the management of these centres to GLL (see HCM Aug 11, p30)? Kerby says: “These centres weren’t core to our proposition, but given our focus on the broader public health agenda, we wanted to offer GLL the opportunity to
34 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
continue to use our capabilities” – Nuffield reserves the right to run clinical services through the 15 centres handed over to GLL, and both sides envisage a time when this might be rolled out to the remainder of the GLL estate. Says Kerby: “It gives us an
opportunity for additional network – we’re not national in terms of coverage yet and we’re very keen to get there, either through partnership or potentially acquisition in the future. We have a number of conversations going on, but nothing concrete as yet. “We also have a strong eye on
technological developments, because fi tness is going to become all about smartphone tracking – looking at the whole picture rather than just what someone’s doing in a specifi c fi tness facility on a specifi c piece of equipment. That technology gives Nuffi eld the opportunity to have a more national product outside of a physical platform, and that’s very exciting. “All in all, I think we’ve made signifi cant
progress over the last two years. We’ve built the clinics, we’ve really got the Health MOT going, we have great outcome data, we’ve launched what I think is a market-defi ning weight management programme, and we’ve started to look at platinum membership and bundling packages for customers who want fi tness and wellbeing and a more holistic view. But as I say, we’re part of the fi tness industry: if people want to come to Nuffi eld Health just for fi tness, that’s absolutely fi ne.”
healthclub@leisuremedia.com kate cracknell
november/december 2011 © cybertrek 2011
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84