GP Exercise Referral Program - 'Get Moving, Stay Well'
'Working Out' health issues in our local community!
How it works
At Sutherland Leisure Centre we offer a program called "GP referral" available for people aged 15 to 80+ years.
Under this program, a doctor (a general practitioner (GP) in the Sutherland Division of General Practice) will prescribe a program of fitness which you then bring to our Sutherland Leisure Centre.
From this we will develop an exercise program tailored specifically for you which you undertake in conjunction with our specialist staff:
- participants receive an initial fitness appraisal undertaken by an exercise physiologist
- you then attend 10 scheduled supervised fitness sessions over the next 5 weeks
- following this, you receive a reassessment report and letter to return back to the GP; this information is used by the relevant Doctor to develop a physical activity maintenance program for the patient, which is also run at the Leisure Centre.
The program commenced in 2004, and to date more than 1070 people have completed the program.
Benefits
Health, illness and the need to combat obesity has dramatically increased in the Australian community over the past five years. As a country second to the USA we now face a health epidemic that is fastly spreading into our homes and local communities. We decided to tackle this issue head on and this has been the catalyst behind our partnership with the Sutherland Division General Practice to launch the "GP Referral Exercise Scheme".
Numerous research has shown positive health benefits of regular exercise on our mind and body. However, despite this, most of us need encouragement, support and a goal to take the first steps. The facts show 85% of Australian adults visit their GP annually. This is where the GP Exercise Referral Scheme incorporating the "Get Moving Stay Well" program comes into play.
The specific aims of the program are to increase General Practice prescription of physical activity to sedentary patients and to primarily incorporate habitual activity into participant's lives. The fitness industry has been successful in enticing the healthy and active young adults to participate in exercise while other inactive groups have drawn limited attention. This is how the GPs have the potential to play an important role in encouraging people (patients) of all ages to increase their level of physical activity.
How it came about
Based on a successful United Kingdom model, the GP Exercise Referral Scheme was presented to the members of FitnessNSW in 2001. This is where a partnership which included Sutherland Leisure Centre, Sutherland Division of General Practice, Fitness NSW, and South East Health - Health Promotion Service began to evolve. A six-month pilot program was developed, implemented and evaluated.
From the findings the partners decided to launch the program to all the doctors in Sutherland Shire who wish to encourage and refer physical activity to their patients.
More information
For further details on the GP Exercise Referral Scheme contact Shem Hollands at Sutherland Leisure Centre on (02) 8536 9718
If your GP is not aware of this program, please ask your GP to contact the Sutherland Division of General Practice:
Suite 502, Level 5, 3-5 Stapleton Ave Sutherland 2232
Phone: (02) 9545 3533
Fax: (02) 9545 3522
Web: http://www.shiregps.org.au/
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