South Downs Leisure uses ReferAll insight to shape new health programmes.

South Downs Leisure is launching new classes to meet local health needs, using insights from social prescribing and the exercise and wellbeing referral platform ReferAll to shape its programmes.

The data recorded by ReferAll provides a clearer picture of those accessing South Downs Leisure’s exercise referral and health programmes, allowing the trust to develop tailored programmes to support people to be more active and improve their health and wellbeing.

“We’ve been using ReferAll for around two years to manage our exercise referral and health programmes. The data shows that musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions and falls are the most common areas of need,” says fitness manager Violet Rose.

To fill this gap, South Downs Leisure is developing a dedicated MSK programme as well as falls prevention classes for its West Sussex sites. The new schemes respond to local need, while giving healthcare professionals more options for supporting patients to stay active, says Rose.

“A local surgery has funding for an eight-week MSK programme, but there isn’t currently an exit programme for these patients. Our new MSK classes will offer that next step, supporting people to keep exercising once they’ve finished the surgery’s eight-week programme.”

This autumn will also see the launch of the charity and leisure trust’s first water-based exercise referral classes led by virtual instructors. The one-hour classes will be delivered via a large screen on poolside, with content provided by Finnish virtual aqua fitness system Hydrohex.

Piloting at Wadurs Swimming Pool and Splashpoint Leisure Centre, the virtual classes will allow South Downs Leisure to add more sessions to its timetable, expanding from seven to 11 sessions a week, while also providing a back-up option to reduce class cancellations.

The new classes reflect South Downs Leisure’s expanding role in supporting the health and wellbeing of its communities.

“Healthcare professionals increasingly recognise that our facilities can support prevention and recovery, and are referring more patients into our programmes. As we get busier, ReferAll is helping the team to spend less time on paperwork and more time with customers, which is what our clients want,” says Rose.

The technology is also improving efficiency. The introduction of automated text reminders has reduced missed first appointments from 40 to 12 per cent. It has also identified points during the 12-week exercise referral programme where participants are more likely to drop out, giving staff the opportunity to provide additional encouragement.

“We know that maintaining new habits can be difficult. Sometimes a simple prompt at the right time is all someone needs to help them keep going,” says Rose.

David Outen, account manager at ReferAll, says: “We’re delighted to support South Downs Leisure as it expands its health programmes to meet local needs. This is a great example of how data and insight can translate into meaningful action, helping to identify gaps in provision and develop programmes that support people to be more active.”

About ReferAll

ReferAll is a leading software platform for community health data collection, transforming the growth of health and wellbeing services and unlocking new funding opportunities for service providers. ReferAll’s platform is trusted by public health teams, local authorities, leisure trusts and NHS organisations throughout the UK, operating securely in the cloud, ensuring GDPR compliance and providing a 360˚ approach for stakeholders involved in health and wellbeing services.

Providing real-time key performance indicator reporting, the ReferAll software reveals patient outcomes for industry-standard questionnaires, viewable on a permissions basis for team members requiring access. By reducing staff administration time, it helps increase time for participants, as well as automating appointment reminders, speeding up activity enrolment and providing motivational text messages, making the community-health ‘journey’ easier for participants and more successful for providers.

ReferAll empowers organisations to collect, analyse and utilise community health data effectively. By adopting ReferAll’s platform, service providers can optimise their operations, improve participant outcomes and foster a healthier community.