Exercise referral schemes

The referral process begins with a doctor, nurse, or other health professional referring patients who would benefit from structured, supervised exercise. You will receive a referral form, already filled out and signed by the referee, to be presented to the exercise referral consultant at your first appointment.

Your reason for referral will determine as to whether you are eligible for the Start-Up or ExSite referral scheme.

First appointments take place for Start-Up at the Abbey and Chesterton sports centres and for ExSite at the Abbey, Chesterton, Hills Road and Kelsey Kerridge sports centres.

You will complete a medical questionnaire and a brief health assessment and have the opportunity to raise any questions or concerns you might have about the scheme. The information gathered will allow an exercise programme to be designed that will meet your specific needs.

At both six weeks and 12 weeks after the initial appointment you will be reassessed by completing the same health assessment taken at your first appointment. Further goals will be set.

After 12 weeks, you will discuss your progress with the exercise referral consultant who will report back to your medical referee.

You will be invited to continue exercising at your chosen venue at a similar rate and have further reassessments (at a cost) as and when you require them.

Once you have completed the 12 week scheme, staff will be available to contact for additional advice should you require it.

What if I am ill or am away on holiday during my time on the scheme?

If you are ill of away during your twelve-week course of activity, it is important that you notify your Start-Up or ExSite office. While the course of activity is supposed to be for a consecutive twelve week period, it is possible for us to suspend or put memberships on hold for up to three months. This is always at the discretion of the scheme co-ordinator.

If you know that you are to be going away for a month or more, we ask that you postpone joining the scheme until you return.

Will the scheme benefit me?

There is a mass of evidence that supports the benefits of activity in relation to improving both physical and mental health. While we cannot guarantee that the scheme will benefit you, we can guarantee you will get as much guidance as you need to become more active.

The greater effort that you put in, the greater the results you will see.

What happens when I finish on the scheme?

In most instances, you will be able to continue with the activity that you have been pursuing. However once the scheme has finished the rate at which you have been accessing the scheme may increase.

All of the centres in which we run activities, offer discounted membership rates for Start-Up clients upon completion of the scheme. Exact costs will be explained at your re-assessment, but are available at request when enrolling on the scheme.

Can I be re-referred on to the scheme?

Generally, we do not accept re-referrals to the scheme unless the client has had a change or deterioration in their medical condition - and upon the advice and completion of a new referral form by a health professional.

What happens to my records when I have finished on the scheme?

Your records will be securely archived for three years, after which all of your information will be securely disposed of. Evidence of you enrolling and completing the scheme will remain on our electronic system.

We will send you an activity questionnaire six and 12 months after you have started the scheme.

How do I know that I am getting the best and most appropriate advice?

All exercise referral consultants and instructors that work on the scheme are qualified in teaching and working with clients with medical conditions. All staff that work on the scheme are members on the exercise professional register at level three, which is currently the highest status.

Please note that none of the staff are qualified health professionals and that the scheme is not run to replace medical treatment or physiotherapy where it is needed.

In accordance to the National Quality Assurance Framework for Exercise Referral Systems (NQAF) the following health professionals can potentially refer to the Start-Up scheme:

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Occupational therapists
• Physiotherapists
• Dieticians

In order to refer, health professionals MUST first register with the scheme. You can register to make patient referrals by completing the online registration (link below). Upon receiving a submission of request to refer patients, you will receive an email of consent from the exercise referral team, giving you permission to start referring patients. Please do not refer any patients prior to permission being granted. Permission should be granted within 7 days of registering.

By agreeing and completing the registration form, the health professional not only registers with the Start-Up and ExSite schemes, but also with the South Cambridgeshire Fitness4health scheme. The health professional is then able to refer to both schemes upon the wishes of the client.

Prior to making a referral, health professionals should do this with reference to the scheme’s reasons for referral list, which is also available to view from this site.

Referral forms are available from this site to download. Referral forms should be completed and given to the patient. It is the patient’s responsibility to contact the scheme to make an appointment.

Am I eligible to refer?

You are eligible to refer if you are a doctor, nurse, occupational therapist, physiotherapist or dietician, working in Cambridge or in close proximity to the locality.

How do I refer onto the scheme?

Prior to referring any patient onto the scheme, it is essential that you register with us. Registering is easy, but requires you to agree to our terms and agreements of referral. The same registration form is used for Cambridge city and for South Cambridgeshire (Fitness4health) exercise referral schemes, and therefore registering with one will mean that you automatically register with the other. Please see the download link for this at the bottom of the page.

Upon receiving your form, you will be sent notification from the team about your eligibility to refer. Referral forms can be downloaded from this site or a bulk can be sent to you upon request.

Referral forms should be given directly to the patient, whose responsibility it is then to take the first step and book an appointment with the team.

My patient lives outside of the city, but works in Cambridge; can they be referred to Start-Up?

Yes – although it is important that patients who live outside of the city are made aware that it will cost them more to access the facilities, because they are non-Cambridge residents.

There are exercise referral schemes running in all areas of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Is my patient eligible for referral?

Upon registering with the scheme, you should receive information regarding our criteria for referral. This is also available to download at the bottom of this page.

When referring a client, please consider whether:

• they are already active and therefore would they benefit from the scheme
• they can access the facilities available
• they are ready to make the change to a more active lifestyle
• if any of the activities available would be suitable

Please respect our policy of not accepting ‘general fitness’ as a reason for referral, without an associated medical condition.

Can a carer attend with my patient?

In most cases, this is not a problem and in some instances (such as in some of our classes) carers will not be needed, as groups are small enough to give dedicated attention to these individual. All centres in which we work allow carers of disabled users to attend the gym, free of charge.

How do I contact my patient’s exercise referral consultant?

If you are wishing to notify an exercise consultant of a change in medical condition or medication or wishing to speak to the consultant regarding the exercise they have prescribed to a patient, you can do this by contacting the Start-Up and ExSite team by calling 01223 457000.

Can I refer my patient who is awaiting cardiac investigation?

No. We ask that any patient who is awaiting cardiac investigation be not referred until the outcome of this investigation is revealed. In some instances following cardiac investigation, access to the scheme has been denied or delayed.

Are there exercise referral schemes in other areas around the region?

There are exercise referral schemes running in all areas of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. There are now over 300 exercise referral schemes running up and down the country.

For further information on a patient’s most local scheme, we recommend that they contact their local council’s sport development department for more information.

Can I re-refer patients onto the scheme?

Generally, it is not our policy to accept re-referrals onto the scheme and re-referrals are limited to those who have had a change or deterioration in their medical condition and upon the completion of a new referral form.

Patients who are referred to the scheme more than twice, will be denied enrolment.