THE LIVES of cardiac patients in Lincolnshire are being turned around thanks to a joint venture with one of the county’s premier fitness suites, a new report has revealed.
Earlier this year the Magna Vitae Trust for Leisure and Culture welcomed patients from the Cardiac Rehabilitation Service to Meridian Leisure Centre, its venue in Louth. The trust also runs centres in Horncastle, Mablethorpe and Skegness, after taking over East Lindsey District Council’s leisure services in 2015.
To assess the effectiveness of the work and the suitability of the centre, a report was compiled by Lincolnshire Community Health Services, which looked at patient reaction over the first few weeks of its use for the regular rehabilitation sessions.
And its findings delighted centre bosses, with praise for the centre itself, the programmes offered and the support and advice from its staff.
In an anonymous survey of patients, one said: “The venue is excellent. I find the gym brilliant, it helps you feel motivated and the course gets you going again. This is the start of living and getting back to normal and if it wasn’t for this I would be sitting at home and would be wasting away.”
Another added: “This instils confidence in me for what I can do after I leave the course.”
The report stated how a key message expressed by all the patients surveyed was the confidence the gym and the course had given them, and they described feeling ‘happy, supported, safe and reassured’.
Chief Executive of Magna Vitae, Mark Humpheys was delighted with the report outcomes and keen to stress the impact exercise can have on improving an individual’s health.
“We all know the obvious links between improving your fitness and improving your health and all our lifestyle consultants at Magna Vitae are here to help and support people in all stages of their fitness progression,” he said.
The report is now being shared with clinical experts across the East and West Lindsey districts of Lincolnshire to discuss further improvements to services across the county.
The patients, who are supported by volunteers, have dedicated access to rooms within the Meridian Centre for the course, which is also run in close partnership with stakeholders, including the Heart Support Group.