Supporting people with a long term health condition to be active

Most programmes, schemes and classes cost money. Costs vary per location and can range from free guided walks, low cost community classes and walking sports, to concessionary leisure centre memberships. For more information, please contact your local physical activity and health team by clicking here

There are some consistent offers throughout Leicestershire, such as our falls prevention programme Steady Steps. Each area contains at least one leisure centre, which delivers a variety of physical activity opportunities. Please contact your local physical activity service by clicking here for more information.

Most people living in Leicestershire no longer require a medical referral from a Healthcare professional before they begin a new programme of activity. Anyone requiring support to move more should be directed their local physical activity service and then supported to move more in a way that matters most to them.

Healthcare professionals and our local physical activity teams reserve the right to request more information on any patients whom they deem to be 'complex'. In such cases, a Complex Patient Referral Form (see below) should be completed by an appropriate Healthcare professional in discussion with the patient and then transferred securely to the local physical activity service.

Patients wishing to access community based Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Programmes still require a medical referral.

Equivalent services remain unaffected for Leicester City and Rutland residents. For more information, please contact the LiveWell Leicester Team or Active Rutland

Healthcare professionals are no longer being asked to medically clear and refer most patients before they start to become more active. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to signpost people via SMS and localised 'tear-off' pads to complete a local 'contact form' which on completion will be triaged by the local physical activity service. SMS templates can be found further down the page. Tear offs can be downloaded and printed at the bottom of this page

Please contact your local physical activity service by clicking here.

No. Anyone who wishes to attend their local scheme in Leicestershire will be supported to do so, subject to eligibility criteria. These schemes still typically take place in a Leisure Centre for 12 weeks. Most people wishing to access these schemes will no longer require a medical referral from a Healthcare professional.

Yes. Most referrals into this service come via Secondary care Cardiac Rehab departments throughout UHL using an editable electronic referral document which can be accessed via the Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Programme (Phase IV) section of this webpage.

A new PRISM pathway County Cardiac Rehab (not secondary care) has been created to allow colleagues in General Practice to refer eligible patients to this service.

In October 2021, The Physical Activity Risk Consensus Group concluded that physical activity is considered safe for most people. Evidence does not support routine preparticipation medical clearance for people with stable LTCs if they build up gradually from their current level. The need for medical guidance, as opposed to clearance, should be determined by individuals with specific concerns about active symptoms. Local physical activity and health teams will carry out the appropriate level of pre participation screening they deem necessary including the industry gold standard Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PARQ) and more recent Health Commitment Statements used throughout most Leisure Providers.

Healthcare professionals and our local physical activity teams reserve the right to request more information on any patients whom they deem to be 'complex'. In such cases, a Complex Patient Referral Form (see below) should be completed by an appropriate Healthcare professional in discussion with the patient and then transferred securely to the local physical activity service.

Physical activity is safe, even for people living with symptoms of multiple long-term conditions. However, people living with long term conditions may have specific concerns about the symptoms and signs they experience from their condition. A summary of the available evidence and recommendations of appropriate advice for healthcare professionals to share with people experiencing common symptoms can be viewed by clicking here

Physical activity should not be recommended to anyone experiencing any of these absolute contraindications:

• Ongoing unstable angina
• Uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmia with haemodynamic compromise
• Active endocarditis
• Symptomatic severe aortic stenosis
• Decompensated heart failure
• Acute pulmonary embolism pulmonary infarction or deep venous thrombosis
• Acute myocarditis or pericarditis
• Acute aortic dissection

Please visit the Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Moving Medicine website, the ultimate resource to help healthcare professionals in Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland integrate physical activity conversations into routine clinical care.