Post Code Lottery Success
Cardiac Rehab is delighted to have been awarded a grant for £6834 by Postcode Community Trust, a grant giving charity funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, to fund an expansion of their Primary Prevention Programme ‘Staywell’. Through this funding the charity will be able to help an additional 100 people by adding two classes to the timetable starting in May – one of which will support the frailer clients who attends the programme.
The Staywell programme was created by Cardiac Rehab founder Dr Hugh Bethell MBE in 2009 to meet an identified need in the community: access to a medically supervised exercise aimed at reducing the risk of developing heart disease. Each client follows an individually planned and monitored exercise programme for ten weeks and this produces significant changes in ability to exercise, blood pressure, weight and muscle tone. The charity now runs over 50 hours per week of supervised exercise classes using both machines and non-machine cardio-vascular routines and is one of the largest providers of its kind in the South of England. Classes are supervised by a team of British Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR) trained and qualified instructors managed by Dr Sally Turner PhD MSc MCSP.Recently additions to the non-machine exercise programmes include a Tai Chi class and a ‘Heartbeat’ movement to music class.The charity also provides core strength classes for frailer clients through Steady & Strong classes.
Cardiac Rehab now supports over 450 people in the Staywell programme and has recently significantly increased the rates of referral from 100 a year to 250.This grant will enable them to introduce two more classes per week, helping up to 100 more people.
CEO Sarah Quarterman said: “This grant from Postcode Community Trust will give a wonderful boost to our Staywell programme which offers those who are considered ‘high risk’ to access the right exercise and nutrition advice before they develop heart disease.We particularly target those diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol or obesity and so it will enable us to help even more people.I encourage anyone wishing to learn more to speak to their GP”.
