Places Leisure completes estate-wide roll out with ReferAll to drive health-focused programming

Places Leisure has extended its partnership with ReferAll to cover its entire nationwide estate of community-based health programmes.

The award-winning social enterprise, which currently manages over 120 leisure facilities on behalf of its local authority partners, is using ReferAll’s software-based Exercise on Referral (EOR) solutions to support a number of health-focused programmes, including Exercise on Referral, Shape-Up and Swim for Health.

Dr Steve Mann, Head of Healthy Communities at Places Leisure, explained: “As a social enterprise, it is essential to see what impact our Exercise on Referral and condition-specific programmes are having for individuals, communities and nationally. It is also crucial we equip sites to capture data in the most efficient way possible. We need to be able to report accurately so we can engage with key stakeholders at a local and national level. ReferAll gives us the opportunity to do that.”

Places Leisure is committed to tackling health inequalities in communities. Dr Mann explained the importance of the ReferAll roll out in achieving this: “ReferAll’s software allows us to prioritise and specifically target our resources within communities for maximum gain. By collating data in a consistent and accurate way, we can actively ensure our services are being designed and delivered for people who need them most.”

ReferAll offers a fast and efficient online referral pathway for Exercise on Referral schemes. The software connects GP practices, commissioners, scheme administrators and EOR instructors. This ensures all data is collected centrally, enabling real time reporting with ease on anything from uptake demographics to evaluation of improvement in activity levels.

Stuart Stokes, Commercial Director at ReferAll, added: “Working with Places Leisure is hugely important to us as a company. It supports our global aim to celebrate the success of EOR programmes. Change is a difficult thing. For an organisation the size of Places Leisure to take this on is fantastic. Our collaborative investment of time and support has made this happen.”

Dr Mann concluded: “Both Places Leisure and ReferAll are committed to research and innovation. Our partnership will deliver unprecedented levels of insight into the effectiveness of our community health programmes and place evidence based delivery at the forefront of our service.”

ReferAll is currently working with over 360 service providers to power lifestyle services that, to date, have seen more than 300,000 referrals. For further information visit www.refer-all.net

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Editor’s notes:
ReferAll are specialists in software solutions for exercise referral and consultancy providing great communication, strong outcomes and efficient workflow to make people active.
www.refer-all.net

Places Leisure:
• Partners 36 local authorities across England.
• Currently manages over 100 leisure centres nationwide
• Attracts 30 million leisure centre visits each year.
• Leads over 70,000 swimming lessons per week.
• Employs 9,000 staff.
• Crowned ukactive Leisure Centre Operator of the Year 2015 and ukactive Leisure Centre of the Year 2016.
• Winner of the 2013 Apprenticeship Provider of the Year Award, in partnership with Lifetime Training.
• Winner of the Royal Society for Public Health Award 2013/16.
• First Leisure Management Company to achieve Quest Stretch ‘Outstanding’ for Sports Development (now Active Communities)

For further information contact:
Amanda Baker at Big Fish Public Relations
Tel: 07976 757499
Email: amanda@bigfishpublicrelations.co.uk