Suffolk public health exercise referral accreditation

Warren Smyth

CEO, Abbeycroft Leisure

Philip Lowen

Most Active County Partnership Programme Manager, Suffolk County Council Public Health

Stuart Stokes

Managing Director, Refer All

What is the exercise referral accreditation?

The team started by explaining the exercise referral accreditation. What are we referring to? How will it be implemented?

The speakers directed the audience toward ‘Physical activity: exercise referral schemes’ public health guideline [PH54] published by NICE.

The guideline was produced for:

  • Policy makers and commissioners in local authorities and the NHS.
  • Primary care practitioners and other practitioners with physical activity as part of their remit.
  • Providers of exercise referral schemes.
  • Organisations that provide exercise qualifications and accreditation.
  • Members of the public.


Questions regarding exercise referral accreditation

How do we create a quality standard and why? What are the downfalls? There is a lack of awareness among GPs, for example. Alongside this there is inconsistent data collection and reporting from schemes which in turn makes it difficult to determine impact.

How do we put into practice an exercise referral accreditation system? Why? To improve standards and operate in line with NICE guidelines. Also, to support growth of referral schemes in Suffolk, to promote continuous improvement of schemes and to facilitate understanding.

  • 11 of the proposed 15 sites now accredited.
  • 13 of the 15 sites currently utilising exercise referral accreditation.


There has been an evaluation method devised with Refer All for BREQ-3 behavioural criteria.

Stuart explained the success but however challenges show the difficulty in monitoring and evaluating, reviewing evidence and the client journey There is an opportunity to strengthen our case with public health partnerships here.

We can then share best practice of how the scheme works and what the sites and partners gain from the scheme – to promote continuous improvement with the scheme and residents of Suffolk.

Next steps for the scheme and platform

  • Review the information.
  • Facilitate continuous improvement using the quality standard.
  • Particularly over our 12-month engagement.
  • Develop the tools to improve monitoring and reviewing.
  • Use a pathway and Refer All for other client groups to deliver a more effective programme.