Exercise can help improve a wide variety of health problems, including obesity, heart disease, depression and mobility disorders, and GP's are increasingly referring their patients to local fitness professionals as part of their treatment. These GP referral schemes are one of the key pillars in the government's ten-year plan to improve levels of physical activity, and the number of schemes in the UK has risen by 500% over the last ten years: there are now over 800 schemes in operation.

Fitness professionals: GP Referral Schemes gives you everything you need to know, as a fitness professional, in order to manage a referred client, from fulfilling government recommendations to motivating and retaining clients, and includes:

• An outline of government policy
• Exercise guidelines for different medical conditions
• Working with GP referral clients
• Designing a programme
• Sample client evaluation and assessment questionnaires
• Client starter packs

About the Author

Debbie Lawrence is a highly regarded fitness professional who works closely with YMCA Fitness Industry Training. Louisa Barnett is a cardiac exercise specialist at Kings Hospital, London.