In just 18 months, the organisation has eliminated its waiting list via investment in both capacity and capability, all without external funding. Active Blackpool’s Active Wellbeing Suites at Moor Park and Palatine Leisure Centres are the launchpad for the 16-week referral journey.

Equipped with Innerva’s power-assisted exercise circuit, they provide a safe, secure and welcoming space for older adults, people with chronic health conditions and those who may be exercising for the first time.   

The average age of exercise referral participants is 56, which in Blackpool, is already beyond the average person’s healthy life years. Strikingly, 70% of Active Wellbeing users live with an average of 2.3 long-term health conditions, while 30% have one health condition. Designed for older adults and those with health needs, the Innerva circuit guides and supports movement so even the frailest, most deconditioned individuals and those with limited mobility due to conditions like arthritis, Parkinson’s and MS can take part.

Working at their own pace with the equipment’s support reducing over time, users can progress safely while building confidence. Users exercise with others which reduces anxiety and creates a sense of community.

'The Innerva circuit is vital to the start of our exercise referral journey because it’s one of the safest forms of exercise someone can do. The Wellness Suites are also the best places for social connection, which is particularly important for our exercise referral participants,' says Neil Pimlott, Active Lives development officer at Active Blackpool.

The goal is to gradually encourage people to progress to additional activities such as Good Boost and Egym. With Innerva’s new secure cloud-based system, Innerva Connect, staff can use data on user’s performance to assess when they’re ready to graduate to further activity. It’s part of a wider move to bring everything under one banner aligned with healthy living.

Active Blackpool restructured its operations 18 months ago, merging exercise referral and activity wellbeing teams to break down silos, increasing staffing levels, upskilling team members and developing seven new exercise pathways.

'There’s nothing clever about driving people through a 16-week scheme, but by creating person-centred pathways, we can ensure every participant receives the support they need to improve their health and wellbeing. If we get the signposting right, people stay with us and we keep them in the system,' says Chris Rushton, head of Active Blackpool.

Exercise referral is now part of a sustainable operation that balances commercial return with social value. The complete overhaul of membership pricing architecture with particular regard to corporates has driven revenue, allowing Active Blackpool to deliver its community-focussed programmes.  

The approach is paying dividends. Overall membership, which incorporates the Active Wellbeing Suites, has almost doubled to circa 7,000 in 18 months and exercise referrals have grown to 190 per month. 'We’ve set ourselves up to ensure we have no waiting list and enough capacity to meet the latent demand in Blackpool. As much as we see a clear financial return, we are here to drive social value. The growth in membership and all the people we’re getting through the door is delivering a social return to the council and the ‘whole system’, of which, like the NHS, it is a part. Innerva plays a prominent role in this journey,' says Rushton.

Active Blackpool is now investing in new Innerva equipment at the Active Wellbeing Suite at Palatine Leisure Centre.

Rushton says: 'We wouldn’t be making this investment if there was any doubt it was working. The wheels we set in motion 18 months ago have secured the viability of the referral scheme and it’s been life-changing for participants. If we keep building on that and reach more people, we have a real chance of diminishing health inequality and enhancing healthy life expectancy in the borough.'