Wednesday 21st April 2010
South Lanarkshire Lifestyles Fairhill, a £9m modern integrated facility opened in 2008, is the first leisure facility in Scotland to gain Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) Mark Accreditation and, the first in the UK to achieve the ‘Excellent’ level. The IFI Mark Accreditation is the nationally recognised standard of inclusion within the fitness industry, awarded to fitness facilities that are inclusive of both disabled and non-disabled people alike. IFI Mark Accreditation can be awarded at three levels: Provisional, Registered or Excellent, the process focuses on 4 key areas; Accessible Facilities, Inclusive Fitness Equipment, Staff Training and Inclusive Marketing Strategies. South Lanarkshire Lifestyles Fairhill features generous floor space for users with wheelchairs and walking aids. South Lanarkshire Leisure has worked with three IFI Accredited Fitness Equipment Suppliers; Cybex, Hur and Power Plate to provide inclusive gym equipment which caters for people with a range of disabilities including visually impaired and wheelchair users as well as non-disabled people. Staff at the facility have received additional training, providing them with the skills, knowledge and expertise to provide disabled people with a safe and effective programme. The staff have also previously undergone training to cater for a wide-range of needs and offer some NHS referral-only classes including Cardiac Rehabilitation, Strength and Balance classes suitable for customers with Multiple Sclerosis, and Easy Exercise for older adults. Curling Paralympian, Aileen Neilson from Hamilton came along to present this prestigious award of Excellence to Councillor Gerry Convery, Chair of the Board of South Lanarkshire Leisure Ltd who manage and operate leisure facilities on behalf of South Lanarkshire Council. Aileen commented: "South Lanarkshire Lifestyles – Fairhill is a fantastic facility which I have used since it opened in April 2008 as part of my preparation for the Paralympic Games in Vancouver in March. It focuses on people’s abilities rather than disabilities and all the staff are extremely helpful and encouraging. This is an excellent venue where people are encouraged to improve their fitness and health and I look forward to using the facility for years to come." Councillor Gerry Convery, Chair of the Board of South Lanarkshire Leisure Ltd commented: "This award today is a great accolade for South Lanarkshire Lifestyles Fairhill and a really fantastic achievement for all of the staff who have focused their efforts on the facility achieving the highest standard of disability inclusion. This is an excellent facility which caters for all members of the community wishing to increase their physical activity levels with the guidance of the highly qualified and experienced staff. The centre has demonstrated the importance of partnership working with the Council’s Social Work Resources, NHS Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire Leisure Ltd by increasing usage by disabled people of the leisure facilities. Over 30,000 people have attended the South Lanarkshire Lifestyles Fairhill centre in the last year and 5,000 of these have been users who would otherwise not be able to access leisure facilities. 200 gym inductions have been carried out for clients with disabilities ranging from Cerebral Palsy, Spinabifida and amputations. Customer Bill Munn who is effected by Guillain Barrie Syndrom said: "I love this place and have been coming to use the equipment since it opened. It has helped me get my muscles built back up to make them work as they should. The staff here are absolutely marvellous." Sue Catton, IFI National Director, of the Inclusive Fitness Initiative said: ‘South Lanarkshire Leisure Ltd is to be congratulated on achieving the first Excellent Level IFI Mark Accreditation in the UK at the Lifestyles Fairhill Centre. They have demonstrated their strength of commitment to inclusion, ensuring that the needs of all their customers are met. Disabled people in the area will benefit from an excellent level of service provision and advice enabling them to make genuine healthy lifestyle choices. Lifestyles Fairhill have raised the IFI Mark bar not just in Scotland but for the whole of the UK.’ South Lanarkshire Lifestyles Fairhill will be participating in the Inclusive Fitness Week from the 3rd to the 9th of May with free gym taster sessions being available to book on Tuesday 4th from 10am – 2pm, Thursday 6th from 4pm – 8pm and Saturday 8th from 10am – 2pm. If you would like to book for a free gym taster session you can contact the centre on 01698 456350.
