USERS of a fitness class claim they are facing further uncertainty over its future.

As previously reported by the Guardian, users of the Healthwise programme claimed a victory after NHS Waltham Forest agreed to fund the scheme for another year.

But they are now concerned about what form the scheme will take, claiming the staff that run it have been given redundancy notices.

The Healthwise programme enables people referred by their GP to go to a special gym class with professional trainers.

These are employed by Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), who are contracted to run the scheme by NHS Waltham Forest.

Iris Trew, 57, of Stableford Road, Chingford, who attends classes at Kelmscott Leisure Centre and has been campaigning to protect the service, said users were "fed up" with the situation.

She said: "Everyone is really worried because we can't see how the scheme is going to be run if these people have all been given their redundancy notices.

"They are professionally trained and they know all about us and all of our individual disabilities.

"We now know there will be a scheme, which is great, but what worries us is how it is going to be run. It's very frustrating."

The Healthwise scheme is designed for people with medical conditions, or non-active people at risk of developing medical conditions, who can't access mainstream exercise classes.

After attending initial subsidised sessions have been completed, users can continue to go to the classes at a reduced rate.

NHS Waltham Forest said it conducted a review of the service, after discovering around 80 per cent of people who started the course failed to complete it.

However, members who have used the service for the past few years dispute this figure, saying it is much lower.

It is understood there will be a meeting between GLL and NHS Waltham Forest this week to finalise details of the scheme.

A spokeswoman for GLL said: "GLL is currently in discussions with Waltham Forest PCT regarding the future management and implementation of physical activity intervention programmes within the borough.

"GLL is a strong advocate of this type of scheme and believes that they can play an important role in improving and maintaining the long-term health of identified patient groups."

NHS Waltham Forest previously said the scheme will run for another 12 months, during which time it will be reviewed.

Dr Kay Eilbert, acting director of public health, said: "NHS Waltham Forest has agreed to negotiate a 12-month extension to the current class while we look at making it more effective and more beneficial to the health of people who use it.

"We need to find out why the class has such a high drop out rate of 81 per cent, and to ensure that this is the right service for those patients referred on to it in the first instance."

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