Partnership Success at Hatfield Leisure Centre

A local partnership is proving that movement really is medicine. Hatfield Leisure Centre and Hatfield Primary Care Network (PCN) are celebrating a successful year of collaboration through GP exercise referrals, with Wrafton House Surgery leading the way.

All practices within Hatfield PCN actively promote GP exercise referrals, encouraging patients to take part in the Healthwise scheme at Hatfield Leisure Centre. A review of recent referral figures showed Wrafton House Surgery standing out, making significantly more referrals than other practices in the network.

To recognise this achievement, Healthwise Coordinator Gemma invited the Wrafton House team to the leisure centre for a wellbeing reward - a team fitness session designed to be fun, inclusive and confidence‑boosting.

Staff enjoyed moving, playing and laughing their way through the class, discovering that exercise doesn’t always feel like hard work. For some, it was a more nervous experience stepping into a leisure centre gym environment, and any apprehension quickly disappeared.

The team also had the chance to explore the centre’s wellbeing room and try out the Shape Master equipment, gaining first‑hand experience of what they regularly recommend to patients.

Everyone left smiling, energised and feeling positive — a perfect example of how Active Practice pledges can be achieved without even realising it.

This partnership highlights the power of leading by example and shows how collaboration between healthcare and leisure services can benefit both staff and patients alike.A touch of friendly competition between local surgeries might just be one way of boosting patient referrals into beneficial and impactful physical activity exit routes.

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To find out about your nearest exercise referral scheme, take a look at the offers here. For more information on healthcare and physical activity partnership building, as well as the Active Practice Charter, please reach out to hsphealth@herts.ac.uk