What we expected to do
Angus Cardiac Group (ACG) is the lead organisation in the ‘Angus Activity Programme for
People with a Long-term Condition’. This funding of £19,000 per annum was awarded so
that the use of volunteers to deliver seated exercise in the Angus community could be
continued and this service expanded.
The overall aim of our project is to improve the quality of life for people in Angus living with
a long-term condition, through provision of volunteer-led seated exercise opportunities.
We have identified 3 main outcomes for our work:
1. People with a long-term condition will have improved physical health
2. People with a long-term health condition will have improved mental well-being
3. Volunteers will feel valued and supported
In order to achieve these outcomes, our activities include:

Recruiting and developing new volunteers

Providing relevant training to all volunteers

Providing on-going support to volunteers

Increasing the number of exercise opportunities delivered by volunteers for people
with a long-term condition

Developing a monitoring framework

Ensuring all relevant policies and procedures are in place
In addition, it was recognised that work was required to improve the referral process for
people with long-term health conditions who want to access exercise opportunities available
at Angus Council Leisure Centres (the BE ACTIVE….live well programme). This included
the need to move to one referral form (rather than separate ones for Refer 2 Exercise and
seated/circuit classes) and to ensure that the programme is promoted to both potential
referrers, and participants. Time costs have also been allocated to coordinate this.
What we actually did
Over the last 12 months we have achieved the following:

We continued to have regular volunteer management group meetings to direct our
activities. The Volunteer Coordinator presents a report at each meeting to summarise
activities to date

There have been 39 new seated exercise participants between October 2014 and
September 2015. Added to the 134 new participants reported from the previous year,
this gives a total of 173 new beneficiaries since the beginning of our funding

At the time of writing, we have 41 volunteers. All volunteers receive ongoing support
and communication from the Volunteer Coordinator

23 groups run across Angus by our volunteers. Seated exercise is offered weekly,
fortnightly, or monthly. Approximately 155 people benefitted from participating in
these groups

2 referrals were received for one-to-one sessions. One participant completed all six
sessions and gave a positive evaluation. The other referral completed four sessions
before being hospitalised and it was agreed to end involvement. It was not possible
to complete an evaluation

Regular volunteer meetings for support, sharing ideas, and training. During this
reporting period there have been 5 meetings/training events
 Christmas lunch attended by 18 volunteers, which celebrated their contribution
to the project and was an opportunity to present certificates to those who had
completed their GOLD Revitalyz Seated Exercise qualification
 In March, the Lead Respiratory Specialist Nurse, and a volunteer from Forfar
Airways came to talk to the volunteers. 16 attended
 Two external training courses were brought to Angus in June. The first was a
‘Paths for All’ course on ‘Strength and Balance for Older People’. The second
was the ‘Revitalyzer’ workshop which built upon the ‘Revitalyz’ seated
exercise training which volunteers had all undergone previously. This follow-up
training introduced resistance and strength exercises as a means of improving
muscle strength and hence improving ability to perform activities of daily living
Volunteers were asked to evaluate both courses and key points are presented
below (What difference we actually made)
 In September, 17 volunteers attended a meeting which covered the topic of
Stroke. This was led by the Senior Liaison Nurse, and the Team Leader
Physiotherapist for Stroke

3 new volunteers completed Revitalyz seated exercise in August. This training was
made available to us courtesy of the TEC project

The Volunteer Coordinator continued to attend relevant networking opportunities,
including a ‘Health & Loneliness’ workshop, and the Third Sector Conference ‘An
Angus That Actively Cares’

The new ‘Refer 2 Exercise’ referral form was launched at a PLT event in November.
The form is now in use across Angus and facilitates referral or self-referral into the
BE ACTIVE…live well programme
What difference we actually made
In order to assess to what extent we were achieving our outcomes of improving physical
health and mental wellbeing for participants of the volunteer led seated exercise,
questionnaires were distributed (see appendix 1). 85 were returned, the key findings of
which were:

Asked ‘what do you like about the seated exercise programme’, comments
included:
 ‘Meeting people and the company’
 ‘Being in a group’
 ‘I like the company and the music, and it is fun’

Responses to ‘What difference has the seated exercise made to you?’ included:
 ‘Improved and maintained mobility, flexibility, muscle tone and breathing’
 ‘Made it easier to get out of a chair’
 ‘It has made me more confident and go out more’

85% who answered said that they felt better able to manage any health condition
as a result of attending the seated exercise programme. 89% felt that symptoms of
any health condition they had had been maintained or improved

As a result of attending the programme, 83% said they felt fitter, 81% felt more
mobile, and 99% said they felt happier

Many participants expressed very strong positive feelings about the programme
when asked how they’d feel if it ended, such as ‘It would be tragic’ and ‘Devastated, I
would miss it’
It is essential to ensure volunteers receive relevant training in order to support them in their
seated exercise activities. Two external courses were undertaken this year and volunteers
were asked to evaluate how good these were.
Strength and Balance
13 people attended this course. Participants were introduced to toolkit of 14 simple
exercises aimed at promoting active ageing and reducing falls risk in older adults. All
participants rated the course ‘very helpful’ when asked about the benefit of the course for
their volunteering activities. Feedback included:
‘I knew nothing about strength and balance exercises so everything was great’
‘This was extremely useful and I’ll be incorporating this into my exercise class’
‘Great day, lots of information, presented well and demonstrated very well. Thank you.’
The Revitalyzer SPA Refresh & Resist workshop
Volunteers had requested more ideas and exercises for their sessions. We decided that the
new refresher training from Revitalyz would meet their needs. 15 people attended this
training session. The evaluation was very positive from the volunteers. The following
comments illustrate this:
‘Being reminded of some of the exercises taught previously, learning new ones to vary my
routines and hearing of other people’s experiences’
‘Training very beneficial and enjoyed meeting other volunteers. Thank you for the
opportunity.’
‘It would be good to have another refresher program somewhere down the line- say in 4/5
years’ time’
Challenges and changes
One-to-One Participants
There are currently eight volunteers available for placement in one-to-one settings. One-toone participants are offered an Introductory meeting (Volunteer Co-ordinator, volunteer and
participant), followed by six sessions of seated exercise in their own home.
Referrals have been very slow to come in with only two received before October 2015.
However, four referrals have been received during October and are currently being
progressed. Work is on-going with relevant potential referrers to promote this service, as it
is evident that more people could benefit from exercising in their own home where they are
unable to access opportunities available in the community.
Data Collection
We have an established data collection protocol and forms have been circulated to all
volunteers, who are asked to make monthly returns on class numbers and new
beneficiaries. We have an ‘Activity Information & Data Assistant’ in place to collate figures.
However, not all volunteers regularly contribute their figures as required. The importance of
accurate figures is of course essential in order to evidence the success of our work.
However there is a balance to be struck- volunteers are committing a considerable amount
of time and enthusiasm to the programme. We need to ensure that they understand the
necessity of data collection, whilst also making it as easy as possible for them to report on
their sessions. We will look at our protocol and make any changes necessary.
Learning for the future
A review of the project has recently been undertaken and it is clear from feedback from
volunteers that they greatly value the quarterly meetings which have been instigated. They
report that they feel well supported through information exchange, the opportunity to share
good practice and to meet with other volunteers who deliver seated exercise sessions. We
will therefore ensure that these meetings continue on a regular quarterly basis.
How we collected the information
We used two questionnaires (included in the October 2014 report) to collect information on
our outcome indicators- a volunteer evaluation form, and a participant questionnaire (see
appendix 1).
Volunteer training was also evaluated via a questionnaire (see appendix 2).
How we spent the money
Details of the expenditure are included as appendix 3 (below). The actual spend for October
2014 to September 2015 was £16,403, leaving an underspend of £2,597. Due to having a
small underspend from our first year of funding (£1,251), our total underspend is £3,848.
The reason for our underspend is the lower than budgeted time and travel costs.
Angus Cardiac Group has also been the lead on another funded project whose aim was to
increase the number of people with coronary heart disease accessing physical activity
opportunities in the community. This was a 2 year project funded by the Alliance which was
completed at the end of September 2015. The Project Coordinator had responsibility for
both projects. However, in the last year more of her time was spent on the Alliance project,
hence lessening the time costs claimed from the volunteer programme. Part of the Alliance
project included a ‘review’ of the BE ACTIVE..live well programme (which the volunteer
programme is part of). The Volunteer Coordinator also assisted with the review and claimed
time costs from the Alliance rather than the volunteer project. These factors account for the
underspend on time and travel. We are confident that from October 2015 onwards, both
roles will require the full budget allocation for time and travel.
Appendix
Appendix 1: Participant questionnaire
Appendix 2: Volunteer training evaluation form
Appendix 3: Budget & expenditure summary
Angus Activity Programme for People with Long-term Conditions
NHS Funding – Expenditure from October 2014 to 30 September 2015
Budget
Income
Actual
£19,000
£19,000
£19,000
£1,251
£20,251
£14,177
£2,598
£10,285
£1,119
£2,075
£3,465
£0
£150
£0
£0
£0
£19,000
£0
£747
£0
£0
£787
£16,403
£0
£3,848.00
Underspend 30/09/14
Expenditure
Time
Travel
Training & DevelopmentTraining
Equipment
Promotion
Evaluation
Documentation
Administration
Total Expenditure
Balance Underspend @ 30/09/15
Appendix 3: Budget & expenditure summary