History
The Wharfedale General Hospital Cardiac Club was formed in 1991 by Dr. K.E. Birkin, a former consultant at the Wharfedale Hospital, together with a small group of cardiac patients who were keen to continue exercising after completing the Hospital rehab course.
They wanted to continue with their regular exercise routines and were encouraged by hospital staff and offered accommodation in the physiotherapy unit at the Wharfedale Hospital to set up and run their own group.
Initially there was only a handful of active members and by 1994 about a dozen attended the once weekly session. Hospital staff also came along, so there was always at least one staff member present.
The photo below, taken from a press cutting, shows an exercise class during the early days of the Club in the 1990s.
In the years since then, numbers have grown steadily, with patients being referred by local G.P.’s, cardiac consultants and through the Phase 3 cardiac rehabilitation programme.
In due course, professionally qualified exercise instructors were engaged to lead and supervise the exercise sessions.
For many years the Club has been affiliated to the British Heart Foundation and in 2013, it was felt that the Club was large enough to apply for Registered Charity status, which was granted.