Management company DC leisure has become the first operator to sign up to the new Health Commitment Statement (HCS).

The HCS, created as an alternative to the traditional PAR-Q (Pre Activity Readiness Questionnaire), has been developed by the Fitness Inudstry Association (FIA) in association with medico-legal risk management specialist EIDO (see Health Club Management Nov/Dec 09, p16).

The aim is for the HCS to help the fitness industry adopt a uniform approach to new members, resulting in greater clarity for consumers and reduced costs for operators.

The HCS is also designed to improve the relationship between the fitness and medical sectors, by lessening the referral burden on GPs.

Commenting for DC Leisure, CEO Steve Phillpott says: "The new HCS will give confidence to the NHS staff, who are commissioning more and more preventative health programmes from us.

“It will also save us money because we will no longer need to pay for doctors to give the all clear for new members to exercise.”

Phillpott also hopes the new scheme will enable more people to join DC Leisure gyms immediately, instead of being delayed or put off completely by the old PAR-Q.

David Stalker, FIA executive director, says: "The HCS was designed to help the industry strengthen its role as a disease prevention specialist. It also brings operators in line with all other sports and active leisure providers regarding health matters."