It was proposed that the community group exercise programme would be delivered by the British Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation (BACR) instructors, initially funded through the research grant. In order to meet secondary outcomes of sustainability, the programme was designed to build on existing resources and engagement of key stakeholders in the process. These were identified as GPs, local leisure services and voluntary agencies such as Age Concern Kensington and Chelsea. A random sample of 50 local GPs was sent a questionnaire with five questions relating to exercise in heart failure patients. An explanation of the exercise research study was included with the questionnaire. Eleven replies were
received (response rate of 22%). Five questions reflected their views on a number of statements (Table 1).