New lease of life for heart patient

Mr Lampshire, from Barnham, is among the 80 to 100 people a week who benefit from the cardiac rehabiliation classes at the Arun Leisure Centre.

He had a new heart implanted last year at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge after he had suffered one major heart attack and two minor ones.

His recovery was hindered when he was diagnosed with the non-Hodgkins lymphona form of cancer.

But eight months of chemotherapy have put him back on the road to full health.

Visiting the exercise sessions twice a week is another essential step towards getting his body working fully again.

Mr Lampshire (42) returned to the sessions late last monthafter the cancer treatment halted his initial attendance from last July.

The digger and dumper mechanic said: 'Because I have not done anything for a year and a half, my muscles have wasted away.

'This is an effective way to get my fitness back so I can return to work. I also have to keep fit because of my heart transplant.'

Mr Lampshire was among heart patients who spoke to Bognor Regis and Littlehampton MP Nick Gibb during his visit to last Friday's session.

Mr Gibb was invited along follwoing a British Heart Foundation rally at Westminster late last year when he met another session attendee, Peter Ball, and his wife, Joan, the treasurer of the BHF's Bognor and Chichester branch committee.

The rally was part of a campaign to ensure that patients who have undergone procedures such as bypasses and open heart surgery can have rehabilitation in hospitals.

Hospitals in Bognor and Chichester have an excellent reputation for the work, known medically as phase three rehab, to aid recovery and possibly cut the need for further treatment.

But phase three services are often lacking for patients elsewhere.

The courses at Arun Leisure Centre continue that work for phase four rehab during five weekly sessions. Those who attend, aged 35-86, pay a small fee to centre operator Inspire Leisure.

A typical 90-minute event includes a warm up, exercise on rowing machines or static cycles, work with weights and an all-important social time.

The groups are run by highly trained cardiac fitness specialists Jo Evans and Jackie Laker.

Mr Gibb said: 'This is a very important and effective group. As a result of coming here, people who might not otherwise survive continue to live and live well.'