Health and Wellbeing Coaches
This week, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough is celebrating Health Coaching Awareness Week by showcasing local, real-life experiences from some of those who have received support from Health and Wellbeing Coaches.
Health and Wellbeing Coaches form part of the general practice teams across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. They can provide support with identifying health and wellbeing goals, signpost to helpful resources and groups, and help people make more informed and conscious choices about their health and wellbeing. This personalised, self-management intervention gives people the opportunity to carry these agreed tasks on a day-to-day basis, improving their quality of life.
They are skilled in helping those living with a whole host of conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, people experiencing low mood, and provide weight management support including working on diet plans and increasing activity levels.
If you wish to book an appointment with your GP practice’s Health and Wellbeing coach, talk to your reception team to find out more.
Local first-time mum:
A first time mum was finding breastfeeding hard, and so her Health and Wellbeing Coach visited her at home, where they listened to mum’s concerns. Reassuring her, the coach provided some breastfeeding tips and invited her to attend an infant feeding support group which offers breastfeeding peer support and access to the perinatal coaches. This also gave an opportunity to meet other parents. Mum’s coach stayed in contact alongside the infant feeding team for several weeks, via text and calls.
Success:
Continuity of care and peer support helped the mum to exclusively breastfeed, pain free.
What Mum says:
The coach’s call arrived at just the right time for me. Her friendly phone call quickly turned into me sobbing and admitting I was in a lot of pain from feeding and struggling to cope.
First visit was a life saver. She offered me advice on latching correctly, good positioning for baby and made me feel like it was going to be ok. I’m pleased and proud to say that at seven weeks in, we are in a great position, and I put a lot of that down to the support I was given.
I’m so pleased that this service was provided without having to ask or go out of my way to arrange appointments. The help came to me, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have found the time to seek support or continue with breastfeeding. We are so grateful. I’m so happy.
Local woman in her 50s
A woman from Ely was invited to work with a Health and Wellbeing Coach, after her annual hypothyroidism and kidney function reviews. With a BMI of 41, she agreed to work on a plan that will help her to lose weight, alleviate any diabetes risks and improve general ill-health resulting from excessive weight and inactivity.
Together, she and her coach worked on a plan that was balanced and varied, with a daily calorie allowance, and attend weekly exercise classes, such as the local NHS instructor-led Pilates class and a gym-based training session.
Success:
A regular weight loss of roughly 8.5lbs per month gave her an overall loss of 67.9lbs
Thoughts:
I was very aware that ill-health and poor mobility would severely impact my quality of life as I head towards retirement. I was very aware that to be successful, I had to give myself the best chance to succeed and be ‘mentally available’ to focus solely on myself.
I am an example, that with commitment, support, and baby-steps, you can make headway to moving towards your perfect healthy life. I just could not have done this without the support and input from my regular sessions. I am truly thankful.
Rejected for knee surgery:
A man in his 60s was referred to his local Health and Wellbeing Coach due to being rejected for a knee operation because he was overweight with a BMI of 34, and had high blood glucose levels, which gave him Type 2 Diabetes. Motivated to receive his knee operation, he was keen to make positive lifestyle changes, eating healthier and increase his physical activity. However, he needed more knowledge on what types of food he could eat with diabetes, portion sizes, and eating patterns.
Success:
He lost 2 stone and 7lbs, lowered his BMI to 29, and successfully dropped his blood glucose levels, making him eligible for his knee operation which is now booked. The coaching sessions were successful in helping him achieve his health goals and improve his overall wellbeing and activation levels. He continues to follow the changes he made and has a better understanding on how to maintain them.