Health and wellbeing coaches (HWBCs) will predominately use health coaching skills to support people to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to become active participants in their care so that they can reach their own health and wellbeing goals. They may also provide access to self-management education, peer support and social prescribing.
Health coaches will support people to self-identify existing issues and encourage proactive prevention of new and existing illnesses. This approach is based on using strong communication and negotiation skills and supports personal choice and positive risk taking.
They will work alongside people to coach and motivate them through multiple sessions, supporting them to identify their needs, set goals, and help them to implement their personalised health and care plan.
The responsibilities set out in the Network DES Contract for this role relates to the objectives for personalised care for cancer patients but importantly they are the role that could have great impact in preventing cancer through supporting lifestyle change.
A HWBC can support the following:
Prevention
- Making every contact count
- Assist behaviour change that will reduce risks of cancer including smoking cessation, reduce obesity, promote exercise and activity
- Signpost to other services externally to assist with their healthy lifestyle
Personalised Care
- Support and skills to self-manage health and achieve their goals
- Prehabilitation goals of exercise, nutrition and emotional well-being can be initiated by this role post diagnosis of cancer.
- Help to access wider services
- Recover confidence and self esteem
- Potential to run group Health and well-being events to help with recovery from cancer
Cancer patients and their carers want more input and support from Primary Care during and after treatment. Patients want more time to talk about ‘what matters to me?’ This role enables the time to discuss what health and well-being goals they want to achieve. It could offer support at a time that patients often report feeling like they ‘have fallen off a cliff’. It is a role that empowers patients to take control of their lives which would be particularly important as part of a recovery package post treatment for some patients. This could include support to return to work and activity which will have wide reaching impact on other areas of their lives and relationships. Their role can also be crucial in signposting to further support groups outside and inside Primary Care.
We can offer training and education to help support patients in prevention of cancer in your role. We also offer many patient information leaflets that you can use in your consultations in the Primary Care Toolkit (Cancer Prevention – Welcome to Wessex Cancer Alliance). There are also options for you to learn more about cancer and supporting cancer patients (Appendix 6). If your PCN would like to look at innovative ways that your roles can be utilised in the cancer pathway including providing prehabilitation advice and recovery package following treatment we will be able to provide support and education to upskill in your role.
We currently provide wider workforce webinars to help share knowledge and provide cancer specific training.
There may also be opportunity to join a Wessex Cancer Alliance wider workforce community of practice in the future if there is interest. Please contact us if you would like to register your interest.
If you are new to your role please access the HWBC-Welcome-Pack-FINAL.pdf (england.nhs.uk)
Wessex Cancer Alliance provides a Primary Care Newsletter which provides up to date information and education offers. Please contact us if you would like to subscribe.
Macmillan also provide a Primary Care Update which includes latest developments, learning and case studies relating to cancer across primary care, to sign up please access the following link: Sign up for Primary Care Update – Macmillan Cancer Support
This is a role that is unlikely to be used to support cancer patients alone but would be of great benefit to this population. For more information on how a HWBC can be utilised and how they deliver the requirements of the Network contract DES and other Primary Care drivers please access here (Appendix 9).
If you do not have a HWBC employed and would like to know more about this role, please visit:
- the NHS England Health and wellbeing coaches page
- the Dorset Primary Care Training Hub Health and wellbeing section which provides information on the role and support documents, including job descriptions, person specifications and interview questions.
Wessex Cancer Alliance provides a Primary Care Newsletter which provides up to date information and education offers. Please contact us if you would like to subscribe.
