Health & Wellbeing Coach / Social Prescriber

Coastal Medical Partnership; New Milton; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Part time

Job summary

A community health organization located in New Milton is seeking a part-time Health and Wellbeing Coach to deliver health and well-being coaching sessions. The ideal candidate will work closely with patients, providing support for those with long-term conditions, and develop personalized care plans. Responsibilities include mapping community resources and supporting public health initiatives to reduce health inequalities. Candidates should have relevant experience in health coaching and a commitment to professional development.

Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE or equivalent.
• Commitment to professional development.
• Mandatory accredited training for Health Coaching and Social Prescribing.
• Experience of working directly in a community development context.
• Experience of supporting people with their mental health.

Responsibilities

• Deliver group and one-to-one sessions on health and well-being.
• Provide support to patients with long-term conditions.
• Support the development of personalised patient care plans.
• Map and connect community activities and resources.
• Develop a local Directory of Services.

Job description

The Health and Wellbeing Coach will be responsible for delivering group and one-to-one sessions on healthy eating, physical activity and health and well-being to meet with personalised care plans. The coach will play a critical role in engaging patients and use health coaching techniques to support them to take an active role in their health.

The Social Prescribing element of the role provides support to people and can help to strengthen community resilience and personal resilience, and reduces health inequalities by addressing the wider determinants of health, such as debt, poor housing, and physical inactivity, by increasing people's active involvement with their local communities.

Main duties of the job

The Health and Wellbeing Coach will work closely within a multidisciplinary team with patients of low to medium complexity who will usually have 1 or more long term conditions.

The post holder will work closely with the other members of the primary care team and complex care teams in the management/decision making about care and service provision for individual patients.

As a Social Prescriber you will need to demonstrate flexibility and adaptability to working in a dynamic environment. Working within an integrated model of care to support the health and wellbeing of patients, providing information and advice about a range of services to promote health and wellbeing and maintain independence within communities. You will also seek to reduce demand on statutory services and to combat unnecessary GP appointments or contacts.

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic individual to join our team. The hours are part‑time, but we are seeking someone who is able to work either a Monday or Friday, or both, as part of their working week.

About us

Coastal Medical Partnership is an innovative and forward‑thinking Partnership which also represents a single Primary Care Network. We are in the unusual position of being able to work seamlessly across the network, with no inter‑Partnership/Practice boundaries. We aspire to provide great quality care to our patients, and also to look after each other at work, to ensure safe and sustainable Primary Care.

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities for Health & Wellbeing Coach include:

• Identification of people with long term conditions and low knowledge skills and confidence to manage their health and wellbeing.
• Responsibility for providing support (clinical or non‑clinical) to a cohort of patients who will benefit from proactive health management and care including being the single point of contact for the person or carer to simplify access and coordination of services.
• Playing a health coaching role; teaching and supporting patients/carers to understand and manage their own conditions and maintain an independent lifestyle through health coaching techniques to encourage patient activation.
• Supporting the development of personalised patient care plans, liaising with the practice team, patient/carer and the complex care team as appropriate.
• Proactively supporting practice targets for number of patients who have seen a health coach.
• Proactively outreaching to patients on a regular and agreed basis.
• Playing an active role in MDT meetings if required (regular practice meetings to discuss high risk and / or complex patients) by gathering information and being prepared to update the team on patient progress towards goals etc. (as per their care plan).
• Map and connect community activities/resources at a locality level including supporting the development of a network of community health champions.
• Support the delivery of community based public health initiatives such as physical activity, healthy eating and social connectedness.
• Build and maintain strong links with the voluntary sector, supporting the voluntary and statutory sector to network and improve partnership working.
• Support delivery of systematic self‑care support plans for those with COPD, diabetes, asthma and multiple long‑term conditions.
• Understand when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people to other health professionals/agencies.
• Understand the barriers for individuals/groups in accessing support in the community and use this insight in developing community‑based support, working as part of the wider social prescribing model.
• Promote the service within the Primary Care Network, both for users and clinicians, building positive working relationships.
• Developing and promoting a health and well‑being programme for all staff within the Coastal Partnership.
• Contribute to and work with others to organise awareness raising events for services that help support people to improve their health and wellbeing.
• Communicate effectively with colleagues, patients and carers so that information is shared in order to meet patients needs.
• The post holder will have a key role in helping to raise the local population's awareness of the support, groups and opportunities available to assist them in achieving their health and wellbeing goals.
• Develop knowledge of local services to enable the individual to access a range of services to meet their needs and ensure individuals are engaged and connected with their local community and other organisations to make best use of resources.
• Use this knowledge to build a local Directory of Services (DOS).
• Co‑produce a simple personalised care and support plan to address the patients health and wellbeing needs by introducing or reconnecting people to community groups or statutory services. The model for this will be developed with the successful applicant's input to shape the care plan.
• Evaluate how actions in the care and support plan are meeting the individual's health and wellbeing needs.
• Provide personalised support to individuals, their families, and carers to take control of their health and wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes.
• Develop trusting relationships by giving people time and focus on what matters to them.
• Take a holistic approach based on the person's priorities and the wider determinants of health.
• Keep up to date well documented contemporaneous notes within the patient's main Primary Care/GP record.
• Manage and prioritise own caseload in accordance with the health and wellbeing needs of their population and refer people back to other health professionals within the PCN where necessary.
• Liaise with a range of multi‑disciplinary professionals who are involved in a patient's care, ensuring a smooth and coordinated approach, especially where multiple agencies are involved.
• Actively participate in practice level multi‑disciplinary team meetings.
• Identify when there is a need for urgent action or for a step‑up in care and alert the relevant professional(s).

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE or equivalent.
• Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal development.
• Mandatory accredited training for Health Coaching and Social Prescribing to include motivational coaching, behavioural change and goal setting.
• NVQ 3 or equivalent and/or relevant basic/first level professional qualification or working towards this.
• Experience of working directly in a community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public health/health improvement (can include unpaid work).
• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (can include unpaid work).
• Experience of supporting people with their mental health, either in a paid, unpaid or informal capacity.
• Experience of data collection and using tools to measure the impact of services.
• Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations including the voluntary sector.
• Experience using clinical systems e.g. SystmOne.

Knowledge and skills

• Knowledge of the personalised care approach.
• Understanding of the determinants of health to include social, economic and environmental factors.
• Knowledge of the needs of patients with long term conditions.
• Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Knowledge of IT systems to include the ability to use word processing skills, emails and internet.
• Knowledge of public health issues in the local area.
• Knowledge and experience of training volunteers.
• Knowledge of community development approaches.

Approach

• Able to build and maintain relationships whilst maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.
• Self‑motivated.
• Demonstrate a willingness to participate in shaping the future of the organisation by taking on responsibilities and projects in addition to core workload.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal.