Walford Mill Medical Centre now has a specialist Health Coach within the Surgery to support you to feel more confident about managing your health and the impact it has on your day to day life.

Managing life with a health condition isn't always easy. We know that understanding and keeping track of medications, treatments, tests and appointments with healthcare professionals are important, but also that a health condition affects our emotions, how we feel about ourselves, our social life, hobbies and day to day routines at home. Feeling confident managing all of that can be a challenge.

At Walford Mill Medical Centre we have a Health Coach as part of our team. Clinical healthcare professionals like doctors and nurses can be really important to help us manager the medical aspects of our health, and health coaches can help us manage the emotional and practical impact in our day to day life.

The Health Coaches are there to support people with health conditions to feel more confident, and have lots of experience talking about a whole range of subjects:

• managing pain and fatigue
• preparing for appointments
• accessing information to understand conditions and treatments
• feeling more confident getting out and about
• building a network of support around you
• accepting and coming to terms with having a health condition

Our Health Coach, is based here at Walford Mill Medical Centre on Wednesdays each week, and are part of our team here to support you. Lots of patients and their carers say how hard it is when healthcare professionals only have 10 minutes, but Health Coaches have up to 45 minutes for each session to listen to you and support you.

Sessions with our health coach might be for you if...

• you have a long term health condition or are a carer for someone with a health condition
• don't feel very confident about coping with your health condition
• would like the chance to talk to someone for more than 10 minutes who is focussed on seeing you as a whole person

Your GP, Practice Nurse or any member of the Patient Services Team can refer you to see the Health Coaches, so if you are interested in this, please mention it to one of the team at Walford Mill Medical Centre.