How we can help

How we can help you

We offer support in different ways

See below for the range of options available

Making a change is tough. Seven in ten of us have two or more unhealthy habits and two-thirds of us are trying to lose weight most of the time.

But you are not alone, we are here to support you.

Take your next step to healthy living by registering today to access:

One-to-one support - health coaching (see details below)
Specific programmes - see our current projects
Connections to local support services and online programmes
Educational resources

Every Waterside PCN patient can receive free healthy living advice and coaching.

What is health coaching?

Health coaching is a service offered to help create lasting change to improve a person’s wellbeing and overall health. It is a series of up to 4 sessions, designed to help work through your goals and develop the skills and knowledge needed to take control of your own health. On some occasions a further 2 sessions may be offered if the Health Coach feels the patient is engaging well, and it is beneficial to the patient to extend.

Health coaching is not only about offering guidance on how to improve your health. Most patients have already received advice on how to make healthy changes in their life. They already know what changes to make, but circumstances make these changes difficult to start or keep up. That’s where health coaching comes in. Coaching helps to increase motivation, introduce healthy behaviours and develop ways of living a healthier life in a way that works for you.

How do I access the health coaching service?

The health coaching service is provided by Waterside Primary Care Network. The health coaching service sits inside the Health and Wellbeing team, a service aimed to improve health and wellbeing for patients through the use of non-medical input with the aim of preventing and reducing medical intervention and treatment.

We accept referrals from clinicians from the three practices within the Waterside Primary Care Network - Red and Green, Waterfront & Solent and Forestside. We also accept self-referrals through our website. Upon receipt of the referral, the patient will be contacted by telephone, text and/or email - if you do not respond to our attempts to make contact with you over a two-week period we will assume you no longer wish to continue with the referral and you will be discharged from the service. Please read our terms and conditions regarding this service.

How long will the support last?

Each person’s work with the health coaching service is different and sessions are tailored to the needs of the individual. Due to the number of patients on our caseload, we will book appointments with you on a weekly or fortnightly basis - these are the timescales that we work to and will need you to agree to at the initial session. Here is an example of what a typical series of health coaching sessions may look like.

Session 1

Discussing your goals, choosing a specific aim and getting to know the supports and challenges in your life.

Building motivation to make changes and identifying what barriers may be stopping progress.

Looking at how to make changes in your life and setting goals to achieve your aim.

Session 3

Looking at what is working well and discussing any difficulties you may be having. Reviewing your goals if necessary.

Looking at what other changes can be made to improve your health and wellbeing.

Session 2

Offering you guidance, educational information and/or signposting to local groups or online services that may provide additional support to enable you to self-manage your health and wellbeing.

Looking at what can trigger relapses in behaviour and planning for relapse.

Session 4

Looking at your progress and discussing your plans to go forward independently.

Providing you with access to any further information you may need to help you on your way.

Cancellation of pre-arranged sessions

We understand that sometimes circumstances mean you have to cancel an appointment. Should you need to cancel we would appreciate as much notice as is possible and also to know if you would like to continue with our services. Due to our high caseload we can only allow one cancellation of a pre-arranged appointment during our involvement with you. If you cancel more than one appointment we will assume you do not wish to continue and are not ready to engage with our support. We will then offer the session to the next person on the waiting list. If you wish to access health coaching at a later date, simply complete a self-referral form when the timing feels right for you.

What areas do we work with?

Lowering weight

People may want to lower their weight due to health concerns or simply to feel more comfortable in their body. We would work with a person to find what changes in life-style are realistic and long lasting.

Healthier diet

A healthier diet can help manage health conditions and reduce risk of future ill health. We work to identify what the reasons are behind a less healthy diet and work with patients to find healthier alternatives.

More active lifestyle/exercise

Increasing activity can help improve quality of life, health and wellbeing. However, this has become more difficult with the rising prevalence of desk jobs, car transport and sedentary activities. Health coaching helps patients to look at increasing activity in their life.

Reducing stress and low mood

Physical health and mental health are interlinked and difficulty in one area can often have an impact on the other. We can help patients identify activities which improve their mental health and address barriers to activities.

Managing long term health conditions

Lifestyle can have a dramatic impact on pre-existing health conditions. Patients who have received health advice for a long-term health condition but struggle to integrate this into their life may benefit from using the my mheath app which is an amazing online platform that has been developed with clinical experts in their field to provide you with the knowledge and support to manage your long-term condition. For further details go to the my mhealth page.

Feeding, caring for your baby and postnatal support and guidance

We have a vast amount of information and advice relating to breastfeeding, bottle-feeding and postnatal support, which provides guidance for many health conditions from the 4th trimester onwards. For further details go to the postnatal support page.