Covering the area of West Dorset, with primary focus being Weymouth and Portland.

Closing date: 25th October 2024

Health and Wellbeing Coaches support people to take pro-active steps to improve the way they manage their physical and mental health conditions, based on what matters to them. They support people to develop their knowledge, skills and confidence – or to build their “patient activation” – in managing their health and care, to improve their health outcomes and quality of life. Health coaches do this by coaching and motivating patients through multiple sessions to identify their needs, set goals, and supporting patients to achieve their personalised health and care plan objectives and providing interventions such as self-management education and peer support.

Health and Wellbeing Coaches manage and prioritise a caseload, according to the needs, priorities and support required by individuals in the caseload. They identify when a person’s needs are beyond the scope of the health and wellbeing coach role and refer them back to other health professionals or organisations. Health and Wellbeing Coaches may work with people by phone, by video conference, or face- to-face.

Health and Wellbeing Coaches are a key part of the Primary Care Network (PCN) multidisciplinary team. They often work alongside Social Prescribing Link Workers and Care Coordinators to provide an all-encompassing approach to personalised care and promote and embed the personalised care approach across the Primary Care Network(s).

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide one-to-one and group health coaching support for people with one or more long-term conditions, based on what is important to them, with the aim of: improving people’s levels of ‘activation’, empowering people to manage their own health and improve their health
• Manage and prioritise a caseload, in accordance with the needs, priorities and support required by individuals in the caseload. It is vital that you have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health professionals/agencies, when what the person needs is beyond the scope of the health and wellbeing coach role – e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring the patient be referred to an appropriately qualified
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary multi-agency team to promote health coaching and to be ambassadors for Personalised Care and Supported Self- Management, modelling the coaching approach in their
• Ensure that GPs, practice nurses, practice pharmacists and other members of the primary care team understand the health coach role, how to refer to them, and which patients may particularly benefit from health
• Support local health, social care and voluntary sector professionals to make appropriate referrals to the service. Promote and raise awareness of the health coaching service particularly to groups and communities that experience barriers to
• Attend and contribute to team, practice, and PCN meetings and events as required by the
• Work flexibly, adapting to the needs of the service and client group while maintaining the integrity of the
• Participate in regular health coaching supervision, reflective practice and continual learning. This may include, but is not limited to, any or all the following:
  • Regular contact with service supervisor
  • Reflective practice 1:1
  • Refresher training sessions
  • Buddying with peers
  • Peer support sessions
• 1:1 support from a practitioner with more health coaching experience
• Action Learning Sets
• e-learning to revisit or deepen training
• On-going improvements to systems and processes

Key Tasks:

• Provide personalised support

1) Meet people on a one-to-one or group consultation basis, by phone,                   video conference, or face-to-face.

2) Give people time to tell their stories and focus on ‘what matters to me’;

3) Build trust and respect with the person, providing non-judgemental and                          non- discriminatory support, respecting diversity and lifestyle choices;

4) Work from a strength-based approach focusing on a person’s assets;

5) Use a structured framework/model approach to coach individuals across a                    series of sessions to: identify what’s important to them; set personal goals                                                   and appropriate steps; build skills and confidence to achieve goals; and use              problem-solving to work through challenges;

6) Work with the principles of self-management to actively support:

• shared decision making with healthcare professionals;
• effective engagement with personalised health and care plans;
• proactive engagement with self-management education and peer support;
• proactive engagement with social prescribing, connecting people to community-based activities which support their health and wellbeing;
• proactive engagement with individually sourced activities and support
•  access to a care-coordinator and/or a personal health budget, where needed;
• helping people to understand their activation level when engaging with their health and wellbeing;

• Referrals

1)  Promote health coaching, its role in self-management as a part of personalised care, in addressing health inequalities and the wider determinants of health;

2)  As part of the PCN multidisciplinary team, build relationships with staff in GP practices within the local PCN, attending relevant MDT meetings, giving information and feedback on health coaching;

3)  Be proactive in developing strong links with all local organisations to encourage referrals, recognising what they need to be confident in the service to make appropriate referrals;

4)  Work in partnership with local agencies to raise awareness of health coaching and how improving people’s knowledge, confidence and skills (patient activation) can enable them to improve their ability to manage their long-term conditions and reduce reliance on clinical services;

5)  Provide referral organisations with regular updates about health coaching, including information on how to encourage appropriate referrals;

6)  Seek regular feedback about the quality of service and impact of health coaching on referral agencies;

7)  Be proactive in encouraging equality and inclusion and case-finding, through self-referrals and connecting with all diverse local communities, particularly those communities that statutory bodies may find hard to reach.

CONDITIONS:

There will be an assessment of competence to practice during induction and 6-month probation period.

Carry out other such duties as may be required by the Chief Executive, Leadership Team and Trustee Management Board which are consistent with the duties and responsibilities of the post.

The nature of the job will require travel in the post holder’s own car for which expenses will be paid as set by the Trustee Management Board.

The working week is either 22.5 or up to 37 hours per week during standard office hours as agreed with line manager. The nature of the work may also necessitate travel across Dorset and occasional evening/weekend work to attend meetings etc. for which time off in lieu will be granted.

The post holder will be required to have broadband to be able to work from home.

The post is exempt from the provisions of Section 42 of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exemptions Amendments) Order 1986. Owing to the nature of the work you are advised that if offered the post for which you now make application, the offer will be subject to Help and Care being satisfied as to your suitability, following a check on any record of convictions, bindovers or cautions held by the Police.

The other conditions of service and other current procedural agreements will be enclosed with the post-holders Contract of Employment.