Health Coach

Job responsibilities

Health Coaches will manage and prioritise a caseload, in accordance with the health and wellbeing needs of their population through taking an approach that is non-judgemental, based on strong communication and negotiation skills, while considering the whole person when addressing existing issues. Where required and as appropriate, the Health Coach will refer people back to other health professionals within the PCN

Utilise existing IT and MDT channels to screen patients, with an aim to identify those that would benefit most from health coaching

Provide personalised support to individuals, their families, and carers to support them to be active participants in their own healthcare - empowering them to manage their own health and wellbeing and live independently through

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

Providing interventions such as self-management education and peer support

Supporting patients to establish and attain goals that are important to the patient

Supporting personal choice and positive risk taking while ensuring that patients understand the accountability of their own actions and decisions, thus encouraging the proactive prevention of further illnesses

Working as part of the city wide social prescribing service to connect patients to community-based activities which support them to take increased control of their health and wellbeing

Increasing patient motivation to self-manage and adopt healthy behaviours

Work with patients with lower activation scores to understand their level of knowledge, skills and confidence, their Activation level, when engaging with their health and well-being and subsequently supporting them in shared decision-making conversations

Utilise health coaching skills to support people with lower levels of activation to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to manage their health and wellbeing, whilst increasing their ability to access and utilise community support offers, and

Explore and support patient access to a personal health budget, where appropriate for their care & support

Support & deliver group Consultations to enable patients to better understand their LTH conditions, how to manage it and encourage the patient agree to self-management goals, and creating an environment for individuals to access peer support

Please see attached job description for further details

Experience

Essential

• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a paid or unpaid capacity
• Experience of setting up and delivering Group Consultations within a Health or Community setting
• Experience in delivering behaviour change interventions ie Smoking cessation, NHS Health checks, Weight management
• Demonstrable knowledge in lifestyle or health interventions for example exercise or nutrition
• Experience of supporting people with their mental health or wellbeing needs
• Experience of working in a community setting
• Experience of handling confidential information
• Experience of collecting and recording information and data
• Ability to identify risk to self and others, Identifying and reporting safeguarding incidents

Desirable

• Working Knowledge of Long Term Conditions for example diabetes or cardiovascular disease
• Experience of working in or with voluntary organisations or groups in a paid or unpaid capacity
• Experience of working collaboratively with different organisations, building trust, confidence and partnerships
• Extensive knowledge of local services within a Sunderland Locality through either living or working within one of the wider Sunderland settings
• Experience of working with GPs and_or other Health or Social Care providers or knowledge of how systems work

Qualifications

Essential

• Demonstrable commitment to personal and professional development
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office applications.

Desirable

• Qualification or training in UKHCA Health coaching, or equivalent experience level 3 diploma or above or working towards this
• Mental Health First Aider
• Level 4 BACPR
• Level 4 Diabetes & Obesity and Respiratory conditions & COPD

Other

Essential

• Full, valid driving licence and use of own car
• Meet DBS standards and Criminal Record checks
• Membership of professional body (ICF, EMCC, AoC, UKHCA, BPA)

Motivation and Skills

Essential

• Prioritise and work to deadlines
• Outstanding organisational skills
• Work effectively and collaboratively as part of a team but also autonomously
• High level and adaptable communication skills across a range individuals of all ages, backgrounds and cultures with varying social and emotional needs
• Ability to help people identify issues that impact on health including debt, housing, unemployment, loneliness
• Understanding the impact of economic and environmental factors on peoples health and wellbeing
• Ability to support the development of small voluntary led groups
• Promote and maintain good working relationships with a variety of external partners.
• Keep accurate records of discussions and clearly replicate discussions in writing
• Work on own initiative but within constraints of the role
• Understanding of and commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
• Ability to competently use technology and IT systems including word processing, email and the internet to create simple personalised plans with individuals

Disposition

Essential

• Ability to work across multiple sites in the Sunderland area
• Provide motivational coaching with the ability to inspire trust and confidence
• Confident and comfortable with difficult situations
• Patient, friendly and approachable
• Able to work under pressure and emotionally resilient
• Ability to work flexible hours which may include evenings or weekends
• Ability to actively listen, empathise with people and provide non-judgemental support
• Ability to respect and value individual lifestyles, backgrounds and cultures

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 convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).