This case study has been written from the perspective of Charlotte Nally, PCN Deputy Manager at Honiton PCN situated in Devon. A key element of Charlotte’s role at Honiton is to ensure that all administrative and medical staff working across three surgeries feel connected and supported. By coming together with the wider team and taking part in the health coaching programme Charlotte felt she could develop her existing skillset in providing a supportive environment for the staff across the PCN, which is very much needed to ensure staff stay happy and productive within their roles.
Intervention
The TPC Health 4-day accredited skills in health coaching programme was delivered virtually by Matt Simpson. The Honiton team consisted of 6 health and wellbeing coaches and community connectors along with 1 general practitioner and 1 PCN deputy manager. The 4 days were delivered around a week apart to allow for skills practice and development in between workshops.
Impact of the Accredited Skills Programme
We spoke to Charlotte Nally, PCN Deputy Manager at Honiton to understand the impact attending the programme had both on her role and how this resulted in changes in practice to support the wellbeing of the health and wellbeing coaches working at the PCN:
‘Upon starting the programme, I was quickly able to see how I could transfer the skills and tools taught on the course to my day-to-day role. I was keen to explore how the skills could help me to support the wellbeing of the surgery teams and strengthen my relationships across all 3 sites.
Prior to taking part in the programme my natural tendency was to want to fix the problems the staff presented with. The health coaching approach allowed me to take a step back, actively listen and use prompting questions to gain a real understanding of the issue at hand.
The accredited skills programme has helped me to support the PCN staff in two ways;
Firstly, by coming together and completing the programme with the health and wellbeing coaches within the PCN, I have a greater understanding of the pressure of their role and the complexity of the patients they see. As a result of this insight, I have put procedures in place to ensure that the complex cases the HWBC receive are spread out as evenly as possible throughout the team and that the team have an area within the practice to step away from their office to provide space to manage the demands of their role and reflect on challenging conversations if needed.
Secondly, from a workforce wellbeing perspective I now feel equipped to offer health coaching sessions to staff members who are going through challenges either at home or work. This approach will provide a proactive wellbeing support for staff and the space for staff members to feel understood and cared for. This proactive support for staff members will increase awareness of any bigger problems, will help to prevent burnout at work and will aid staff retention.’
Training feedback
‘The virtual element of the training was managed very well and was extremely interactive. The team
gained a lot of insight from the role play sessions, which allowed them to practice using their new
skills in a ‘safe’ environment.
The programme allowed the practice team the space to understand each other’s role in more depth
and identify areas where they can provide ongoing support to one another.’