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Expert Patients Programme and other self-management courses
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About the service
Nobody knows you better than you know yourself. So, doesn’t it make sense that the same will be true when it comes to managing your health condition?
Our self-management course – the Wakefield Expert Patients Programme (EPP) – compliments existing care you get from the NHS by helping you understand your health better – we can help you become an expert in managing your own condition.
EPP is a self-management course run by your local NHS. It is free of charge, informal and friendly and you may even find it could change your life.
Courses are designed to enable people to take control of their health by learning new skills through tried and tested techniques, which not only increases confidence and your ability to cope but it can also make people less dependent on health and social care. That could mean fewer trips to your local surgery or hospital!
EPP runs in easy-to-access venues in Wakefield and the Five Towns, so there will be a course running near you. We’re ready to help.
More information about the programme can be found at www.wakefieldepp.co.uk.
Why would someone choose the service?
- Enables people to take control of their lives
- Will help people to understand their condition – learning techniques to manage it better
- Courses are designed to put you in control of your health – making you an expert in managing your own wellbeing.
- Through a set of tried and tested techniques, the course has been shown to increase confidence and help people feel better and more in control
- Helps to improve health and wellbeing and regain the enjoyment of life
- Courses are led by people who have already attended the Expert Patients Programme – which means that everyone who is involved knows exactly how it feels to come to a course as well as to live with an ongoing health condition, so they fully understand the ups and downs it can bring
- The 6 week course runs in a variety of venues across Wakefield
A series of films which tell the stories of people who have attended the EPP courses and the difference it has made to them can be viewed here.
Staff you may meet
- We have a range of health workers who all have different specialities. This could be in a certain condition, a therapy or the advice they can give you. Our specialists our highly skilled and trained professionals, ready to offer you help and advice whenever you need it.
Why a professional should choose the service
- High-quality service with highly trained staff and volunteers, producing positive measurable outcomes
- Free service
- Supports patients in the care planning process by providing them with skills and tools they can use whatever their condition
- Helps patients improve how they manage their conditions
- Patients get to hear, see and work with others with long-term conditions who are positive role models – volunteer tutors
- Provides something that could improve a patient’s quality of life
- It takes place in the local community.
Examples of feedback when asked:
‘Have the two main problems that you stated about your condition before the course, changed in any way as a result of what you have learnt from the course?’
- Pain – More manageable, changed my mindset
- Panic attacks – No longer get them when breathing is bad
- Problems – I now manage and deal with problems better
- Coping better – Feel lucky that I do not have as many symptoms as others on the course
A series of films which tell the stories of people who have attended the EPP courses and the difference it has made to them can be viewed here.
Support offered
Self-management programme – Expert Patient – helping to put people back in control of their long-term condition. The course covers a wide variety of topics including:
- Managing symptoms and improving how you feel
- Setting realistic goals
- Communicating effectively with health professionals
- Relaxation techniques
- Problem-solving
- Dealing with anger, fear, frustration and isolation
Self Help (SMaSH) group – a friendly space to get together to hear and remind people of EPP tools and techniques and to build on them in a fun, supportive atmosphere. The group covers:
- Action planning
- Problem-solving
- Positive thinking
- Relaxation
- Distraction
Outcomes
- Increased confidence
- Increased understanding of the condition
- Feel better and more in control of their wellbeing
- Help to reduce unplanned hospital admissions and GP visits
Referrals accepted from:
A & E, AHPs, Carers/family, CMHTs, Consultants, Courts, Drug/alcohol agencies, GP staff, GPs, Health visitors, Hospital staff, Housing associations, Local authority staff, Midwives, Other NHS services, Other Trust services, Patients(self-referral), Police, Single Point of Access team, Voluntary services
Referrals also accepted from:
Referrals received from all sources.
Referral criteria:
Over 18 years old, have a long-term condition or be the care of a person with a long-term condition. Conditions could include:
- Heart disease
- Depression
- Arthritis
- Diabetes
- MS
- Back pain
- Stroke
- Cancer
- ME
- Autism