Physical health and wellness service
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About the service
The physical health and wellness team consists of a registered mental health nurse (clinical team leader) and a team of health care facilitators. We are based in GP practices across Kirklees and support GP practice teams. We complete a thorough person centred cardio-metabolic physical health assessment based on the Lester tool.
Our appointments are 30 minutes long and sometimes we take a blood test with patient consent. We may organise a medication review with a pharmacist. We support and encourage carers to attend. We can agree a health action plan with the patient to improve physical health and wellbeing. This could for example, mean support with losing weight or being more physically active.
We can only offer this service to patients that are on the GP’s ‘SMI’ register (this means severe mental illness register). This usually means that the patient is living with schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, or some form of psychosis. This is a specialised service to address the health inequalities that this group of patients experience. As a team we offer a full physical health assessment and agreement of a health action plan with the patient/carer. This should improve service user clinical experience, improve physical health outcomes and improved physical health journeys for patients with an increased sense of wellbeing.
Why would someone choose the service?
In 2023 (the service started in summer 2022) we won the Trusts’ excellence award for ‘improving health outcomes for people with serious mental health’.
We have an easy read patient information booklet about the physical health assessment and what it involves. A copy can be provided on request.
As a team we actively promote and support carer attendance.
Our service provides a holistic and proactive approach to physical health, ensuring that individuals with serious mental illness receive the care and support they need.
Our service provides thorough physical health checks, routine screenings/blood tests, helping to detect and manage physical health conditions early.
We focus on personalised care, offering lifestyle advice and practical interventions to improve overall wellbeing.
By working closely with other healthcare professionals and providing a compassionate, patient centred experience, we empower service users to take control of their health while offering carers peace of mind that their loved ones are receiving high quality, integrated care.
Staff you may meet
- Administrative staff provide essential support to doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. This can be in a variety of different settings, with administrators working as a receptionist in a clinic or a clerk on a ward. They may also be working closely with a consultant as a medical secretary.
- Nurses who choose to specialise in the mental health branch of nursing work with GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, and others, to help care for patients. Increasingly, care is given in the community, with mental health nurses visiting patients and their families at home, in residential centres, in prisons or in specialist clinics or units.
- There are many people who work behind the scenes to keep services running and you may meet them in hospital or community settings. They include porters, cleaners, plumbers, electricians, decorators receptionists and secretaries who all work to make sure healthcare settings are kept clean, tidy and safe.
- The NHS employs a wide range of clinical staff, it wouldn’t be possible to list them all on this website! All our clinical staff are skilled, dedicated professionals who adhere to high standards of training and work-place practice.
- Receptionists are the first link for many patients and visitors. They often work on their own or with one or two other receptionists, greeting patients as they arrive and check them in. They might also collect patient notes and ensure that these vital records go to the right healthcare professional. In a clinic, they may make appointments and arrange patient transport.
- 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.