We are a team of staff working within the Public Health Team. We work on public health initiatives and provide health and wellbeing support across the county.
The team is made up of Health and Wellbeing Coaches and Health and Wellbeing Officers who are all trained to offer support and guidance through coaching.
We work with anyone over the age of 16, who want to make positive changes to their life.
Our primary role is to coach you to improve factors that influence your wellbeing. This could include improving your social wellbeing, physical health and mental health.
Most of the people we work with have faced a period of crisis or have multiple issues that they need to understand and work through.
Our overall purpose is to help you improve your health and wellbeing.
To do this, we want to get to know you through coaching, to understand and agree what your aspirations and goals are.
We also want to understand the barriers to achieving these, and the support you can draw upon from your personal resources and those around you.
We encourage and coach you to:
- Take action on factors that influence your health and wellbeing - including your lifestyle, relationships, interests and home life
- Become more independent and resilient
- Engage with your local communities and social networks.
If you wish to make a referral please complete an initial contact form. Upon receipt of your referral we will consider your information and be in touch with you. The usual response time is 7 working days.
Once your referral has been reviewed you will be contacted and provided with one or more of the following:
- information and advice
- referral to a more appropriate agency
- offered a face-to-face contact appointment in one of the venues that we work in across the county
- offered a home visit if appropriate.
- offered a telephone conversation.
- Or given the reason for decline in your referral
If you need to speak with a member of the Health and Wellbeing Team you can call and speak to one of our duty staff on 07827 286882 for Carlisle or 07769 648892 for west Cumberland or you can send a email to: contacthealthandwellbeing@cumbria.gov.uk.
To be treated with dignity and respect at all times.
Our first conversation will be to get some basic information such as:
- what you would like to change and what are you goals
- who is already involved in your life
- what support is already in place
- how ready you feel to make those changes and what could we do to help?
Whilst working with your Health and Wellbeing Coach (HAWC) you can expect the following:
- help and support to improve your overall health and wellbeing
- support to enable you to achieve what is important to you
- at times being challenged to think about things differently
- attend meetings as required and let you know if they will be late
- the HAWC or Officer will support you as long as we are working towards a goal. We will review with you your goals at least every 12 weeks.
- encouragement to access my local community, become more active and improve your lifestyle and independence
- provide 'tools' to help you make positive changes to your life
- help to manage risk
- To treat everyone with dignity and respect at all times
- A willing and open mind
- An enthusiasm to look at things differently
- For me to take the lead in achieving my goals
- To keep planned appointments and understand that my support may come to an end if I do not do this
- The understanding that they will not do things for me
- Honest communication and provide all relevant information we need to help you