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Personal wellbeing plan

Self Care Week runs from 15-21 November 2010 and aims to encourage all of us to learn how to take control of our own health and well-being -not just learning how we keep our bodies fit and healthy but how we should treat minor ailments, take medicine and seek help when we need it.

What is a personalised wellbeing plan?

Living with a long-term condition can sometimes be difficult to manage day to day. So it's important that the right information and support is given at the right time. Someone with a long-term condition can often manage their condition so that it doesn't dominate and control their life.

Everyone with a long-term condition will be offered a personal wellbeing plan to help them adapt to life with their condition and to take control of their care. The plan should support self care by signposting to information to manage long-term conditions and helping people to achieve personal goals. They should help people to live healthier for longer and spend less time at their doctors or in hospital.

Self care is all about the actions made every day in order to stay fit and maintain good physical and mental health, meet social and psychological needs, prevent illness or accidents and care more effectively for long-term conditions.

By having a plan we aim to help someone with a long-term condition keep information about their condition including who and where to go to for help in one place. The plan is owned by the patient and it's up to them who they chose to share this with. However, they may want to share it with their GP, nurse or consultant it may help them to understand the person and their condition better.

All health and social care professionals can support personal wellbeing plans by giving information, guidance or help on coping with a long-term condition.

Frequently asked questions

How will the plan benefit me?

If you understand your condition and its treatment, you'll feel more confident and empowered to take better care of yourself, manage your condition and make informed choices and decisions about your care.

A personal wellbeing plan and its support mechanisms can empower you to:

be more independent
achieve personal goals
become positively involved in making decisions about your future
become actively engaged in self care
understand the nature of your condition, treatment options and medication
monitor signs and symptoms of change in your condition and have an action plan to respond to this
be more confident to use support services and make decisions relating to your health and quality of life

The East of England SHA piloted their personal health plans in 2009 and have developed a film showing how a personalised care plan can benefit you

How does the plan work?

A healthcare professional will deliver a personal wellbeing plan in partnership with you, to improve and manage your condition.

We have created different sections to help you manage your condition and enable you to self care; these include a section to:

record information on your condition
record difficulties you have with your condition
write reminders about how to tell if your condition is getting worse and how to overcome this
record where you go to get help and support if you feel your condition is getting worse
record details about the medicines you take
record recent test results
note important contact details and
record the personal goals and outcomes you wish to achieve

By giving you relevant information when you want it, you will feel more empowered and more confident with your ability to self manage your condition. You will find that there will be less visits to your GP as you will be able to manage more things independently and know where to go should you need help.

What help should I expect?

The NHS Choices website have created a quick and simple tool for you. If you are living with a long-term condition, this short assessment will tell you what help and support you may be entitled to. It will assess your situation and give your personalised advice and a printable checklist.

What should I do if I want one?

Personal wellbeing plans are being launched in the next few months in Leicester City and Leicesershire County and Rutland; please keep an eye out for information on our website, in your local practice and in your local news.

The Department of Health have created a leaflet to help you understand further what self care is and how a personalised care plan can benefit you.

Support groups

Infolinx is a community information website, covering Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

At the core of Infolinx is the Local organisations database which holds the details of over 5,000 clubs, societies, organisations and self help groups based in the region. Other features include an events diary in the leisure section of what's on in the counties.

More information on how to use infolinx.

Database of useful information

This database can be used to search for information on your condition, how to manage it, what support is available and general information such as benefits, housing support and disability.

Information prescriptions

An information prescription tells you about:

your condition
your treatment options
care services (from equipment to help you get around the house to specialised exercise classes)
benefits you may be able to claim
housing support
self help and support groups

You can create an information prescription to tell you where to find out more on your condition, with contact details and website addresses that you might find useful. It tells you about local services and groups that could help, as well as national ones.

You can discuss your information prescription needs with your GP or other healthcare professional or with your social care worker, usually as part of your care plan. This guide will help you to create an information prescription.

My Health Space

HealthSpace is a free, secure online personal health organiser. It can help you to manage your health, store important health information securely, or find out about NHS services near you.
Anyone living in England, aged 16 or over, with a valid email address can register for a HealthSpace account.

Carers

There is a wide variety of support available for carers. We have created an additional carers information sheet for personal wellbeing plans about support and resources available for carers. Leicestershire County Council have developed two booklets for carers, a carers mini booklet and looking after someone you care about. You can also complete an online assessment allowing you to determine what support might be available to you.

Please see the database of useful information for further carers details and support