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NHS Expert Patient Programme


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Hello everyone,

I thought I would flag this up in case it offered any help in your area, as I think it may vary between PCTs.

Where I am based in the West Midlands, there seems to be a recent drive to raise patient and GP awareness of this programme.

Negatively, there is a cost cutting element as part of the goal. Positively, if delivered correctly, it has the potential for people with long term illness who have learned to manage well, to receive free training to become an "Expert Patient" and in turn run courses to help other people with the same condition. Your personal experience of the illness coupled with the training you are given could put you in an ideal position to help others.

The other aspect of this programme is that if you are a patient looking for support, you can attend one of the groups to help you.

I do not have any in depth knowledge about this programme, only that which I have read on the following links:

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Expert-patients-programme-/Pages/Introduction.aspx

http://www.expertpatients.co.uk/

I wanted to flag it up on OCDUK for a few reasons:

* I can see that there are a good number of "Expert Patients" on this forum who may be well suited to give this a try and their knowledge could help others.

* Some people are in a position where being in full-time employment isn't right for them at the moment, but I have read that some people gain confidence from doing

voluntary work and have suggested that to other sufferers. I wondered if this would fit the bill?

* There are some sufferers who are on long waiting lists to get CBT on the NHS and I wondered if a suitable Expert Patient group was available, this could be a stepping

stone of support in the interim period.

I would be interested to see what you all think of this as I am weighing up the pros and cons of becoming involved myself.

Interestingly, there seems to be very little reference (I think I saw the word "depression" once!) to mental health issues and the focus seems to be on physical illnesses.

The video clip, however, does refer to using CBT principles which is familiar and encouraging.

Best wishes

BQ

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I would be interested to see what you all think of this as I am weighing up the pros and cons of becoming involved myself.

Interestingly, there seems to be very little reference (I think I saw the word "depression" once!) to mental health issues and the focus seems to be on physical illnesses.

The video clip, however, does refer to using CBT principles which is familiar and encouraging.

I was looking to see if there are any Expert Patients Programme Courses near me, but typical for Kent and Medway Trust there isn't, the nearest is Brighton. I would give it a go Bleachqueen, if it is helpful great, if not, at least you have looked into it, the course offers benefits that could benefit people with OCD.

* Dealing with pain and extreme tiredness

* Coping with feelings of depression

* Relaxation techniques and exercise

* Healthy eating

* Communicating with family, friends and professionals

* Planning for the future

The only slight debatable point is that it is aimed people with Chronic health conditions, conditions that can be controlled but not cured, and this is where the age old debate about OCD being curable or not comes in. :whistling:

Ashley :)

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Guest Wombat142

It's definitely a long-term health condition, though, which I assume is what they're really thinking of. Anyway, this is supposed to save them money, so I doubt if they'd be too beady about the criteria.

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Guest legend

That good old debate...chronic or not... i would class myself as a non-ocd sufferer now, where i have gone many months

( 1 week blip in 2 years) where i lead a life where i am in a position of not having ocd at all, and there are others

in the same position.

legend

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