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Health & Wellbeing Coaches
HCL’s Health & Wellbeing Coaches (HWBCs) help people manage their health through personalised coaching sessions, available via GP referral across several primary care networks.
The programme supports those with long-term conditions, lifestyle-related risks, or specific health goals like weight loss or increased activity to make meaningful, sustainable changes with expert guidance.
What are Health & Wellbeing Coaches?
We launched this service in 2023, with the aim of helping people build more knowledge, skills and confidence around their own health and wellbeing.
HCL’s Health & Wellbeing Coaches (HWBC) are available to the local public at primary care level (meaning you can access them through your GP). They work closely with GPs, Social Prescribers, Care Coordinators, and others to help each person tailor the management of their health and wellbeing to their individual needs.
Who can Health & Wellbeing Coaches help?
HCL’s Health & Wellbeing Coaches (HWBC) are available to the local public at primary care level (meaning you can access them through your GP).
Anyone in considered in need of wellbeing guidance that’s registered with a GP under the HCL umbrella can access a personalised Health & Wellbeing Coaching Programme — designed to improve their health and wellbeing outcomes in all rounded way.
Those with a long-term condition, overlapping conditions, or with lifestyle or hereditary factors that put them at higher risk for some health conditions in future (such as diabetes) might find this service especially useful. Though, those without a chronic condition can make big progress with their health using a HWBC too.
What can you expect from sessions with a Health & Wellbeing Coach?
Coaches take a person-centred approach to each session and the coaching programme altogether. This is what a typical coaching programme with a HWBC will look like:
- Up to 16 one-to-one sessions, each lasting up to an hour.
- Developing and implementing action plans, alongside you.
- Progress reviews throughout, against the goals set at each stage.
- An analysis of your needs and creating realistic health goals with you, to meet them better.
- Being encouraged to make positive behaviour changes to boost your mental and physical wellbeing, with the support of your coach.
How do I get an appointment with a HCL Health & Wellbeing Coach?
A referral to the Health & Wellbeing Coaching Programme can be made by GPs, Social Prescribers, Care Navigators, Dietitians, Practice Nurses, Community Matrons and admin staff.
Since 2024, HCL has been expanding access to the HWBC programme, by gradually widening the scope of who can make these referrals — including Community Health and Wellbeing Workers (CHWWs) in SWPCN and RH.
Where does the Health & Wellbeing Coaching service run from?
- The HWBC service is based at South Westminster Centre on Thursdays.
- The service also runs from practices across all of HCL’s primary care networks (PCNs) each week, though availability varies across different times.
- If you’re interested in having a HWBC, use our GP locator tool to find your closest GP practice, and contact them directly to find out when appointments are available.
Which HWBCs are available in each HCL primary care network (PCN) location?
Westend & Marylebone PCN: Ross Gardener & Elsa Leung
Elsa has an expertise in working with asylum seekers from both Hong Kong and China, while Ross specialises in sleep, stress and general health and wellbeing management. With a background in wellbeing coaching for those in high-stress jobs and environments, Ross pulls from this to help coach patients using the HWBC service.
For Regent Health PCN: Julia Sako & Carolina Romero
They both have high-level experience in working with those from deprived communities, who often need more complex support.
For St John’s Wood & Madia Vale PCN: Celeste Peiris
Celeste has a background in psychodynamic therapy, and a special focus on patients who feel puzzled about how to move forward.
South Westminster PCN: Martin James
Martin James has a great record with helping patients who are overweight, with a high BMI (body mass index), and eager to lose weight. Martin also has a lot of experience working with patients who just want to become more active day-to-day too.
What do patients say about the service?
° “I had a poor relationship with food, and it was getting to the point where my weight was seriously affecting my health. I found Martin’s approach to be supportive and informative.
He was understanding about my stressful work conditions, and the underpinning issues, able to suggest small steps I could take to improve my health. I’m now 16kg lighter than I was when I started, much of that has been down to the support I have received through this service.
A blend of information, support and accountability is exactly what I needed to start on the path I am now firmly set on.”
° “Since I’ve been seeing my coach, she’s taken me out of my comfort zone, helped me understand about how I’m feeling, and she’s allowed me to vent about the issues I’ve been going through. She’s listened. She’s been my lifeline.”
What are some of the benefits of having Health & Wellbeing Coaches in our member practices?
Patients are more active
Based our data, patients who engaged with the HWBC service (for 4 or more sessions) were 69% less sedentary, compared to the start of the coaching programme (on average).
Patients have more choice
Those who engaged with coaching were also less likely to book appointments with their GP too. Instead, they chose to touch base with their HWBC for advice.
Patients tap into a support network
The HWBC service has boosted strong links between Social Prescribers, Care Navigators, Dietitians, and other key workers. too This has meant coming together in more innovative ways, to make faster progress on patient need, taking action on new methods, and improving collaboration between services.
GPs note big changes with struggling patients
Between April 2023 – May 2024, there were 500+ referrals to the HWBC service, across all four HCL PCNs. During this same period, patients made contact with HWBCs over 4,500 times, including telephone and text message check-ins.
° “Since Celeste has been working with us and our patients, we’ve really benefitted from her input with some of our more complex patients, who as GPs we’ve found are “stuck”.
At times, we’ve been really surprised by how much Celeste has managed to help these individual patients move, and how this has translated into patients who are happier. They have a greater degree of control over their lives, better biological markers for diseases, and fewer GP appointments.” – Dr. Saul Kaufman
Where can I get information on job opportunities within the Health & Wellbeing team?
We publish the latest HCL job opportunities on our Careers page and LinkedIn profile.