Blackburn and NHS Direct pilot wellness

NHS Direct is to pilot its first web and telephone-based support service targeted at patients at risk of developing long term conditions.

The health helpline said the service will be unique because it will help patients at risk of disease rather than offering web and telephone-based motivational support to patients with long term conditions.

The NHS Wellness programme will run in NHS Blackburn with Darwen Teaching Care Trust Plus from September this year. It aims to cover more than 1,000 patients identified by the trust as being at risk of developing a long term condition.

Ruth Rankine, director of strategy and planning for NHS Direct, said it was excited to be working with the trust “to pilot such a revolutionary service.”

She added: “Our aim is provide patients at risk of developing long-term conditions with the support they need to make changes that will improve their future lives and, in turn, help to reduce the demand on already pressurised face to face services such as GPs.”

NHS Direct is already involved in running Birmingham OwnHealth and Nottingham OwnHealth, web and telephone-based support service for patients with existing conditions.

The NHS Wellness pilot will be delivered by a combination of a web-based motivational programme plus telephone support from NHS Direct’s health coaches. NHS Direct said the programme would also integrate with local NHS and third sector campaigns.

Patients will be able to choose whether to access the programme via the web, telephone or, eventually, interactive voice response technology.

Participants will be offered access to health education and information and be able to work with health coaches to tackle lifestyle choices such as smoking, alcohol use, exercise and healthy eating.

Vanessa Hollings, director of transformation at NHS Blackburn with Darwen Teaching Care Trust Plus, said it was committed to improving the health and wellbeing of its population.

She added: “We pride ourselves on our passion to deliver high quality, innovative services and the Wellness programme will offer us a fantastic opportunity to promote healthy lifestyle choices across the borough.”

NHS Direct said the pilot would be evaluated by an external evaluation team before being considered for national launch.

NHS Blackburn with Derwent formed a Care Plus Trust on 1 April this year to combine budgets for health and social care with Blackburn and Darwen Borough Council.