East Coast Community Healthcare was the proud recipient of the CAKE Best Coaching and Mentoring Initiative Award, presented at The Coaching Conversation 2018.

The award recognised the work it has undertaken to introduce coaching techniques into consultations with patients and clients with the aim of improving their care and health outcomes.

During the last four years, ECCH has been training its clinicians in health coaching techniques. It’s their belief that this will help patients to make healthier choices and motivate them to self-manage and improve their health as a result.

Health coaching is about having positive conversations with patients, promoting health, encouraging independence and preventing acute illness, since the beginning of the programme ECCH has trained over 350 of its employees and 100 staff from partner organisations in health coaching, as well as six accredited coaches.

In 2016 Director of Quality and CAKE Champion Award finalists, Dr Noreen Cushen – Brewster led a team from Norfolk’s health organisations to develop the Coaching Conversations Programme and accompanying book with the University of East Anglia.

With the backing of Health Education England and the Norfolk and Waveney Sustainability and Transformational Partnership, the health and social care workforce across East Anglia is now equipped to use coaching skills in everyday conversations.

The judging team at CAKE, led by Margaret Burnside – Director, was very impressed by this application of coaching. She said "It clearly demonstrated the difference in outcomes when you empower people to manage their own health and wellbeing. The submission outlined the approach and results in a compelling way, and the interview added a richness and passion to the entry. A major element of the judging criteria was whether others can learn from the initiative and the ECCH entry certainly demonstrated the transferability of approach."

Dr Cushen-Brewster said: “We are thrilled to have been recognised for the advances we have been making in introducing health coaching into all our conversations with users of our services. It helps people to take ownership of their care programme and set realistic goals that they want to achieve and that we can help them reach. I’m very proud of our training team and everyone at ECCH who has embraced health coaching principles with such enthusiasm.”

For further details on The Coaching Conversation and CAKE Coaching Awards 01603 733006.

Take a look at the photo highlights of the day here.