The EC3 Programme Community based Emotional Care for Chronic Conditions Geoff Lees and Carol Evans

The EC3 Programme An innovative Programme, funded by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board out of Wales Assembly Government’s Chronic Care Management Transitional Funding, the EC3 Programme is delivered across Denbighshire by a team of professionals from Vale of Clwyd Mind.

Who can access EC3? Patients must have a HADS score of 4 or a PHQ9 score of <14 Patients must be resident in Denbighshire Patients must have a diagnosis of one or more of the following chronic conditions - Atrial Fibrillation, Heart Failure, Coronary Heart Disease Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Diabetes Stroke Obesity Parkinson’s Disease Chronic Pain Multiple Sclerosis Skeletal Disease Somatisation And have associated mild/moderate anxiety and/or depression

Patients requiring services are expected to include: People with chronic conditions who require assistance in managing the emotional impact of their illness People who require assistance in developing effective coping strategies in relation to the emotional impact of their illness People who need to effect behavioural change relating to their chronic condition People having difficulty managing pain and discomfort associated with chronic conditions People with physical manifestations of psychological distress People with unexplained physiological symptoms People accessing this service will not currently be in receipt of, or normally able to access psychological services

EC3 – An accessible community based programme The Programme has been designed to be as accessible as possible to people living in their communities in Denbighshire Most elements of the EC3 Programme can be delivered close to the person’s home Support will be provided to link people in with other social, learning and leisure activities within their communities

A tailor-made Programme The Programme includes the following elements Solution focussed counselling Motivational interviewing and coaching techniques Beating the Blues – the online CBT programme for anxiety and depression Exercise referrals and books on prescription Self help & support groups, Training workshops on issues such as living with chronic conditions, food and mood, etc., Support to link people in with other social, learning and leisure community activities.

A Person Centred Holistic Programme The needs and wishes of the service user are at the centre of this programme. The Programme aims to empower people with chronic conditions to overcome barriers to achieve self determined, satisfying and personally meaningful goals. At initial interview, the Recovery Star, a person centred, holistic assessment tool, is used by the person and EC3 worker to jointly explore areas of their lives where they would like to make changes Goals are set to support the person to move forward to maximise their quality of life

The Recovery Star

An unique programme The Programme will not be duplicating any existing services. There are many Chronic Condition Management Programmes in the community, e.g. The Diabetes Xpert Patient course and the Breathe Easy Groups. EC3 will be aiming to link people in to these existing community initiatives, helping them to overcome psychological and sometimes physical barriers to accessing them.

A training programme The second major element of the Programme is to train personnel in all sectors at all levels to recognize and work with the emotional effects of Chronic Conditions. See Training Programme handout

The Denbighshire EC3 Programme For more information contact Carol Evans, Manager Tel: Web:

A targeted programme In Denbighshire, counselling can be accessed through Primary Care. However, this is only available for people with a primary mental health problem and excludes a large part of our Chronic Condition target group. The EC3 Programme counsellors and Wellbeing Workers will only be engaging with people with a primary diagnosis of a specific chronic condition and will principally be working in solution focussed and motivational interviewing models to support people to identify ways to come to terms with their conditions, focusing on their abilities not disabilities, and to help[ them move on.