January dates for Living Well Programme

HSE Media Statement: 6th January 2022

Community Healthcare Organisation Area 1 (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo)

Living Well (LW) is a free programme for adults with long term health conditions such as diabetes, COPD, heart conditions, stroke, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, chronic pain, inflammatory bowel disease and many others.  It can also be a support to those living with COVID-19 symptoms extending beyond six months.

Living Well (LW) supports participants to develop vital self-management skills to enable them to live well with their conditions – skills such as:

  • Action planning
  • problem solving
  • decision making
  • communicating effectively
  • dealing with difficult emotions
  • managing medications
  • managing pain and fatigue
  • Getting better sleep
  • keeping active
  • eating healthily
  • working in partnership with healthcare professionals

The LW programme is free and available to people in counties Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo.  During COVID-19 it is delivered online and participants are given support to enable this.

The programme involves attending one workshop every week for six weeks. Each workshop lasts two and a half hours.

Living Well is a group programme, for up to 12 participants.  The programme is delivered by two trained leaders, at least one of whom is themselves living with a long-term health condition.

People taking part in the workshops have a variety of different health conditions.  Participants can learn from each other’s experiences of living with long term health conditions, in a relaxed and friendly way.

Mary Shields, Living Well Leader (and former participant) said “The support participants give each other is tangible and empowering, regardless of what their condition is. It is very rewarding, over the six weeks, to see participants grow in confidence and develop a sense of control over their health conditions and their lives.”

Since 2017 over 500 people in HSE CHO Area1 (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo) have participated in the Living Well Programme, online or face to face.

Some recent feedback from participants in the online Programme since June 2020:

“I have never done a course like this before. It was so truly enjoyable and I learnt so much about myself and living with my Illness. Previously I would let my illness and symptoms consume me and it would greatly affect my mental state. I never realised there was a different way of thinking and managing my life. It never crossed my mind before that I could have an impact on my health.”

“I feel more in control of my illness now, having learned a number of self-management skills. I initially thought that with everyone having different health issues might be a negative. However, I learned that we all had same concerns/worries.”

“Thank you to the facilitators and the entire group for the help and support to me on the Living Well course. Without it I would still be sitting in my sitting room watching the world go by from my window and my health go further down.”

The next Living Well Programmes start:

  1. Tuesday January 25 th from 2pm - 4.30 pm
  2. Wednesday January 26th from 10.30am -1pm
  3. Tuesday January 22nd from 10.30 am - 1pm
  4. Monday January 28 th from 10.30am - 1pm

To register: Call 087-3964307

(Note: The programme is self-referral.  Healthcare professionals are encouraged to signpost participants to it).  The Living Well programme is funded by the HSE.

For more information visit:

www.hse.ie/livingwell

Living Well is an evidence-based self-management programme designed by the School of Medicine, Stanford University. California.  It is licenced by the Self-Management Resource Centre, USA.

ENDS

 

Last updated on: 06 / 01 / 2022