We have changed the way we organise appointments and provide support for people who have long term conditions by putting in place a new way of working called care and support planning.

What is care and support planning?  This way of working aims to give you the opportunity to get more out of your annual review appointments by reorganising the way things happen and giving you more information before you see your nurse or doctor. It should help you to talk about:

• What is important to you
• What you can do to look after your health and stay well
• What support you may need

Who is it for? Anyone with a long term condition such as diabetes, heart failure.

Why change things? This way of working is being put into place across a number of surgeries in the area and is nearly always preferred by patients. It will help both you and the doctor or nurse make the best use of the time you have in your care and support planning appointment. All the important tests and results needed at your appointment will be available to you before the appointment as well as an opportunity to think through what questions you want to ask and identify your key concerns which you want to talk about.

What does this mean for me? This means that your care and support planning review will usually take place over two separate appointments and you will have time to think about what you want to get out of these visits.

What happens at the first appointment? At the first appointment you will be asked to attend the surgery to have any checks or tests (e.g. blood tests, breathing tests) done with a healthcare assistant. (The healthcare assistant will book your next appointment which will be with a doctor or nurse)

What happens next?  Your test results from this appointment will be sent to you (if you agree to this) with an explanation of what they mean. There will also be a space on the letters for you to make notes. (Along with the details for your next appointment and who you will be seeing) This will give you a chance to think about what you would like to talk about at your care and support planning appointment. It`s helpful if you bring this letter with you.

What happens at the care and support planning appointment? At your care and support planning appointment you will be able to ask questions and talk about what’s important to you and your doctor or nurse will raise any issues they are concerned about. Once you both agree on one or two main things to work on, you will get the chance to work out a plan and identify any support you need to help you look after your health.