Contact information

For further information about the Expert Patient programme in Cornwall, email our Expert Patient Programme Manager or call 07824 598 626. 

You can also call Liskeard Community Hospital on 01579 373 500 and leave a message with reception.

Expert patient programme

The Expert Patient programme is a free programme which aims to:

  • give you additional skills to self-manage your long-term health condition
  • develop a better relationship with the healthcare professionals who support you
  • improve your quality of life
  • help you meet others, share experiences and communicate better with your family and friends
  • make you feel confident and more in control of your condition

The programme is being run for anyone in Cornwall living with a long-term health condition. The course is delivered over 6 weeks for no more than 2.5 hours, led by trained volunteer tutors with lived experience.

Course sessions will cover:

  • relaxation techniques
  • dealing with difficult emotions
  • exercise
  • eating healthily
  • coping with depression
  • pain and fatigue management
  • planning for the future

Course dates

  • Thursday 7 September to 12 October, 11am to 1.30pm: Newquay
  • Wednesday 13 September to 18 October, 2pm to 4.30pm: Bude
  • Friday 22 September to 27 October, 11am to 1.30pm: Online course
  • Monday 23 October to 27 November, 1pm to 3.30pm: Camborne

Plaudits

“I feel in a much better place, my depression has lowered and I’m more communicative now. I’m more proactive, my outlook and emotions have improved. I feel more confident, more assertive, better equipped, and wiser. I have more self-awareness and a greater friendship circle. Life changing. In just 2 words: thank you.”

“The course has made a massive difference to me. I feel less isolated and have learned a huge number of skills to manage my condition. It also really helped with accepting the changes in my life, which has given me the energy to look ahead with optimism. I feel more hopeful and enabled. I literally knew nothing about my long-term health condition and now I know a lot more and, more importantly, I know where to find out whatever I need to know and learn how to be my own expert. And I have joined a WhatsApp group with the other participants from my course group, which is profoundly uplifting.”

“I’ve really appreciated meeting others who have the same symptoms as me, such as fatigue and brain fog. It’s the first time that I have been with people who truly understand. This alone has had a tremendous impact.”

Cancer (thriving and surviving)

Would you like:

  • to manage fatigue and know how to get help
  • regain fitness during and after treatment
  • meet others and share experiences
  • communicate better with family, friends, and professionals
  • manage changes to your body and difficult emotions

This course is delivered over 6 weeks for 2.5 hours, led by volunteer trainers with lived experience of cancer.

Course sessions will cover:

  • relaxation techniques
  • dealing with difficult emotions
  • appropriate exercise
  • eating healthily
  • complimentary therapies
  • pain and fatigue management
  • positive thinking

Caring for me and you

Register your interest in our free carers course for people who have a long-term health condition and care for someone.

Would you like to:

  • manage your caring situation more effectively
  • be realistic about the impact of your caring situation on yourself and your family
  • meet others and share experiences
  • communicate better with family, friends and professionals
  • feel confident and more in control of your life

The caring for me and you course is for anyone living with a long-term health condition and caring for someone living in Cornwall. The course is delivered over 6 weeks for 2.5 hours. It is led by trained volunteer tutors with lived experience.

Course sessions will cover:

  • relaxation techniques
  • dealing with tiredness
  • exercise
  • eating healthily
  • coping with depression
  • planning for the future

We do not currently have a caring for me and you course scheduled.

Register an interest in the caring for me and you course

Diabetes self-management course

Would you like:

  • to monitor your diabetes and balance high or low blood glucose
  • learn about menu planning
  • meet others and share experiences
  • communicate better with family, friends, and professionals
  • manage fatigue, stress, and emotional changes

The course is delivered over 6 weekly sessions of 2.5 hours each, led by volunteer trainers with lived experience of diabetes.

Course sessions will cover:

  • what is diabetes
  • dealing with difficult emotions
  • appropriate exercise
  • menu planning and food choices
  • preventing or delaying complications
  • foot care
  • managing stress

Self-care after COVID, ME or chronic fatigue syndrome

Would you like:

  • to improve your quality of life
  • learn new skills to manage your health condition
  • meet others and share experiences
  • communicate better with family, friends and professionals
  • feel confident and more in control of your troubling symptoms

The course is delivered over 6 weeks, twice a week for no more than 1 hour and 45 minutes with regular breaks, led by volunteer trainers with lived experience of a long-term health condition.

Course sessions will cover:

  • relaxation techniques
  • dealing with difficult emotions
  • introduction to physical activity and pacing
  • making healthy food choices
  • coping with low mood
  • fatigue and getting a good night’s sleep
  • pain management
  • planning for the future

We offer 1 to 1 support to enable everyone to access Teams.

Next course:

  • Tuesday 12 September, every Tuesday and Thursday until 19 October 2023

Videos

In this live Teams video, the team discuss the course content and the benefits of managing your own health with some useful tools from our course.