The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has accredited Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust staff training on “Understanding Weight: How to have Helpful Conversations about Weight”.
This training is suitable for all trust staff and aims to help them to have a helpful and meaningful conversation about weight that avoids stigma, blame, judgement and prejudice.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has a Public Health Strategy which recognises the need to tackle inequalities in healthcare access, experience and outcomes. The Trust has adopted the NHS Healthy Weight Declaration as part of its strategic system-wide approach to promote healthier weight, good overall health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities for the benefit of staff, patients and the wider community. Improving access to healthcare and reducing weight stigma for people living with obesity was highlighted as one area which should be addressed.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has signed up to the NHS healthy weight declaration
The course helps staff to understand the major drivers of obesity, such as the food environment, marketing of food and beverages, the barriers to effective healthcare for people living with obesity and how to have conversations about weight in a sensitive, patient-centred manner. It also applies the Making Every Contact Count (MECC) model to have brief, helpful and positive conversations about weight.
Janice Constable, RSPH Membership and Educational Services Director said:
“Nearly two thirds of adults in the UK are either overweight or living with obesity, putting them at increased risk of a number of health conditions. However, the reasons for this are very complex, with many external influences.
“RSPH is pleased to accredit this training which gives staff an insight into this topic and knowledge of how to sensitively raise this subject with others and provide them with support. The training joins the wide range of training programmes endorsed through RSPH’s accreditation scheme.”
Jill Harland, Public Health Consultant from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said;
“We are pleased to offer this training to support our staff to create an environment of empathy and support for individuals which enables us to better meet their needs and address health inequalities.”
