How can North Arden PCN help with Long Term Conditions?
WHAT IS A LONG TERM CONDITION?
Long term conditions are physical or mental health conditions that require ongoing management over a period of years; for example
- Diabetes
- COPD and respiratory conditions
- Obesity
- Heart Conditions
- Dementia
- Persistent pain
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic fatigue syndrome/ME
- Gastrointestinal conditions and IBS
Some people can suffer from multiple long term conditions. Living with a long-term condition brings challenges and it’s important to have the confidence, support and information to manage your health. Self-care can help you make the most of living with your condition(s), rather than avoiding or missing out on things because of it. Self-care puts you in control.
Some long term conditions require monitoring by your practice for example to check your medicines are helping or that you aren’t developing any complications of your condition. If you are invited to one of these reviews then please try to attend so that your practice can support you.
TIPS FOR LIVING WITH A LONG TERM CONDITION
- Accept you have a persistent health condition…and then begin to move on
- Get involved – building a support team
- Pacing – pacing your daily activities
- Learn to prioritise and plan your days
- Setting goals/action plans
- Being patient with yourself
- Learn relaxation skills
- Exercise
- Keep a diary and track your progress
- Have a plan for set-backs
- Team work – work with your practice team
HOW CAN LONG TERM CONDITIONS AFFECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
Many emotions and feelings can arise from living with a long term health condition. You may feel frustrated, tired or worried.
- Maybe you feel frustrated about how your condition makes you feel
- Maybe you worry about when the next flare up may be
- You might feel down if you’re finding it difficult to adjust to your condition
- You might not feel as confident as you used to or reluctant to try things differently
- Maybe you feel alone and isolated with your condition.
There are many challenges involved, especially when dealing with difficult or unpleasant symptoms, procedures or treatments. It’s understandable that this can cause you to feel down, stressed or just not your usual self.
Please click here for local mental health services.
A long term condition can affect all aspects of your life. You can struggle to manage the changes that a health condition requires of you or find it more difficult to cope with your usual daily activities.
All of the practices in North Arden PCN have specialist nurses to support with some long term conditions such as Diabetes, Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), Asthma, COPD and they understand the mental strain you may feel.
Our practice staff can refer you for other specialist support from within the PCN such as Clinical Pharmacists, Care Co-ordinator, Social Prescriber and Mental Health Link Workers.
To find out more click here.
For those wishing to improve their health and embark on a weight-loss journey you may find some of the services offered by our PCN projects to be of great help to you.
You may be suitable for services such as Fitter Futures which offer personalised physical activity / healthy lifestyle. Please follow the link below to find out more about who can access this service.

Follow the links below for more information on specific long term conditions:
Useful Services
WCC Health Appointments & Transport Options
(Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm screening for men 65+)
Coeliac UK – Gluten Sensitivity
(Supporting people affected by OsteogenesisImperfecta)
Respiratory Conditions
Asthma Information and Guidance
Diabetes Care
Mental Health & Wellbeing
(Social Prescribing)
(Fighting For Young People’s Mental Health)
Information & Support
(palliative, neurological & bereavement support)
Neurological Conditions
Dementia & Alzheimer’s
Stop Smoking
Cancer Research UK Stop Smoking
(WCC Stop Smoking Service)
(Detailed information about the free stop smoking NHS support services)
Cancer
Carers & Care Support
Warwickshire County Council Carers Support
(Support for children/young adults 0-25 years with special educational needs and disabilities)
(Care and support through terminal illness)
Adult Obesity

Around two-thirds (63%) of adults are above a healthy weight, and of these, half are living with obesity. Obesity puts us at risk of a range of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, at least 12 kinds of cancer, liver and respiratory disease, COVID-19 and can impact mental health.
Obesity is a complex issue with many causes. Obesity and being overweight is caused when extra calories, particularly those from foods high in fat and sugar, are stored in the body as fat. This can be caused by genetics or underlying health conditions. Although these types of conditions do not usually cause weight problems if they’re effectively controlled with medicines. More Often than not obesity is caused by lack of proper exercise and excess consumption of calories.
Obesity is an increasingly common problem because the environment we live in makes it difficult for many people to eat healthily and do enough physical activity.
Over 1 in 4 of us has put on weight since the first lockdown in March 2020, according to recent research. We’ve been doing more comfort eating and snacking, alongside staying at home more. Now it’s time to get our health back on track.
The best way to treat obesity is to eat a healthy reduced-calorie diet and exercise regularly.You can also benefit from receiving support and counselling from a trained healthcare professional to help you better understand your relationship with food and develop different eating habits.
Please follow the links below to find out more about how to lose weight via healthy eating and exercise.
Checking your BMI can be a great way to find out if you are overweight or obese. BMI is a measure of whether you’re a healthy weight for your height. You can use the NHS BMI healthy weight calculator to find out your BMI by clicking HERE.
For most adults, if your BMI is:
- below 18.5 – you’re in the underweight range
- 18.5 to 24.9 – you’re in the healthy weight range
- 25 to 29.9 – you’re in the overweight range
- 30 to 39.9 – you’re in the obese range
- 40 or above – you’re in the severely obese range
- 23 to 27.4 – you’re in the overweight range
- 27.5 or above – you’re in the obese range
The Body Mass Index (BMI) has certain limitations since it assesses weight instead of fat. For example, highly muscular individuals, like professional athletes, may display a high BMI despite having low body fat. Nevertheless, for the majority of individuals, BMI acts as a helpful measure to determine if they maintain a healthy weight.
For those wishing to improve their health and embark on a weight-loss journey you may find some of the services offered by our PCN projects to be of great help to you.
To find out more about what services are available to you please contact your GP. Or alternatively through our PCN you have access to a Health and Wellbeing coach who is also able to guide and refer you to the services you require. To read more information about what our Health and Wellbeing coach does please click HERE.
Long Term Covid

What is long term Covid?
What is long COVID? Most people with COVID-19 feel better within a few days or weeks of their first symptoms and make a full recovery within 12 weeks. But for some people, fatigue and other symptoms last for months or longer. Most people with long COVID start to feel better within 12 to 18 months. This is called long COVID or post COVID-19 syndrome. Long COVID is a new condition which is still being studied.
Symptoms of Long COVID may include:
- Fatigue, feeling tired.
- Weakness.
- Brain fog (problems concentrating or thinking)
- Headaches.
- Tremor.
- Rapid or pounding heartbeat, feeling of skipped heartbeats (palpitations)
- Dizziness upon standing.
Contact a GP if:
you’ve had severe symptoms of COVID-19 for 4 weeks or more and are worried. Tell them about your symptoms and how they’re impacting your life. Let them know when you had COVID and when your current symptoms started.
If the symptoms are having an impact on your life, you may be referred to an NHS long COVID service for children, young people or adults.
Long COVID services can offer:
- further tests to help diagnose or monitor your symptoms
- assessments for your physical and mental health
- treatment for or help managing long COVID symptoms
- referral to post-COVID rehabilitation for further support, if needed
Having long COVID does not mean that you are still contagious. Even though you may feel sick, other people cannot “catch” long COVID from you.
To find out more about long Covid please click HERE to check out the NHS UK Website.
Or take a look at the video below.
Long Covid can be a serious condition that drains you physically and mentally. For help dealing with this condition please click HERE to visit the Covid:Aid website.