Familiar Faces (FF)

Referral Criteria

You may be offered support by the familiar faces team if you have difficulties that bring you into frequent contact with your GP and other health services.

You may be contacted by the Familiar Faces service or your GP might recommend the service to you. If you are a health professional and would like to discuss a case with one of our team, click here for our duty consultation contact number. You can book an appointment to speak to us for further advice (this is not for patients)

Who are we and what do we do?

• The Familiar Faces team is made up of Living Well Coaches and Psychological Practitioners. We work within several GP practices across Cumbria with at least one Living Well Coach and Psychological Practitioner in each of the four areas (Carlisle, Maryport, Cockermouth, and Copeland).
• We work with people whose difficulties bring them into frequent contact with their GP and other health services.

What to expect if you come to see us

Your GP may speak to you about us or we may send you a letter with more information about the service. We will then contact you by phone to ask if you would like to meet us at your GP surgery for an assessment.

The assessment lasts about 50-60 minutes, and is an opportunity to discuss your difficulties and needs. This usually involves talking about:

• Your health difficulties
• Your mood
• Your family, friends, and anyone else who is important to you
• Any life events that are challenging

We may also ask you to complete some questionnaires to provide more details about how you are feeling. The session will be done at a pace that suits you, and you will not be expected to speak about anything you would prefer not to.

After the assessment, we will agree with you a plan to help meet your needs. The plan could include:

• 1:1 sessions with a Living Well Coach to link you up with community/voluntary organisations, or to help you to learn about strategies that will help with how you are feeling,
• 1:1 sessions of psychological therapy with a Clinical Psychologist or Psychological Practitioner.
• Our team linking up with your GPs or other professionals to help develop a plan to meet your individual health and emotional needs,

We recognise that the time may not be right for you when we make contact, for example you may feel you have too much going on already. You will get the most from our service if you are able to work with us to consider making changes and this can be quite demanding. If the time is not right when we first contact you, let us know and you can then ask us to get involved in future when you feel better able to work with us.

Confidentiality

Details of your sessions are put on your medical record, but you can tell us if you do not feel ok with anything being shared with your GP or other members of your care team.

We will only talk about you outside the team when you give permission, or if we think you are at risk of harm and we need to protect you or others.

We will keep your GP and/ or consultant up to date by sending letters about your appointments so they know how you are and what you are currently working on – you will also get a copy of these letters.

Why this approach?

• We know that GP appointments are short and that there is not always the time to discuss everything you would like to. We can offer you longer appointments, so that you have more time to talk about all of your difficulties and needs.
• We are aware that when you see many different doctors and other healthcare professionals, it can sometimes feel as though this is not very joined-up. We can help you to work with your whole care team to make sure that the right information is shared and that everyone understands your difficulties and needs as a whole.
• The approach we use is based on research evidence and government guidelines.
• We believe that shared decision making around your health and wellbeing is very important - this is based on information from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

What do our patients say?

“Really good, really helpful. The clinician is really understanding when I really have a bad day. She was so empathetic and understanding. Even my partner has noticed the massive difference in me and how better I am. “

“It's really good. The service has provided me some extra support and it’s a lift for me. I would recommend this service.”

“Brilliant, cannot fault it. I feel very supported and have moved leaps and bounds. I have learnt so much about myself and my condition through PPSS groups and through 1:1 work [in Familiar Faces] too, it has been so helpful. I would recommend it to anyone.”

“Really useful, because I can speak to someone about how I feel, as I am a complicated case. It is nice to speak to someone, as doctors don't have enough time to go through all my issues.”

Please click here to see more general patient feedback.

What do our GP partners say?

Dr Celia Heasman, GP, Westcroft House Surgery, Egremont

We have been really encouraged by your service input. I have had several patients report that it has really useful to them. I can call to mind one patient with an anxiety issue. This patient’s life has been transformed by your service.

Dr Rose Singleton, GP, Castlegate and Derwent Surgery, Cockermouth

Very friendly and accessible, you have been a real help with some of our patients.