Patient  is a 66-year-old male who had always enjoyed an active lifestyle with his work running a large warehouse facility. He was on his feet all day and due to this level of activity maintained a good level of physical health. 18 months prior to our appointment patient took retirement from the company. His wife is still currently working full time, and due to the nature of their lifestyle they have few friends or interests outside of the home. Patient reported his wife was frustrated with him and his new role at home. X quickly became bored of his new-found freedoms, and to alleviate this he took up cooking as a hobby. He also started to enjoy wine while he was making foods throughout the day. As a result of this he gained nearly 4 stone in weight over the 18 months. He was frustrated with this and the weight gain was impacting on his health. Money had also become quite tight as a result of his redundancy. His baseline score was 12.  He was referred to SP to look at lifestyle as a preventative measure and alternative to prescribing for High Blood Pressure.

Patient’s goal was a simple one, to lose weight, regain his former condition and to find something more productive to do. During the conversation that guided his action plan, X nominated that he enjoyed driving, meeting older people as he enjoyed their stories and he also used to like swimming many years ago. From this information, patient was put in touch with a local day care facility to provide voluntary driving for their mini bus on 2 days a week in the morning. His time volunteering was then linked to tempo time credits and he can use these to go swimming at the local sports center. He also commented that the gym would be of interest, but he did not feel as if he had the confidence to go on his own at this stage.

Conclusion

Since engaging in SP X has now found a new purpose through his volunteering and enjoys spending 8 hours a week on the mini bus taking patients to the day care center. He has achieved his goal of going for a swim twice a week and has also engaged with Healthy Cornwall around diet. His confidence levels have grown, and he is now actively seeking similar aged men with similar health concerns to form a ‘gym buddy’ group. He has lost nearly a stone in weight and his blood pressure is adjusting although still not at an ideal level. Patient X seems to have found a commitment to his new life style and is also now seeking new groups to engage with. He has been referred to Meetup.com and to the Cornwall Link website. His score is now at 20.

Patient says that things are better at home, and he is feeling more confident and attractive for his wife!