The role of lifestyle medicine and how it can work effectively at neighbourhood level is the subject of a joint speaker session at the inaugural CVRM Professional Care next month.

Delegates will hear how lifestyle medicine can be integrated into routine clinical practice to support people living with, and at risk of, cardiometabolic disease.

Speakers Dr Camille Hirons, GP and Vice President of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine, and Nana Ocran, Lead Diabetes Lifestyle Medicine Coach at North Lewisham PCN, will outline how multidisciplinary teams can provide – alongside clinical care – personalised support and empower behaviour change around the six pillars of lifestyle medicine:

• Nutrition
• Physical activity
• Restorative sleep
• Stress reduction
• Reduction in risky behaviours
• Social connection.

The session will include the evidence-based principles of lifestyle medicine and consider what it looks like when translated from theory into NHS care.

Drawing on their experience in South-East London, the speakers will share their co-design journey and how they have worked with communities, clinicians and system partners to develop an approach that is practical, person-centred and embedded within Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs).

Delegates will hear about the emerging outcomes and learn what enables lifestyle medicine to work effectively at neighbourhood level. Real-world case studies will be shared to bring this to life and demonstrate the difference this approach can make for people living with cardiometabolic conditions and health inequalities.

Dr Hirons, who is GP lead at the Urgent Treatment Centre, University Hospital Lewisham and is also Lewisham Clinical & Care Professional Lead (CCPL) for Community Based Care and Lifestyle Medicine, said: “The session will focus not only on what lifestyle medicine is, but on the practical tools, relationships and system changes needed to make it part of everyday care.

“CVRM integrated care is not only the future, but also the here and now. It is the best way to support patients, improve efficiencies and help reduce healthcare inequalities. There’s no single person or professional that can solve all these issues and some patients are complex, so you need a team of teams to support these individuals.”

The session ‘Integrating and delivering lifestyle medicine in practice’ will take place on October 20, from 4.15pm to 4.45pm in the Clinical Theatre.