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NHS Wales’ digital wellbeing service has teamed up with a clinic to help patients manage the mental health impacts of lymphoedema and lipalgia syndrome.
Lymphoedema is an incurable, long-term condition which develops due to a damaged or poorly functioning lymphatic system, whereas lipalgia syndrome, also known as lipoedema, is an abnormal build-up of adipose fatty tissue, usually in the lower half of the body, which more commonly affects women.
The Lymphoedema Wales Clinical Network (LWCN) established a psychological support service after patients spoke of the emotional challenges of living with these conditions.
Patients revealed how their physical symptoms were often accompanied by depression, anxiety and worries about appearance.
Support offered by the service’s two psychologists is now being complemented by direct referrals to SilverCloud Wales, a suite of online, self-help courses based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
Dr Jayne Williams, national lymphoedema consultant psychologist for LWCN, said: “We’re looking at different ways for people to access psychological therapies – SilverCloud being one of them.
“The aim is to provide timely, preventative support before people get to crisis point.
“As SilverCloud is online, it has the capacity to reach many more people than we could see face-to-face, and its flexibility means that it fits around busy work and family lives.
“Being able to offer something that patients can do in their own way, at their own pace is brilliant.”
Around 25,000 people across Wales use LWCN services. Local health board lymphoedema services can refer people to the psychology service within the national lymphoedema team, which is hosted by Swansea Bay University Health Board.
Anyone in Wales aged 16 or over can self-refer to SilverCloud, without seeing a GP and from the comfort of their own home.
NHS Wales online CBT project manager, Fionnuala Clayton, said the new referral pathway was inspired in part by feedback from a ‘Living Well with Lymphoedema’ event hosted by LWCN, where patients were asked what they would like from its emerging psychology service.
“Patients wanted to feel as though they were not alone and that they still had a healthy and happy life despite their condition,” she said.
“They wanted easy access to support for building resilience alongside help to help themselves. Coming away from the event, we knew a referral pathway would support many patients across Wales.”
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board announced in August 2024 that is launching a new digital health assessment platform aimed at improving patient outcomes and quality of care, with the initial focus on heart failure and lymphoedema services.
Meanwhile, since September 2024, staff at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board have been referring new and expectant parents in Wales for mental health support through SilverCloud.
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