A Little About Me

I am Dr Claire, NHS GP, wife and mum to 2 teenagers and we have a lovely double doodle dog!

I love gardening, dog walking, holidays and spending time with my family & friends(not in that order!!) My favourite place to holiday is in Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands or somewhere warm, sunny with a pool and beach!

I have my own health problems which gives me insight into what it is like to live with medical conditions and hopefully some empathy too - I know none of this easy and takes time, effort and determination to make a difference. I'm on my own journey to improve my lifestyle - it has ups and many downs, but as long as you keep picking yourself up and making small changes you will make a difference I promise!

As if life isn't busy enough I've been thinking about setting up ways of helping people outside of my NHS work.

I specialise in diabetes and help run these clinics in the practice I work in. These are busy clinics without much time to focus on much else other than the results of tests and medication. People often ask me what they can do to help that isn't just taking pills.

This has got me thinking about what can be done other than giving pills and brief advice about healthy eating and exercise. I came across lifestyle medicine and this really made sense to me. Taking tablets for diabetes is like a sticking plaster - it works for a while but then diabetes progresses and another tablet (or eventually insulin) is added. It doesn't get to the real underlying processes that are going on.

What if there is another way to help improve diabetes or your general health? I am passionate about and believe that there is. It can work well alongside medications but will reduce the need for adding more "sticking plasters" for the problem. This is where lifestyle medicine comes in.

This extends to other aspects of health as well - pre-diabetes, high blood pressure and general well-being. I would love you to start or continue your own journey with me. Eventually I plan to set up 1 to 1 consultations (these need CQC approval first) as well as programmes to support your journey but in the meantime stick with me as I will share tips, motivation and knowledge and even some videos!

I've set up an instagram page - sussexlifestyleclinic https://www.instagram.com/sussexlifestyleclinic/ - please follow me there too for motivation, updates and tips!

Claire