Charles Fox

I have been working in the field of diabetes for 40 years and in 1980 came to Northampton General Hospital as a “physician with an interest in diabetes”. In 1981 I worked with Chris Gillespie who was doing a PhD into how doctors in diabetic clinics relate to their patients.  Chris taught me that one must first listen to the patient to find out what is important to them and then help them to plan realistic changes that might improve their lives. We went on to design a course, to allow health professionals to discover for themselves a different way of working with patients with a long term condition. We wanted participants to go away with an understanding of the philosophy of patient-centred care and a working knowledge of the skills needed to apply this approach. We also looked at how they could apply these skills in their own working environment. The Course became known as the Knuston Hall course after the historic education centre in the Northamptonshire countryside, where we have run the course for 34 years. There is a faculty of dedicated and skilled professionals who help with planning and everyday running of the course.

In 2007, we incorporated the empowerment model into the course and we have good evidence that Knuston graduates are able to employ both communication skills and empowerment techniques into their normal practice when in consultation with people who have diabetes.