Social Prescribing – Community link workers

Chris Houston was joined by Ainsley and Amanda who are both community link workers from North Ayrshire Council.

Based in GP Practices

Community link workers are based in GP practices across North Ayrshire and their role is put people in touch with resources, groups and activities in the local community. This is with a view to improving people’s well beings and covers a lot of subjects. These include information on benefits and welfare, self-help, volunteering opportunities, etc.

Contact Information

Amanda talked about how to get in contact with community support workers. You can either self-refer or you can be referred by your nurse or GP.

Benefits of Seeing Community Link Worker

There are many benefits to seeing your community link worker. These benefits include extended appointment slots which are usually 45 minutes. This allows achievable goals to be set to sort out the reason for you attending.

Social Prescribing Day

Social Prescribing Day was on the 14^th March 2019. According to Social Prescribing Network, one in four patients see their GP for advice on purely welfare and social problems. For those who see their GP for these reasons, social prescribing can improve quality of life and emotional wellbeing. Mental health is one of the many other subjects that can be helped through social prescribing.

Mental Health Support

Community Link Worker can also help access to mental health support in the area, self help materials, online resources and activities that can help improve mental health including physical activity and also volunteering.