In the run up to Social Prescribing day (Thu 10 Mar), we wanted to highlight the impact that social prescribing has!
Our very own Alison Leitch has written a blog speaking to the importance of social prescribing and her own experiences with it.
Social prescribing, is an approach (or range of approaches) for connecting people to non-medical sources of support or resources in the community which are likely to help with the health problems they are experiencing. Read the full blog here.
Last month we were delighted to celebrate #LinkWorkerDay2021 (Fri 8 Oct) by publishing the Edinburgh Community Link Worker Network Review of 2020-21.
The review focuses on the work carried out by the Community Link Workers who are funded as part of the National Programme for community link working. The report details the progress of the service and, significantly, the way the CLWs adapted – flexibly and thoughtfully – to provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alongside this you can get a more personal insight into some of the challenges of the last year in a new blog by Julie Roxburgh (Deep End Community Link Worker, Wester Hailes) – A Reflection on the Last Year:
I came back to work in October 2020, after a year of maternity leave. Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted, while setting my out-of-office, that the world would be such a different place in 12 months time. The role I had paused suddenly felt very different. It had adapted and responded, which of course was always what being a Community Link Worker (CLW) was all about. Read the full blog here.
As of March 2021 there are 21 Community Link Workers in Edinburgh’s Community Link Worker Network.
They cover 37 GP practices and are employed by 11 voluntary sector organisations: Carr Gomm, Caring In Craigmillar, Community Renewal, Cyrenians, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust, Health All Round, LifeCare, Pilton Community Health Project, Penumbra, Space & Broomhouse Hub and The Health Agency.
To find out more about Community Link Workers watch this short film.
(When promoted to use the password CLW)
You can get in touch with Alison Leitch (North Area Lead).
Read the Community Link Worker Annual Report 2019/20
Follow the CLW Network on Twitter: @Edinburgh_CLW
The Community Link Worker Network is funded by Edinburgh Health & Social Care Partnership who contracts EVOC (Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council) to commission local Third Sector Organisations (TSOs) spread across Edinburgh’s 4 localities to host/employ up to a maximum of 3 CLWs per organisation.
