Did you know that you can get free support for non-medical issues, such as debt and social isolation, via your GP surgery?
Community Link Workers (also known as Social Prescribing) meet with you face-to-face; finding out what matters to you. They take a holistic approach and will aim to connect you to relevant services or community groups.
The purpose is to help you strengthen your resilience, whilst addressing wider issues that may be impacting your overall health, such as social isolation, debt and housing.
If you need help with something non-medical, and Community Link Workers are themselves unable to help, they will try their upmost to link you into services that can.
Bucks Mind is currently the host employer for the Aylesbury Community Link Workers, which cover Mandeville Surgery, Oakfield Surgery, Poplar Grove Surgery, Berrycroft Surgery and Whitehill Surgery, but each GP surgery in Bucks has at least one Community Link Worker who can be accessed by requesting a referral from your GP.
The Community Link Worker service recently supported someone whose mental health was being negatively impacted by the current cost of living crisis; this resulted in him needing regular support from his GP.
The Community Link Worker team were able to support him to liaise with his housing association landlord in relation to his energy bills, which resulted in his fuel account being reimbursed with a large sum and therefore relieving some of his concerns around finances. His mental health improved as a result and calls to his GP reduced.
The service is completely free of charge and open to anyone registered with a GP surgery in Buckinghamshire.
Find out more about Bucks Mind's Community Link Workers