Living Well Coordination Service
We began delivering the West Northumberland Living Well Coordination Service in January 2020, in partnership with West Northumberland Primary Care Network. The service, also called ‘social prescribing’ in other areas of the country, has been hugely successful, having contacted over 1650 people over the last 12 months and helping people to address aspects of their lives that may be having an impact on their health and wellbeing.
Providing a non-clinical service, Living Well Coordinators help people with non-medical and social issues such as emotional wellbeing, housing, financial resilience and benefits, employment and skills, healthy lifestyles, family issues and loneliness. Coordinators can link people to community groups, activities and support services local to them, while providing a supportive and non-judgemental ear.
Since the start of the pandemic the service has seen a large number of people referred for issues around emotional wellbeing. Lockdowns and restrictions have exacerbated mental health problems, and some have found it hard to cope with bereavement due to the impact of Covid-19 on hospital and care home visiting and funeral arrangements. There was also an increase in referrals around housing and financial issues.
Lead Living Well Coordinator Tania Thomas says “We had to quickly adapt during the lockdown and find ways of supporting people where physical services were not available. We have helped many clients access counselling and mental health services since the start of the pandemic, supported them to claim benefits and hardship funds, access telephone befriending services, gardening projects and volunteering opportunities. We have also received referrals for a number of people struggling with carer fatigue as the services they were using previously stopped running or were no longer able to provide face-to-face support.”
To be referred to the Living Well Coordination Service speak to any member of your GP practice team (Living Well Coordinators do not have access to medical records) and from 1 April you will be able to self-refer to the service.
This short animation from the Healthy London Partnership explains more about social prescribing.
See more at the Living Well Coordination Service page
