IN a first for Warrington LiveWire is now providing a Social Prescriber Link Worker Service to help deliver a holistic approach to health in Warrington.
LiveWire staff will be based at GP practices as part of a new service aimed at taking a holistic approach to the health and wellbeing of Warrington residents.
The Social Prescriber Link Worker service is a first for Warrington, and sees five LiveWire link workers – funded and deployed at GP practices (known as Primary Care Networks) across the town.
The service aims to help people with a range of topics, including mental health, accessing health and fitness opportunities, isolation and general wellbeing.
LiveWire has been commissioned to deliver the Social Prescribing Service by the Primary Care Networks for an initial period of 2 years.
Social Prescribing is a key part of the NHS’s plan for universal personalised care – which means giving people the choice and control over their mental and physical health that they have come to expect in every other aspect of their life. The service is open to all adults in Warrington, who can either be referred via a range of primary care avenues or by self referring.
The service works for a wide range of people, including those:
· With one or more long-term conditions
· Who need support with their mental health
· Who are lonely or isolated
· Who have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing.
Social Prescribers take a holistic approach to people’s health and wellbeing. They connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support. Link workers also support existing community groups to be accessible and sustainable, and help people to start new groups, working collaboratively with all local partners.
In the future, people can be easily referred to link workers from a wide range of local agencies, including GPs, pharmacies, hospital discharge teams, fire service, police, job centres, social care services, housing associations and voluntary, and organisations. Self-referral is also encouraged.
Locklynne Hall, Health and Wellbeing Director for LiveWire, said: “It’s brilliant that Warrington now has a brand new Social Prescribing Link Worker Service, it is a real asset for our town. A lot of hard work and collaboration has taken place between the Primary Care Networks, Warrington CCG and LiveWire to get this right as we start to recover from the pandemic. This type of service will be needed now more than ever before. We are keen to reduce the burden on our GPs’ time but also achieve better outcomes. Not everyone who visits their GP requires medication, sometimes they just require a conversation about what other opportunities are out there that could help them, Social Prescribing Link Workers perform exactly that function.”
GP Dr Laura Mount said: “We are pleased to be working with our partners at LiveWire on this exciting new service. Many patients come to see us in primary care with health issues which are caused by or exacerbated by external factors. It is clear that after 18 months of pandemic that many people need extra support. We are excited to welcome the Social Prescribers into our local practices to support our patients.”
For more information on the Social Prescribing service, and how to access it, please speak with your GP’s surgery reception.
