Page 12 - Engage Summer 2024

SERVICES
Our Social Prescribing and
SPRING Team
Social Prescribing Link Workers help
people focus on ‘what matters to me’
Age UK Northamptonshire employs eight social prescribers on behalf of the NHS covering three
quarters of GP surgeries in the north of the county. They work with people aged 18+ who need support with non-medical issues affecting their lives and negatively impacting on their health.
Lee Johnson, Social Prescribing Link Worker (SPLW) in Kettering tells us:
“*Joseph was telling me that since lockdown everything has ‘just been different’. People around him are dying,
his physical health is worsening, a lot
of paperwork is coming through for assessments and appointments. Also, that some appointments are being postponed or cancelled, transport is failing him leading to appointments being missed and he has feelings of isolation due to poor health.
After the initial phone call, I organised a face to face with Joseph to help put a level of focus on the situation. We managed to
prioritise the issues that were causing him the most stress and set up a plan of action regarding future appointments and goals
to achieve week by week. This is what we achieved:
• Changed the arrangements for the
payment of a private pension to avoid
fines being incurred.
• Looked into Breathing Space groups
that he might like to attend when he is ready, to help him manage his COPD symptoms better.
• Helped make phone calls to energy companies as he found such calls stressful and his account was getting into a mess. It is now in credit and a faulty smart meter has been replaced.
Non medical solutions to problems that affect your health.
12 | SUMMER 2024
*Name changed for privacy
SPRING and Social Prescribing team