Sharon Irvine is a Community Link Worker who has been based at Castlemilk Health Centre for two years.
What does a Community Link Worker do?
There are 74 Community Link Workers across Glasgow. They are based in ‘Deep End’ GP practices in 80 of the city’s most vulnerable areas, based on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. CLWs aim to help people who may contact their GP with issues that are not medical, but are negatively affecting their lives.
How can they help you?
CLWs can help with a range of social issues including money and debt help, energy costs, housing, loneliness and isolation, and problems with mental health and wellbeing.
They can link people to groups and organisations, often within their own community, that provide support.
Link workers can support people with housing meetings and applications, and some run walking groups to help participants make new connections and improve their wellbeing. In Castlemilk, Sharon also helps run a bereavement group to provide additional support to those who need it.
How can you speak to a Community Links Worker?
At GP practices that have an embedded CLW, any member of the multi-disciplinary primary care team can make a referral. People can also self-refer.