Sarah Baldwin, Social Prescribing Link Worker
Sarah is a Social Prescribing Link Worker, working for a Primary Care Network in North Lincolnshire. The PCN has three GP practices serving 35,000 patients and Sarah works within two of the three practices, supporting adult referrals. Patients have wide-ranging needs and are referred for social prescribing by GPs, nurse practitioners, healthcare assistants, physios, pharmacists or reception staff or through self-referral. The practices began social prescribing in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with patients typically experiencing mental health problems, low mood, social isolation and loneliness. Post-pandemic, patients’ challenges have changed with the times, with cost of living issues like unemployment, financial hardship and food poverty now more prevalent.
Sarah and the social prescribing team meet with patients once or twice a month for up to three months, signposting support services for their needs. Sarah came across the Virtual Village Hall during the first lockdown when doing research to find online community groups that patients could access. With village halls, community centres and other meeting places closed, the Virtual Village Hall was a great place to refer patients and she’s continued to use it ever since.
“It was a godsend in the early days of lookdown to have something so amazing to signpost people to. It was helpful to know that there was somewhere that was always open, where people could find activities to do and entertainment to watch. I’ve never come across anything similar to the Virtual Village Hall to refer patients to and there’s so much content on there now. Although everything’s back open again now, there are still people that can’t get out and about, that have long-term health conditions, or that spend a lot of time alone.”
“One patient, a beauty therapist, was struggling with low mood, poor self-esteem and a loss of confidence after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. I signposted the Virtual Village Hall where she found a wartime hairdressing session that she’d tried. She told me how much she’d enjoyed learning how to style her hair in a 1940s ‘victory roll’ and how happy she was to have found the Virtual Village Hall.”
“It’s great to be able to share a link with patients and encourage them to try something new. There’s something for everyone, no matter what their age or interests. The most helpful sessions for us are the arts and crafts, yoga and mindfulness as we have very little provision of those kinds of activities locally. I’ve recommended the Virtual Village Hall to other social prescribing colleagues too and we have it listed it as one of our key signposting resources.”
Winterton Medical Practice, Winterton and Bridge Street Surgery, Brigg, North Lincolnshire
31 July 2023