Welcome to the March Network Newsletter!

The Newsletter brings together news, stories and events which we hope will be of interest to the Network. 

In this month's edition we have exciting news about the publication of a new international social prescribing map. We also have blogs from Pain Association Scotland and Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland as well as the usual events and training information too.

The Scottish Community Link Worker Network is the national network, developed and facilitated by VHS, for primary care community link working in Scotland. Please visit our webpage for the latest blogs, reports and information about the Network. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter @ScotCLWnetwork

Events, Workshops and Training

Scottish CLW Network Events

Community Link Worker Programme Leads Event - Wednesday 26th April

There are still spaces available on our Programme Leads event which aims to bring together Programme Leads from Community Link Worker Programmes across Scotland to enable sharing learning about delivery of their CLW programmes. The event will be an open space to discuss current opportunities and challenges.   Some suggested areas for discussion could include:

• What kind of induction, training and development does your CLW programme offer?
• What data do you routinely collect as part of your CLW programme?
• How do you try and measure impact of your programme?
• What is your model of delivery for your programme?

To book your place on 26th April, please click here

Scottish Community Link Worker Network Conference 24th May 2023 

The Scottish Community Link Worker Network Annual Conference will take place on Wednesday 24th May 2023 at The Studio, Hope Street, Glasgow.  This will be a fantastic opportunity for the Network to come together in-person for the first time. The Conference will be a celebration of the achievements of community link workers in supporting their communities and working alongside primary care colleagues to address health inequalities. For the latest information about our conference programme, please visit our events page.  

Thanks to those CLW programmes that have come forward to run a workshop on the day. We will be announcing the final workshop programme shortly.

Scottish Community Link Worker Network: Report from Peer Support Event

The Scottish Community Link Worker Network recently brought together 40 Community Link Workers from across Scotland to discuss the benefits of peer support. You can read the summary report of the main talking points from the event.

Knowledge Exchange and Peer Support Events

We will announce the dates soon for our 2023-24 programme of Knowledge Exchange events where we bring together CLWs with organisations and projects that can support them and their patients. We will also be running some more peer support events which facilitate CLWs from across Scotland to come together to discuss challenges, opportunities and share good practice. More information will be published soon on our events page  

Other Events

Movement for Health Physical Activity Knowledge Exchange - Thursday 25th May

In partnership with Public Health Scotland, Movement for Health is delighted to announce that they will be hosting their first Physical Activity Knowledge Exchange on Thursday, 25th May at Glasgow Caledonian University. This event will bring together health and social care professionals, policy makers, physical activity providers, academics and third sector organisations to discuss the recently published Public Health Scotland Physical Activity Referral Standards, best practice and guidance.

The event aims to share learning across a variety of different settings and offer practical guidance to participants, to create greater understanding of the Standards and how these can support those living with Long Term Conditions. They will pull together ideas and resources and identify opportunities for further sharing and support. To find out more, go to their Eventbrite page here Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Lena Brandesova

Leading to Change Workshops (L2C) 

Leading to Change (L2C) is going on the road. They are inviting you to meet colleagues from social care, social work and health at one of their live, in-person roadshow events. This is a chance for them to welcome you into a conversation where you can find out what’s going on in Leading to Change, share what’s going on for you and take part in a leadership themed taster session. Their Events Programme is on their website so you can find out when they might be coming to a venue near you!

Discover Digital - two free opportunities on digital health

Discover Digital from The Health and Social Care Alliance aims to raise awareness of digital tools and resources that can help health and wellbeing and  bring digital health to communities and organisations across Scotland.  The project is now launching its free roadshow events as well as workshops. 

If you are hosting a community event, the roadshows can bring along free and easy to use digital tools and resources.  The roadshows will be a fun and interactive way to learn more about what digital can do for your health and wellbeing.

The workshops can offer your organisation an introduction to what digital health and wellbeing means and how to access it. The sessions can be online or in person and tailored to your needs. For more information about the project and how to get involved, please click here

Highlights from the Network

Social Prescribing Day

Social Prescribing Day was celebrated widely across the Network, with lots of you tweeting and sharing stories.  The Social Prescribing Show was hosted by the Global Social Prescribing Alliance on 9th March in London to celebrate Social Prescribing Day. Alison Leitch from Edinburgh's CLW Programme attended the show which she described as 'a brilliant event with 20 countries represented.' The Global Social Prescribing Alliance also launched its first ever report and mapping of social prescribing around the world 

It is well worth a read and great to see Scotland featured on page 8!

The Highland CLW project wrote the essence of social prescribing blog to celebrate social prescribing day. Edinburgh CLW programme shared a  blog from two of their CLWs, Calum and Rebecca, highlighting the continued importance of the community link worker service.  

We want to hear from new CLWs!

It is always great to hear news from across the Network. Don't forget to get in touch if you have new CLWs who have recently started in post. We are always keen to welcome them to the Network. Please get in touch with Roisin if you want to add any CLWs to the Network's mailing list.

Other News

Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland

Chris Docherty, Health Defence Community Engagement Officer from Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland has written a blog talking about how they support people with chest, heart and stroke conditions in Scotland. You can read Chris's blog on our website.

Pain Association Scotland

Pain Association Scotland provides specialist education, training and support in the self-management of chronic pain. Their Director, Sonia Cottom, has written a blog about their services including their unique model of community-based education and support programmes. You can read Sonia's blog here.

Scottish Government loneliness and isolation strategy published

The Scottish Government has published a plan for 2023-26 to take forward the delivery of its ‘A Connected Scotland’ strategy aimed at tackling social isolation and loneliness, and building stronger social connections. The plan is guided by the strategy’s four strategic priorities of empowering communities and building shared ownership, fostering positive attitudes and tacking stigma, creating opportunities for people to connect, and supporting infrastructure which fosters connection. An easy read version of the plan has also been published.

Scottish Government annual health inequalities update report published

The Scottish Government has published an annual update report for 2021 on the long-term monitoring of health inequalities across indicators such as healthy life expectancy, premature mortality, all-cause mortality, baby birthweight and a range of morbidity and mortality indicators relating to alcohol, cancer, coronary heart disease and drug use.

Scotland's Singing for Health Network

Scotland's Singing for Health Network has published a map of its singing groups. The Network provides a space for a diverse community of singing practitioners and researchers working on singing and health, to come together to share knowledge, ideas and practice and to open up avenues for communication between individuals and organisations.

Mind to Mind Campaign

The Mind to Mind Campaign highlights the dedicated NHS inform website designed to help people who may be facing challenges with their mental wellbeing. 

The Mind to Mind website features lived experience videos to give people the tools they need to help them manage their own mental wellbeing. The videos are bite-sized and include a range of people talking about their own challenges around mental wellbeing and what they do to cope. Topics covered on Mind to Mind include dealing with anxiety and panic, handling stress, sleeping better, lifting mood, coping with money worries and moving through grief.

The campaign resources can be downloaded here Resources available include social media images, videos, posters and the stakeholder toolkit. 

How You Can Help

• Encourage people in your community to visit the website.
• Share campaign digital assets across your own social channels.
• Like and follow Healthier Scotland’s Twitter and Facebook pages and share posts where relevant.