Welcome to the first 

 Newsletter of 2026!

​​​​Welcome to the first edition of the Scottish CLW Network newsletter for 2026. We hope you managed to take some time off over the festive season for a well-earned break.

Our latest edition has all the latest information on useful resources, events and updates.

The Scottish Community Link Worker Network is the national network, developed and facilitated by Voluntary Health Scotland for primary care community link working in Scotland.

Please visit our webpage for the latest blogs, reports and information about the Network. You can follow us on Twitter @ScotCLWnetwork and don't forget to share your news and updates with us. 

Events, Workshops and Training

Scottish Community Link Worker Network Events

You can find booking details, presentations and key messages from all of our Network events on our dedicated events page.

SCLWN Knowledge Exchange - 28 January
Our first Knowledge Exchange of 2026 will feature presentations from Pain Concern, Guide Dogs Scotland and One Parent Families Scotland.  Find out more and book your place.

SCLWN Leads Peer Support Event - 25 February
Our next Leads Peer Support event will take place on 25 February and will be led by Jenny Dryden, Health Improvement Lead for Argyll and Bute HSCP. Jenny will be discussing their CLW programme and how it supports people in island communities. Find out more and book your place.

SCLWN Coffee and Conversations for CLWs - 5 March
Join us for this lunchtime, hour-long session where we will be focusing on mental health. What are the challenges you are facing when supporting people with mental health issues?  We will hear some of the experiences of Erika Copland who is a Community Link Worker on Orkney and Ingrid Sandison who is a Community Link Worker on Shetland.  Find out more and book your place. 

SCLWN Knowledge Exchange - 26 March
Our final Knowledge Exchange of the 2025-26 financial year will feature speakers from Epilepsy Scotland and Big Health which is behind two NHS-approved digital programmes, Sleepio and Daylight. Find out more and book your place.

SCLWN Conference and Awards 2026 - Save the Date!
Due to the Scottish Parliament elections in May this year, we wanted to let you know that we plan to hold our 2026 Network conference on 22 September at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh. More information to follow.

Other Events, Training and Resources

Participation and Communities Team -  Communities Roadshows 2026
The Scottish Parliament's Participation and Communities Team (PACT) team is visiting all 32 local authority areas and seeking local partners to co-host events and strengthen participation. Email the team to get involved.

Scotland's Annual Human Rights Conference - 3 February 2026
Scotland's Human Rights Conference 'Our Rights, Your Move' will take place in Glasgow on 3 February. You can find out more information here.

Book for The Gathering - 10 and 11 February 2026
Join in on 10th and 11th February for Scotland's biggest celebration of the voluntary sector when the Gathering takes place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC).  VHS's session 'Prevention: The Golden Ticket to Tackling Scotland's Health Inequalities' is now full, but you can add your name to the waiting list here.

Social Security Scotland Stakeholder Events - February and March 2025
Social Security Scotland is hosting several events to increase knowledge on the upcoming changes to benefits from 15 March this year.  Book your place for the February stakeholder event and the March stakeholder event. They are also offering some anti-stigma workshops on the dates below. Click the links to find out more and book your place:
Thursday 19 Feb 2026 at 10:00
Thursday 19 Feb 2026 at 14:00
Tuesday 24 Feb 2026 at 10:00

CHEX Annual Conference - 26 February 2026
The annual CHEX (Community Health Exchange) Conference: 'What it Takes to Make it Happen' will take place on 26 February at the Barracks in Stirling and booking is now open. This year the focus is on the urgent need to move beyond ambition and into reality.

Scottish Mental Health Partnership Hustings - 9 March
Scottish Mental Health Partnership are holding a hustings on 9 March around Scotland's Mental Health which may be of interest to CLWs. It's a chance to engage with the people shaping Scotland’s future. Find out more and book your place.

Health and Social Care Alliance Annual Conference - 23 March 2026
The Health and Social Care Alliance Annual Conference will take place at the Radisson Blu in Glasgow on 23 March. The theme for this year's event will be 'Hope to Action: Building on 20 Years' and will focus on how we can turn hope into action and create a future where everyone can live well, with dignity and respect.

Save The Date - Social Prescribing Day - 26 March 2026
Social Prescribing Day is an annual celebration of the people, organisations and communities which make social prescribing happen. Save the date for now and we will share more information soon about how to get involved.

NHS Education Scotland (NES) Annual Conference - 23 and 24 April 2026
NES is hosting its Annual Conference online over two days on Thursday 23 & Friday 24 April 2026.  The theme of the 2026 Conference is 'Collaborate. Innovate. Transform: Delivering change towards improving health, social care and other public services in Scotland'. Further details can be found here.

2026 Bereavement Conference 11 November
NHS Education Scotland (NES) will be hosting the 2026 Bereavement Education Conference on Wednesday 11th November. This will again be a free, virtual, one-day event. More information will be confirmed over the coming months.

MISS - Miscarriage Support
Miss - Miscarriage Support is a charity offering free, confidential support to anyone in Scotland impacted by pregnancy loss. Their Pregnancy After Loss service offers virtual antenatal classes to anyone in Scotland who is navigating pregnancy after loss.  Alongside this, it also provides clear, compassionate and trauma informed education about birth and the postpartum period, helping people feel prepared and supported. Their next course dates can be found on their website.

Money Guiders Scotland Network
The Money Guiders Scotland December Newsletter has lots of useful information for professionals, including community link workers, who may provide some guidance around financial issues as part of their role.

Partnership With Turadh - SCLWN Member Offer
VHS has a partnership with Turadh which provides beautiful socially-conscious holiday accommodation in the Scottish West Highlands. Turadh is currently running a winter offer of pay-what-you-can hibernation weeks. To be considered for a stay at a discounted rate, you can email them directly here.

NHS 24 Public Health Campaign For Winter
NHS 24 has published its winter toolkit for its 2025-26 Public Health Campaign.  Highlighting the convenience and benefits of using digital services which are delivered by experts, the campaign promotes theses services as a great first port of call if people are unwell and are not sure where to get help.

Free Courses For Social Prescribers on TURAS
Don't forget to check out the TURAS social prescribing landing page.  The page has lots of free courses which will be of interest to link workers, social prescribers and the wider third sector, so please do share it with your colleagues. If there are other courses you would like included on the page, please get in touch with Roisin.

News from across the Network

VHS Response to Scottish Budget Highlights the Importance of CLWs
VHS has published its reflections on the Scottish Budget for 2026-27, as well as the Spending Review which was published on the same day.  There was a lot to celebrate in the Budget from a health creation perspective, with clear commitments to further the shift to prevention and community-based care. However, we were disappointed that the third sector was not referenced at all in health and social care spending commitments and believe this was a missed opportunity. Community Link Workers are vital to a primary care system that is focused on prevention-led health.  Read our full response here

Scottish Government Review into Community Link Workers
Several Network members have participated in the first meeting of the Knowledge and Skills Framework Working Group. Scottish Government has commissioned NHS Education Scotland (NES) to deliver a Knowledge and Skills Framework for Scotland's community link workers. The wider Network will be invited to engage in this piece of work - more information to follow!

Welcome to New Network Members!
Welcome to the latest members of the Network including Afia Ali who has joined the Health and Social Care Alliance as part of the Glasgow City CLW team and Carrie Bennett who has joined Change Mental Health as a CLW based in Caithness.

The Edinburgh CLW Service is Recruiting!
Edinburgh CLW Service has a vacancy for a role in their award-winning team. The closing date for applications is 6 February and you can find out more information about the role and how to apply here. 

Senior Community Link Worker Vacancy at Change Mental Health
As a Senior Community Link Worker, you will have a developmental role as well as providing on-going support. You will be responsible for developing positive, working relationships between the Community Link Worker team, Primary Care and local community resources. Find out more and apply.

Network Teams Channels 
Just a reminder that we have two Teams channels for community link workers and programme leads to enable everyone to ask questions and share resources. If you want to be added to one of the Teams channels, please contact Roisin.

Other News

Phase Two of the Women’s Health Plan for 2026-29 Published
The Scottish Government has published Phase Two of the Women’s Health Plan for 2026-29, setting out action which will be taken forward over the next three years to support the ambition that all women and girls in Scotland enjoy the best possible health throughout their lives. Jenni Minto has outlined the new priorities in Phase Two, focusing on tackling gynaecology waiting times, eliminating cervical cancer and prioritising women’s brain health. These priority areas are further supported by 40 new actions.

Delayed Discharge Costing Scottish Hospitals £440 million a Year
Audit Scotland has published a joint report by the Accounts Commission and the Auditor General for Scotland on delayed discharges which highlights that those medically ready to leave hospital spent 720,000 unnecessary days in hospital in 2024-25 and while the full financial impact is unknown, the cost to the NHS in hospital days alone is an estimated £440m a year. 

£36 Million Earmarked for GP Walk-In Clinics
A £36m Scottish Budget investment will fund 15 walk-in GP centres, open daily from 12–8 pm.  The site of Scotland’s first walk-in GP clinic has been announced, with Neil Gray saying the new facility based at the Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre in Edinburgh will help ensure more people “get the right care, in the right place, at the right time”. There was over £2.4bn allocated in the budget to primary care, including £98m additional funding in 2026-27 as part of the three-year GP contract.

Public Health Scotland Publishes Report on Housing and Health
Public Health Scotland has recently published a report entitled The Right to Housing and its Impact on Health which highlights the role of adequate housing as a fundamental component of the right to health.

Social Prescribing - EU Project Reflects on its First Year
Social Prescribing-EU (SP-EU) brings together 22 health and research organisations to test how social prescribing can support LGBTIQ+ people, refugees and first-generation immigrants and older adults who live on their own. If successful, the programme could help to transform health services across Europe.  Read their Social Prescribing-EU December 2025 newsletter.

Suicide Prevention Report Published
The Scottish Government has published the annual report 2024-25 for the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group (NSPAG), setting out its advisory activity and emerging priorities to inform the next Suicide Prevention Action Plan for 2026–29.

Boost to Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults
John Swinney has announced that a further £3m will be made available through the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults so people can get early help close to home to improve their wellbeing and tackle loneliness. With the additional investment, total funding from the fund in 2025-26 will be £18m and the total provided by the fund since 2021 will be £84m.

The Patients' Association - Focus Group Participants Needed
The Patients' Association is holding online focus groups to improve health equity by translating and culturally adapting its ‘Getting the most out of your appointment’ and ‘Knowing your rights and accessing support as a patient’ factsheets into six languages. Participants will be paid £80 for their time and experience.  The focus groups for Arabic, Bengali, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, and Urdu speakers will take place between 3^rd February and 10^th March. People can apply online here.