Navigators are based in all Newcastle GP practices. Navigators provide signposting and guidance to specific services and support that meets the specific needs of the patient, carer or family.
Navigators can refer patients to services across health, social care and voluntary sectors, not just medical services.
Social Prescribing Navigators and Link Workers can be referred to by a GP or other health professional via a referral form. Patients will be contacted by phone in the first instance and may be offered an appointment in the GP Practice.
To be eligible for referral patients must be 18+ years old and need support with one or more of the following:
Link Workers work alongside the Navigators and have a 'hands on' approach and will go out in the community with patients. They are there to listen to patients and connect them with people and activities that might help them to feel better. They are interested in 'what matters' to the patient and create personalised care and support plans.
The Link Worker might introduce patients to a community group, a new activity or a local club, or help them find legal advice or debt counselling. They might just help find information and guidance: a bit of inside knowledge on a situation or what local resources there are. They could even offer support to create something new, such as a gardening club, a fishing group, a 'men's shed' or a 'knit and knatter' group.
Link Workers can help patients have more control over their own health and find ways to improve how they feel in a way that suits them.
