Social Prescribing and COVID-19
Read our latest blog from Social Prescribing Link Work, Bridget Mangan, on what it's been like to support people during the pandemic:
As a Social Prescribing Link Worker, I was employed to focus on COVID-19 and how Social Prescribing can help people who have been affected by the pandemic.
This work has encompassed: supporting people who have been particularly isolated during the lockdowns; helping people to access training, employment and benefits if their personal circumstances have been affected by the loss of work and income, as well as linking people into volunteer schemes to support them with food or medication deliveries if they are shielding.
A main focus for me has been to provide support to those people who are suffering from long term symptoms of COVID-19, a condition known as Long Covid or Post-Covid Syndrome as it is now referred to. Over the past months I have been receiving such referrals and I have found that people have really appreciated the opportunity to talk about their experience and to hear that there are many others with similar stories. As a Social Prescriber, my aim has been to provide support tailored to the needs and wishes of each person. This has varied from sending out resources and information on topics such as conserving energy and pacing to breathing exercises and nutrition. For others it has been to offer weekly phone calls to offer support and a place to offload and talk through the anxieties that arise for people living with this very unpredictable condition.
In addition, I have set up a North Cotswolds Post-Covid Syndrome support group that will begin meeting weekly on Zoom in April. This will provide a space for people who have been living with the condition to come together for mutual support and to find out what else is available in the area to support them to manage their symptoms.