Community link workers are now a familiar feature of Scotland’s primary care landscape.

Although the way services are delivered varies widely across the country,  they share an ambition to improve the lives of local people by addressing what matters most to them – something that will be celebrated at the first Scottish Community Link Worker Network awards this week.

Before the winner is crowned on 7 May, healthandcare.scot spoke with the people leading the link worker teams shortlisted for the inaugural awards to see how they adapt to suit the needs of the communities they serve.

UPDATE 07/05/2025: Congratulations to Community Link Worker Team of the Year – Stirling & Clackmannanshire

 

Going beyond the GP practice

While link workers in Scotland are based predominantly in GP practices, the Aberdeenshire link worker team has fledged its own path since its set up in 2022.

Split into three teams across the north, central and south of the region, link workers in Aberdeenshire now offer both face to face and hybrid services across the board, in addition to running drop in hubs and being hosted one day a week in most GP practices.

Team manager Angie McLaughlin says this approach allows her teams to be flexible and dynamic to meet the different needs of local residents spread across the huge geographical area, while building strong relationships with agencies across secondary care, primary care and mental health.

Of particular importance was the set up of a self-referral pathway.

“Originally, we were getting all our referrals only from the GPs,” said Angie. “And that, to me, defeated the remit of the service, because the funding is specifically to alleviate the pressure from GPs.

“I ended up going through Aberdeenshire Council contacts to set up our self-referral pathway on their website.

“Now, self-referrals account for just over 80% of all the referrals we get, which is phenomenal. So all of those people have not been to their GP.”

Aberdeenshire link workers have also incorporated evaluation and assessment in their work since the outset, using an Outcomes Star tool to measure often-invisible quality of life changes which matter most to the people they support.

Angie says clients complete the assessment with their link worker at the start and end of their appointment block, which provides both with the evidence they need the service is working:

“So we get a measurable outcome, and they get a really powerful visual representation of how things are different in just six to eight weeks.”

 

 

Reflections from an early adopter

Link workers have been working in Inverclyde since 2018, and are now based in all 13 GP practices in the region.

Charlene Elliott, CEO of CVS Inverclyde which is commissioned by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde to deliver the link worker service, says she believes her team are among the highest trained link workers in Scotland.

“We’ve been doing it for over seven years, and learned a lot over that time as one of the early adopters,” says Charlene. “One GP said it was the best prescription they’ve ever written, which exemplifies everything we know about the support our team provides.”

Inverclyde is an area with high levels of inequality and deprivation, and the team work together to support residents with complex needs to improve their wellbeing through positive conversations and building strong therapeutic relationships.

Staff wellbeing is also of critical importance, with time built in during the month for link workers to reflect on their work with patients and support each other to find new solutions – particularly important during last year, where the team sadly lost a much-loved and respected colleague.

“We’ve introduced reflective practice, which is another signal showcasing our continuous improvement for our team and our patients,” says Charlene. “This has helped our team get through this really difficult time and continue to provide that highest level of support.”

 

 

Breaking down barriers

A unique model of link working is taking shape across central Scotland, where a single team of link workers operates across two council areas in Clackmannanshire and Stirling.

Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface and Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise have come together to support a fully integrated team.

“From the start, we’ve run it as if they’re one team,” says Dr Kainde Manje, deputy CEO of Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise. “We do take a very person centred, community centred approach, but in terms of how we run the project and the relationships that we have across the

team, it is very much a unified and joined up which is a real strength.”

This cross-boundary collaboration benefits local residents who can be linked to nearly 200 services delivered by the third sector across the two areas.

The link worker team is also trying to fill the gaps in local services. Link workers support the delivery of an intensive anxiety management course and have now secured additional funding to set up an adult autism support group. The setting up of a bereavement support project is also in their sights.

The community of learning and practice provide by the Scottish Community Link Worker Network, hosted by Voluntary Health Network, has also been “incredibly valuable” to the team, says Kainde.

She says the awards will play an important role in enabling greater awareness of the real difference link workers make across the country:

"They don't do it for the recognition. They don't do it to get recognised. They do it because they're really passionate and they care a huge amount about communities that they serve."

 

 

Read more: Meet the secret weapons of GPs; Film series showcases power of link workers;

 

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