A day in the life of a self-isolating social prescriber: day three

Hi again, I’m Megan, the Social Prescribing PCN Link Worker for Holderness Health at the Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and welcome to day three of my daily blog. This blog will hopefully offer some support and information to anyone who may be in a similar situation to me, and give insight into how I am trying to maintain as much routine as possible.

Today was a very different day from the rest of the week and the reason? FRIDAY. I found myself thinking, will I get that Friday feeling we all know and love? And I most definitely did!

At times throughout the day, I almost felt myself being distracted by the awareness that I will be finishing soon. This within itself can be quite challenging and it is important for me to try and create an authentic and functional work environment to facilitate high standards of work.

Today included investigating local community groups, shops, or services, which are aiding vulnerable people in the community. It’s actually quite incredible how people come together in the most uncertain and challenging times, and want to help one another. As a Social Prescriber, it’s imperative I take responsibility and stay educated, as to provide the groups and services in the community with up to date and reliable information. The support people need at the moment is varied. It can be anything from helping neighbours with their groceries to becoming a volunteer and calling people who feel lonely during these difficult periods of self-isolation.

To round off my week, I am also in the process of liaising with the dispensing teams at my practices, to try and support our patients who are concerned about their prescriptions. In the current climate, it’s more than likely that people will be anxious about the status of their prescriptions and how would they collect them, especially if they are self-isolating. As a result, I’m currently working with the pharmacists and dispensing teams to help resolve this challenge and we hope to have an update soon.

Now, it’s time for lunch. The menu today is a bowl of rice packed with loads of veggies, including peppers, sweetcorn, peas and mushrooms. I am not a vegetarian, but you may notice I eat very little meat; I try to only have a meat based meal 2-3 times a week. I also had a banana and a cold glass of water.

After lunch, I started to work on my monthly report and case study, which gets sent over to my seniors at the end of the March. This is the best way that managers at both the PCN and Health Trainers can get a picture of the tasks I have been working on throughout the month.

My top tip of the day is: try to connect with a family member or friend you haven’t spoken to for a while, check how they are doing. This can be done over the phone, skype or social media.

It’s almost the end of day 3, and to be quite honest, I feel like I’m starting to get used to these new ways of working. I think the most important thing I have learned is to make sure I am having regular breaks and getting some fresh air. Without this, I think I would lose concentration quite quickly.

As a final note, my dog, Bodhi, is now the Community Link team’s biggest supporter and a firm favourite from our readers. I can’t blame you, to be honest!

Thanks for reading :)