Social Prescribing Link Worker service supports international medical graduates and trainees

Our YOURhealth service have partnered up with other NHS organisations across the country to provide Social Prescribing services to medical graduates, nurses and allied health professionals, including those from overseas.

As part of our existing Social Prescribing offer, our expert Link Workers will be on hand to provide support and motivation to graduates, aligned to the socio-economic and psycho-social needs of trainees and their families when coming to the UK.

Clinical professionals, including Postgraduate Doctors and Dentists in training, who are part of NHS England Yorkshire and the Humber, North East, North Cumbria, or Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, can self-refer into the new service to receive one-to-one support at no cost to them.

Our Link Worker support is designed to help people set achievable goals, overcome barriers, and develop a personal plan to make positive changes for the long term. It is therefore an opportunity to tailor the support to the individual and their very own needs, making it a unique and supportive approach for graduates who may be coming from different parts of the world and experiencing different levels of adjustment.

Once a referral is accepted, the Link Worker will spend around an hour with the trainee at each meeting. Meetings will occur weekly or fortnightly, in a way that works for the individual.

Some of the topics the team cover include:

• Accommodation
• Emotional Health support
• Family and relationship support
• Financial and welfare support
• Isolation and loneliness
• and much more

In line with the new NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, our Social Prescribing Link Worker service aims to improve the retention of trainees, helping them feel more supportive when joining the workforce, and therefore more likely to develop an NHS career moving forwards.

Ryan Nicholls, Team Leader at YOURhealth, Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, said:

‘’We are really pleased to see how our unique service is having a positive impact on NHS trainees and their families. We recognise the need for individualised support, especially as we face the ongoing cost of living crisis and many other national and global challenges, and we are proud to be able to assist different areas of the country to support the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.”

To find out more about our YOURhealth service, Social Prescribing and Link Workers, please visit:

https://yourhealth.humber.nhs.uk/

On our website you will find a Contact Us page, where you can find details of your local branch across the East Riding of Yorkshire.

If you live further afield, in the areas stated above, and are unsure whether you’re entitled to this support, please speak to your line manager who will be able to clarify or call the service for advice on 0800 9177752.