Community Linking Team

Community Link Workers: About Us

The Community Link Worker role really epitomises the move towards a more holistic approach within Primary Care, looking at the big picture of the health and wellbeing of patients. Many of the Community Link Workers across Gateshead, including those in the Inner West PCN, are employed by Edberts House, a charitable organisation which is all about empowering and connecting. The ethos is about focusing on the priorities of the individual; connecting them to the right support for them, then enabling them to engage with the services around them more effectively. As a result of GPs reporting many patients approach them with issues that are non-clinical, the Community Linking Project was developed to provide a complementary service within the extended offer of each surgery.  

Community Link Workers in the Inner West PCN work collaboratively with patients, spending time really listening to what is important to them, trying to alleviate their worries and concerns, and linking them to services in the community that can help. Our team aim to support and empower patients to look at issues they may have with their housing, benefits, relationships, training, work, or other things that may leave them feeling anxious and stressed and find ways forward. 

We take self-referrals from patients, as well as from all practice staff across the five surgeries in the PCN, providing individuals the opportunity to feel heard, and to try to resolve the issues that are troubling them. 

Community Link Workers: Meet The Team

Helen

Helen Bell

I have been Operational Lead for the Inner West Community Linking Team since January 2021, working previously as a Link Worker for two years in surgeries within the Central South area of Gateshead. With a background in community support and development, including ten years at Gateshead Council within the Children’s Centres and Neighbourhood Management teams, I have been working with individuals and groups in the community since 2003.

With some interim work in administration in the region’s hospitals, and time developing and facilitating Induction Training for Domiciliary Care Workers, I opted to become part of the Edberts House team in 2018 to return to supporting the residents of Gateshead.

I now utilise the combination of my acquired skills working with a diverse range of patients across a broad demographic within Primary Care, contributing to the development of a more holistic approach within the Inner West area. 

James Fellows

James Fellows

I started my role as a Community Link Worker in Gateshead’s East PCN in September 2020 and I moved to the Inner-West PCN in early 2021.

  

 

I came to the role after working as a Business Support Officer and Advisor at Newcastle Council’s Adult Social Care service. As a link worker I spend most of my time contacting patients and linking them to community resources.

  

 

I enjoy finding the right support for patients and connecting them to things they didn’t even know existed. I am particularly interested in linking people to community groups, as I have seen how beneficial social connection can be for both physical and mental health.

Additional Services

Trudy Carruthers

I’m Trudy, and I am a Community Link Worker for the Inner West of Gateshead, starting this role in January 2020. 

I began my career in the NHS 15 years ago, working at first as a receptionist, then training to become a Health Care Assistant.

 

I worked in a busy GP surgery in central Gateshead and I loved my time there, meeting and treating many different patients, with a diverse range of health and social care issues.  

 

I then moved into the Social Prescribing role helping patients with their social care needs.

It fills me with great pride to be a part of their journey, supporting them throughout to be the best versions of themselves, and making a difference to their lives.