Question reference: S6W-16809
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 6 April 2023
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Current status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 May 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of community link workers, and what its position is on whether further investment should be made into community link worker services.
Answer
The Scottish Government has drawn upon external research and evaluations which have demonstrated the impact of the Community Link Workers role and what works well, such as: Evaluation of the Glasgow 'Deep End' Links Worker Programme and Community Link Worker initiatives in primary care: key learning from UK studies. There is also good evidence from local areas of the positive impacts of CLWs.
The Scottish Government works with the Primary Care Evaluation Network and others to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the whole of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT), of which Community Link Workers are a core part. This will allow us to target investment in future years.?
Our aim is to create a permanent framework for MDTs, including CLWs, to ensure their long-term sustainability. MDTs are funded through the Primary Care Improvement Fund. In 2023-24 we have a guaranteed minimum of £170 million for that fund in total and we are making funding available on top of that to cover Agenda for Change uplifts for MDT staff. We are currently working towards refining data held on pharmacotherapy and Community Treatment and Care services which will inform decisions on the potential for additional MDT investment in 2023-24.
We remain committed to supporting Community Link Workers across Scotland despite the challenging financial environment. For example, we have committed to providing Glasgow City HSCP with up to £1.35m to underwrite the costs of existing contracts for their cohort two Community Link Workers in this financial year after the HSCP advised us of a substantial funding gap.
Community Link Workers programme delivery is decided locally in line with local circumstances and priorities as part of Primary Care Improvement Plans. The Scottish Government is currently reviewing Community Link Workers provision to establish whether this approach should continue or needs to be revised.