Question reference: S5W-32076
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 25 September 2020
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Current status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 October 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25509 by Jeane Freeman on 8 October 2019, how many community link workers (a) have been recruited and (b) are in post, broken down by SIMD quintile.
Answer
We remain committed to our target of recruiting 250 Community Link Workers across Scotland by the end of the Parliament. As of September 2019 there were 112 Community Link Workers in post, all of whom have played a crucial role in supporting patients during the pandemic and helping those who are shielding.
The reporting process to track progress of the Community Link Work programme was temporarily suspended in March 2020 to allow Health and Social Care Partnerships to focus on their response to Covid 19. Correspondence established with Health and Social Care Partnerships during this period fed back no significant impact on recruitment. We are currently in the process of restarting the reporting process on GP contract implementation commitments.
Community Link Worker programmes are being rolled out at different rates across Scotland and it is for local Health and Social Care Partnerships to plan how these staff members are utilised and in which GP practices they work, based on their local needs and priorities. Data on where Community Link Workers are placed is held by Health and Social Care Partnerships.