Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland

Philip Donnelly, Senior Community Links Officer with Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, provided an outstanding testimony after Community Links Practitioners attended Cruse Scotland training. You can read this below including feedback directly from some delegates.

The Community Links Worker programme at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland sees practitioners based within Primary care teams in areas of high socio-economic deprivation, helping individuals who may be in crisis and facing any number of problems impacting wellbeing.

In the last year, Community Links Practitioners in Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire received over 680 referrals for bereavement, so it is evident this is a major presenting issue they regularly are faced with and that the training delivered by Cruse Scotland would benefit our team.

Working with the trainers to tailor the content to our programme, topics covered included concepts of loss, grief theories, death and dying across diverse cultures, disenfranchised grief, and self-care and wellbeing. Because of the nature of discussions being held, it was ensured there were opportunities for reflective practice and for the team to check in with each other.

As well as compassionate conversations that take place 1-to-1 across our team, currently there are several bereavement support groups in operation across Glasgow that Community Links Practitioners either deliver themselves or along with partner organisations. The training Cruse Scotland provided has equipped the team and given them the confidence to work well with bereaved people. Feedback given included:

"It’s going to help me support the patients I work with and help me navigate my own experiences of grief."

"I will take the information given and use this in my day-to-day role. I would recommend to others as very useful."

"Our trainer was really knowledgeable and sensitive."

"It will improve my capacity to support bereaved people. The training was very helpful and took into consideration our own experiences with grief and how this could affect us in our role supporting other people."

"Today’s training will enhance my practice."

"Great insight and some really good conversations and loads to take away."

"Improved confidence and reassurance also resources and further reading."

"The trainer could not have been any better. Absolutely brilliant."

"I have more confidence in supporting people with their grief now."

"This training will help me to acknowledge other people's beliefs and how it affects their grieving process."

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