Citizen Advisors - Turning Point

Turning Point Connected Care Report 21
4. Support for People with Complex Needs
People with a range of needs can often find it more difficult to access the
services they require to maintain their well-being. Individuals who have multiple
interlocking needs that span health and social care issues are often referred to
as people with complex needs. According to Rankin and Regan (2004):
“People with complex needs may have to negotiate a number of different issues
in their life, for example, a learning disability, mental health problems, substance
abuse. They may also be living in deprived circumstances and lack access to
stable housing or meaningful daily activity. As this framework suggests, there is
no generic complex needs case. Each individual with complex needs has a
unique interaction between their health and social care needs and requires a
personalised response from services.”
Citizen Advisor services are especially important for those individuals who
require a range of services, and it is crucial that they are person-centred and
shaped to the needs of the client.
4.1 Link Workers
A link worker is a generic term for an employee whose job it is to connect people
in the community to services. Link workers provide support and help people to
access services in a number of fields e.g. education, family and health. For
example, Health Link Workers in Liverpool link people with relevant agencies
and are available to advise and signpost people to health services. Link workers
have also been used to introduce carers to support, e.g. the Locality Link
Worker project in Sefton. Link workers also often focus on cultural and language
issues which can include providing support to vulnerable and excluded groups.
Link workers can also assist in joining up support by acting as a gateway to a
number of different of services across sectors. They have been used to assist
people with complex needs and those who might need to navigate their way
around a range of services such as health, social care, employment, benefits
and housing, as well as navigate the criminal justice system.
The Milton Keynes Link Worker Plus scheme is one of 12 projects funded by the
Adults facing Chronic Exclusion (ACE) programme of The Cabinet Office. It is a
joint venture between Milton Keynes Community Safety Partnership, the charity
P3 and Revolving Doors. The scheme focuses on people living in Milton Keynes
who have complex needs and have had difficulty accessing or engaging with
services. The target group are individuals who are likely to be in crisis because
of a combination of mental health needs, housing problems, substance misuse,
repeat presentation at crisis services, offending and anti-social behaviour.
The Link Worker Plus scheme exists to facilitate the engagement of clients with
services which can maintain their long term well being. The Link Workers
support clients who have traditionally struggled to engage with support agencies
to access services appropriately. On a practical level their role includes
assessing clients, helping them to register with a GP, arranging referrals or