The Great North Children’s Hospital Trust is commissioning Barnardo’s to provide Family Support in their Emergency Department. Barnardo’s Family Support Workers offer psycho-social support to families in various health settings, this aims to reduce pressures on the health system whilst providing accessible, nonclinical support to families when they need it most.
Barnardo’s Family Support Workers work with families who may not meet the threshold for traditional children’s services intervention, or who may not be accessing their community services and may require support to ensure equitable access, focussing on the environmental and socioeconomic causes of ill-health to make lasting change for families.
This can mean meeting someone at their home, in the community, or over the phone, to talk through their circumstances and either agree an action plan, signpost, or refer to the relevant services and if needed, support with this initial engagement. We do this in partnership with the family and local providers to help families access the right support at the right time and reduce health inequalities.
The aim is to reduce pressure on healthcare settings by encouraging families to tap into locally available support which is more appropriate for their level of need.