We all know that health is influenced by a wide range of issues such as housing, financial issues and heating. The District Nurse service has recently had the benefit of a workshop and a specially designed Resource Pack highlighting the support services available for residents of Warrington.

Nurses working in the community may be the only service to come into contact with some of the most vulnerable people in our community and therefore can be a vital link between them and the services they need.

Many support services are working hard to provide their services to as many people as possible. A successful event was coordinated by Geraldine Kiddle from the Health@Home Project to bring together service providers and community based nurses to strengthen these links. Staff had the opportunity to talk to 20 service providers face to face to find out about their services and how they can be of benefit to their clients. Each team was provided with a Resource Pack including details of many support services all of whom can be accessed with a single referral form. This is designed to make it easier for teams to refer their clients to support services from shopping to home improvements, from benefit advice to heating.

The Workshop was held at the Centre for Independent Living where 20 organisations put up displays and gave out information about their services. It was also a great opportunity to showcase the wide range of services that the Centre has on offer.