“I’m from Nicaragua – a country with many problems. I remember the war as a child, and experienced a number of big, natural disasters. But this meant that I grew up with a strong sense of community and so find this kind of work fulfilling, although it can be challenging!
“I’ve worked in my job for nearly three years. I love social prescribing because you get to work with people from any age group. Our service is in high demand. Like me, every single one of my colleagues has a waiting list – and we all see hundreds of people every year.
“We provide personalised care, because each person may have different priorities. But the main reasons for referrals are usually housing, to get support with benefits or for help with social isolation.
“We have a large Spanish speaking community in Lambeth. The main problem for them is around access to support because of the language barrier. So I run the Latin Connection, a Whatsapp support group for the Latin community, with Sylvia, another social prescriber who also speaks Spanish.
“In Streatham PCN we’re currently planning a series of workshops to help patients with the self-management of chronic pain. This comes up a lot for social prescribers across Lambeth – because addressing common health problems is a part of our community development role, and because so many people in Lambeth are living with chronic pain.
“For me, I celebrate with my patients when they feel happy. That sense of ‘yes we did it’ is what motivates me!”