Find out how we can support you to be active, take care of yourself, and stay healthy, as you move into adulthood.
Your health and wellbeing matter to us. When we talk about your health, we don’t just mean exercising and eating healthy food (although this is an important part of staying healthy!). Health also covers things like how you feel about yourself, how you manage your emotions and mental health, whether you have good sexual health and whether you know where to go for support with your health if you are struggling.
There are different services available to care leavers in North Yorkshire. Some are provided by the leaving care team and others are accessed through your GP, but either way, your leaving care case worker will be able to signpost you to the right support.
How we can help with your health
- You will be given a ‘blue book’ health record when you leave care. Health information like your blood type, dates of your immunisations and the name of your GP will be in this book. This will be useful to you when you access other health services as an adult.
- We will support you to register with an NHS dentist, or to travel to a neighbouring NHS dentist if the one closest to you has no vacancies. If there isn’t a neighbouring NHS dentist available in what we would consider a reasonable distance we will ensure you receive essential treatment as soon as possible and support you with getting there.
- We want you to be as active and healthy as possible so we will talk to you about this when we review your pathway plan and might be able to help in some circumstances along with your local district council.
- Your eyesight is really important to you, and us, and we will help you book regular eye tests with an optician.
Within your leaving care team, we have specialist workers who can support you. The different specialist roles we have are:
- Life coach. Our life coaches are qualified clinical psychologists who can provide support with mental ill health. They may also work with your leaving care case worker to help them understand the difficulties you are having. This is to ensure the support they provide to you is done in an informed way and any extra support you might need is taken into consideration.
- Communication worker. Our communication workers are qualified in speech and language therapy. Many people have underlying speech and language difficulties and our communication workers can work with you to identify them. They may also work with your leaving care case worker or your employer (with your consent) to make sure the language they use and any materials they give you are clear and easy to understand.
- Family group conference worker (incorporating lifelong links). We can support you if you need help to identify people to support you, or if you need help from your support network to overcome a particular issue. You can find out more about family group conferences here.
- Leaving care case worker – Your leaving care case worker will coordinate the support you receive from us and discuss your needs with you at least once every six months at your pathway plan review. You can also ask them questions and they will offer general advice and suggestions on how to lead a healthy lifestyle. Your leaving care case worker will also take a lead role when considering your safety, and will plan with you to manage any risks you may face.
Other health services in North Yorkshire
- Primary health needs – Your GP will continue to be your main contact for your primary health needs and any general health problems. You can find your local GP service here.
- Health emergencies – For emergency treatment you will need to go to your local accident and emergency department or ring 999 and ask for an ambulance. . For non-emergencies you can call the NHS 111 service for advice and signposting.
- Addiction support – You can find information here about our drug and alcohol support service, Horizons. Your leaving care case worker can also complete a full referral with you if you would prefer. Horizons provide 1 to 1 and group therapy support to help people overcome drug and alcohol addiction.
- Sexual health – You can find out about contraception, condoms and being tested for sexually transmitted diseases here. You can also speak to your leaving care case worker, who can provide you with free condoms and arrange for you to get advice, support or emergency treatment.