You need to be referred to SUF for Healthy Together Peer Support.
Usually you are referred by the clinician who does your SMI annual physical health check (AHC), this might be a nurse, your GP or a clinician from the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundations Trust’s (NSFT) Suffolk Physical Health Team. At the end of your AHC they will usually ask you if you would like some additional support to arrange further healthcare appointments that might be needed and then make referral to us. However you can also ask them to make a referral for us to the SUF Healthy Together Team.
What happens when we receive your referral
We read your referral and then ask one of our team members to be your lead peer support worker. They will usually then be the person who supports you. They will contact you within five days of receiving your referral.
From time to time, when your lead peer support worker is not available, for example, when they are on leave, one of our other team members may call you to check in with you to see how things are going. You can find out who are staff are by looking at our team page
Your peer support
We can support you in the way that best works for you.
Some people like us to call them, others prefer emails or text support, and some people prefer to meet face to face.
On average we provide eight to twelve interventions per person referred, but this may vary depending on the level of support you need and the range of healthcare goals you want to work on.
We can also accompany you to appointments if you need additional support.
Working as peers we spend time…
- Getting to know you and understanding what matters most to you.
- Goal setting and support for physical health and wellbeing appointments.
- Working flexibly with you if your needs change.
- Review and follow up of your personal health goals.
- Celebration and recognition of your achievements – sometimes we all need to remind ourselves of what we have achieved!
- Planning for the next year’s annual healthcare check.
- Signposting for other support, including support for family/parent carers.
We can support you in over 70 different healthcare pathways. We also work closely with other NHS and Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners to help you connect with those services who can help you to achieve your health and wellbeing goals.
Together we will explore what is most important to you, writing down your goals and how we can help you to achieve these. ‘What is important to me’ is your personal care and support plan (PCSP). It brings together the discussions between you and your Healthy Together Peer Support Worker (HTPSW) to help you to achieve your health and wellbeing goals. It tells us how you would like us to support you.
You can download a blank copy of our personal care and support plan using the link below.