A week in the life of… a referrals co-ordinator and community practitioner

Tuesday

Today, I was based at Mill View, a mental health hospital, because we get quite a lot of our referrals from there. It’s useful for me to be based there so I can get to know the patients before they get referred and become clients, and make sure that we’re getting the appropriate referrals for the service.

I joined the patient flow meeting with the other professionals who work at Mill View, who I’m learning a lot from. 

Wednesday

I went to a Universal Credit tribunal with a client who’d been turned down for Universal Credit. I wasn’t there to speak, just there to offer support. Gemma* said what she needed to say and now we’re hoping for a reasonable outcome.

I’m happy we managed to get her there. It’s a stressful situation for anybody. That’s quite a big part of the job: supporting people to not get stressed out by these situations. I’d want someone to do that for me.

Thursday

I attended a multi-agency meeting about Sarah*, one of our accommodation clients. She’s having a really difficult time and has limited move-on options. I met with professionals from Brighton & Hove City Council’s housing department and her lead practitioner and we discussed how we can best support her.

I work alongside clients, primary and secondary mental health services and adult social care to support clients with their recovery. We aim to identify and address other issues clients are dealing with and support their well-being.

We do this by referring to social prescribing, supported employment services or health walks, social groups and local support services. It takes a lot of different people working together to provide the best support for our clients. 

Friday

Friday was a bit hectic because we had a client who moved out unexpectedly so I had to go and get his possessions from the Discharge to Assess flat he had been staying in. He had a physical health episode and been quite unwell. 

He had to stay in the hospital, so I went to get his things out of the flat and take them to him. When I got there, he’d been moved to a different ward so I spent part of my day being lost in the hospital! 

At the end of the week, I feel quite tired. But it’s an interesting job and I really like it. The team I work with are great and we’re close knit; we have lots of laughs and jokes, as well as cake and coffee. We take our work seriously, but it’s good to have a sense of humour, too. 

I also really like working with the clients of the service – they’re all really interesting people and it’s a privilege to get to know them. 

*Names have been changed