This blog explores the role of community link workers in Scotland. It begins by outlining what community link workers are, how many are currently working in Scotland, and how the service is funded. It then summarises the impact of community link workers in Scotland so far, and the challenges facing the service.
What are community link workers?
Community link workers, sometimes known as social prescribing link workers, are generalist social practitioners. They are usually based within GP practices in socioeconomically deprived areas. They work with people to address some of the broader issues affecting their health and wellbeing, such as poverty, debt, housing issues, social isolation, and abuse.
Community link workers take a person-centred approach to supporting patients, and can spend more time discussing the issues a person is experiencing than a standard GP appointment can offer, over multiple appointments if needed. The support offered by community link workers depends on the needs of the patient, and may include connecting people with local physical activity groups, homelessness charities, substance use support services, financial support organisations, arts-based interventions, or social connectedness initiatives.
Scotland’s community link workers programme began as a pilot project in 2014. Developed by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) and GPs at the Deep End Glasgow, the Scottish Government-funded pilot sought to explore how primary care teams could support people to live well within their communities.
How many community link workers are there in Scotland, and how are they funded?
In 2016, the Scottish Government committed to recruiting at least 250 community link workers by 2021-22. This target was achieved in 2022, and there are now more than 300 community link workers in Scotland’s GP practices.
Community link worker services are primarily funded from the Primary Care Improvement Fund, which is a sum allocated by the Scottish Government to integration authorities to support delivery of six services, including community link workers. In 2025-26, the Primary Care Fund budget is £222 million. Integration authorities are responsible for deciding how to divide their Primary Care Improvement Fund allocation between these services.
Several integration authorities have commissioned third sector organisations to deliver community link worker services on their behalf. For instance, the ALLIANCE delivers community link worker services in GP practices in Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire. Additionally, the ALLIANCE is participating in a pilot project with Trussell to embed community link workers in foodbanks.
Voluntary Health Scotland received funding from the Scottish Government to develop the Scottish Community Link Worker Network, a national network intended to enable community link workers to connect, share learning, and support one another.
What impact has the community link worker service had so far?
The community link worker service is relatively new, and the evidence base regarding the impact of the role is therefore limited. However, research conducted with early adopters of the service in Scotland indicated that community link workers helped to reduce frequency of GP attendance, positively impacted how GPs spend their time, and supported patients with unmet non-medical needs.
Feedback from those who have engaged with community link workers, and staff at practices that host the service, indicates that community link workers are having a positive impact. The ALLIANCE shared feedback from its service users, which suggested that community link workers have helped patients who had experienced long-term struggles with issues affecting their health and wellbeing.
The level of engagement with community link worker services is also used as an indicator of its impact. In 2023, Glasgow community link workers held 40,000 appointments with 7,700 individuals, resulting in 4,500 onward referrals for support. Highland Health and Social Care Partnership’s community link worker service held 9,471 appointments between May 2022 and May 2024, resulting in 4,929 referrals. Highland HSCP announced in July 2024 that the service would be expanded, increasing the number of GP practices with access to a community link worker from 29 to 62.
A report exploring the second year of Highland Health and Social Care Partnership’s community link worker service found that 76% of GP practices who responded to the survey felt that community link workers had helped to save staff time at their practice. The report also compared the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale scores of patients pre-and post-engagement with a community link worker, and observed a mean increase of 2.8 points in patients’ mental wellbeing scores. However, the report noted that not all patients completed a post-engagement questionnaire, and therefore advised some caution in interpreting this result.
Voluntary Health Scotland and the Scottish Community Link Worker Network have produced a series of videos capturing the impact of community link workers. The videos include reflections from community link workers on what their role means to them, and stories from patients who have benefitted from the service.
What are the challenges facing the community link worker service?
Most of the funding for community link worker services is designated annually, due to the annual nature of the Primary Care Improvement Fund allocation. Concerns have been raised regarding the impact of this annual funding model on the longer-term financial stability of the community link worker programme. In 2023, the Scottish Government committed an additional £3.6 million of funding over three years, separate from the Primary Care Improvement Fund, to support Glasgow’s community link worker service, in response to a funding shortfall highlighted by Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership.
In 2023, Voluntary Health Scotland published a report mapping the range and scope of community link workers in Scotland. The report restated concerns regarding a lack of longer-term funding for community link worker programmes, and consequent fears for the sustainability of the programme. The need for a clear progression pathway and career structure for community link workers was also identified as an opportunity for improvement of the service.
The report also highlighted that a lack of guidance on best practice for monitoring and evaluating community link worker services has led to an inconsistent approach to data collection, and the measures used to determine the impact of the programmes. Community link workers and other healthcare staff who contributed to the report called for a more cohesive approach to monitoring and evaluation, to improve their ability to demonstrate the impact of the service.
