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NHSGGC Staff Guidance – Money Worries
Asking and responding to patients’ money worries is part of Inequalities Sensitive Practice, which is about taking into account each patient’s social circumstances and how they are affecting their health. It also relates to person centred care.
Advice On Money Worries – Who is it for?
Money advice support is for patients, parents/carers or staff of all ages, regardless of their working status.
Why is it important?
With the recession and changes to the benefits system, many of our patients are experiencing money difficulties and mounting debts. The COVID-19 pandemic has also created additional financial worries for many people.
This is important to health services as in addition to being a cause of poor health, money worries can also be a barrier to engaging fully with our services.
“I observe this again and again – that I cannot address medical issues as I have to deal with the patients’ agenda first, which is getting money to feed and heat.” GP
By asking a simple question and providing assistance on where to get help, we can do a lot to prevent unnecessary worry and anxiety.
Click here to view Money Worries: In Sickness & In Health – a short film aimed at healthcare professionals outlining the link between poor health and money worries.
What Kind of Advice is Available?
If your patients are facing financial difficulties, they should not pay for advice. You can help your patients to use the free, high quality services available across NHSGGC which offer help with:
- Maximising Income
- Debt Advice
- Benefits
- Savings
- Banking
- Budgeting
Evidence shows that referring patients to these services can result in improved mental health, increased income, debt reduction, increased financial planning and reduced stress.
How Do I Ask About Money Worries?
If done sensitively, patients value being asked about money problems and referred to Money Advice Services. It only takes a few minutes to do and can be incorporated easily into patient assessment as part of a person centred approach. Most NHSGGC assessment forms cover money worries.
- “Do you have any money or debt worries?
- “Would you like to speak with an advisor to discuss money worries or help you to claim any benefits that you may be entitled to?”
- “Is having a baby adding financial pressure?”
These type of standard questions for introducing the topic of money worries are used in the community setting. Similar questions are used in hospitals, where staff need to establish whether the patients has any immediate work/money related concerns as a result of their health condition.
If you are working with groups of people it is good practice to discuss people’s health in the context of their life circumstances. Money and debt worries are a major issue for many people and should always be covered in these discussions.
How Do I Make a Referral?
Where patients have issues relating to money worries and debt, the role of staff is to:
- reassure that support is available
- gain consent for referral
- refer to the service
In Hospital settings – complete a referral by contacting the Support and Information Service at sis@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
In community settings, use the link below to locate Money Advice services in local settings: http://infodir.nhsggc.org.uk/Home/Directory
Resources
The Money Advice Service website offers information and advice on budget planning and improving your finances, including tools and calculators to help you plan ahead.
Home Energy Crisis Response Service
NHSGGC has launched a Home Energy Crisis Response Service for patients in Acute and mental health care.
The dramatic increase in home energy costs means that many more people’s health is at risk due to fuel poverty. Patients may be struggling to heat their homes or have had their power disconnected, resulting in damp, cold housing and all the associated health impacts. It can also mean that patients cannot return safely to their homes after a hospital stay.
The new service targets patients who need help with home energy in order to return home safely from a hospital stay without the worry of the additional health consequences of living in a cold, damp home.
Delivered via hospital engagement and remote assistance, the service will tackle energy emergencies, advocate on behalf of patients with energy providers and help with access to external home energy emergency funds.
Who is Eligible?
A person is eligible if they –
• are a patient or carer accessing or receiving care from an NHSGCC Hospital
• have any immediate or emergency need relating to meeting home energy costs
• are experiencing poverty/financial difficulties.
To access this service there is no requirement to be receiving any additional benefits.
How to Refer
Referrals to the Home Energy Crisis Response Service can be made by contacting NHSGGC’s Support & Information Service.
SIS staff will also discuss any wider needs with the patient or carer and ensure onward referral to the appropriate support services.
For Mental Health Acute, referrals can be made directly to the service: Email: energycrisis@moneymattersweb.co.uk
Telephone: 0141 445 7614
Home Energy Advisors
As part of this service, a Home Energy adviser is now based at various hospital sites throughout the week. The service is available Monday–Friday across all NHSGGC hospitals.
Impact on health
The recent Marmot Review ‘Fuel Poverty, Cold Homes and Health Inequalities’ highlighted the dangerous consequences of living in a cold home to a child’s health and future life expectancy.
It predicts increases in asthma and other respiratory illness; circulatory problems; mental health problems and a worsening of other existing medical conditions such as diabetes, musculoskeletal and rheumatological conditions, dementia and Alzheimer’s.
The Marmot Review characterises fuel poverty as a ‘significant humanitarian crisis with thousands of lives lost and millions of children’s development blighted’.
We hope this project will help to save lives in Greater Glasgow and Clyde as well as mitigate against adverse health consequences.