Guides › Health & Care Work
Keep a trusted list of local support services
A shared, up-to-date directory of local services you can point patients and families to, with contact details checked by your team.
When to use it
When you set it up, then a quick check every three months
Step by step
Decide what you need
List the kinds of help your patients often need, such as carers' support, food banks, mental health groups, transport or housing advice, and your area.
Ask for a starting list
Use an AI assistant that can search the web and paste this prompt.
Prompt to copyI'm a nurse in [town or area]. Find local and national services that help with: [list of needs]. For each, give: name, what they help with, who can use them, how to get in touch (phone, website), whether people can refer themselves, and the web address where you found it. Present it as a table I can paste into a spreadsheet. Only include organisations you found a source for, and mark anything you're unsure about as 'check'.Check every entry
Visit each website or phone to confirm the details are right before anyone uses the list. AI search can be out of date.
Share it with your team
Paste the checked list into a Google Sheet with a 'last checked' column and share it with colleagues.
Set a review reminder
Add a recurring calendar event every three months to check links and phone numbers, and ask colleagues to add services they discover.
What you get
Carers Hub North | Support and respite for unpaid carers | Self-referral: yes | 0300 000 0000 | carershub.example | Last checked: 3 Oct.
Tips
- Check whether your employer has an official referral directory first, and follow your local referral processes for formal referrals.