We’re once again supporting Talk Money Week which is running from Monday 04 to Friday 08 November.
Led by the Money and Pensions Service, Talk Money Week inspires people to ‘do one thing’, however small, that improves their financial wellbeing – and tell others about it.
Jo Duffy, Senior Health Improvement Officer, said: “Talk Money Week aims to reduce the stigma around money by encouraging conversations among everyone, from families and friends to colleagues, patients and communities.
“Talking about finances has been shown to help people feel less stressed or anxious and more in control, make better informed and less risky financial decisions, and even help their children form good lifetime money habits.
“Many services across NHS Lanarkshire already carry out a routine enquiry of finances, where staff ask their patients if they have any money worries and if they would like information or a referral to a local financial support service.
“Health staff are in a unique position, where they may be supporting patients over an extended period of time and understand that there are strong links between financial wellbeing and both physical and mental health.
“We also know that our staff can also experience money worries and have recently updated our FAQs for staff to use with patients, and managers to use with staff.”
These FAQs provide information and practical ideas and can be found on the FirstPort Tackling Poverty page.
The Health Improvement Tackling Poverty Team can also offer advice, awareness raising or training for teams who may be interested in incorporating routine enquiry of finances into their practice. Please get in touch via our Cost of Living Inbox costofliving@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk.
For more details on Talk Money Week, please visit: https://maps.org.uk/en/our-work/talk-money-week.
