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My Life My Money

A free app with local information, advice and support on welfare and money worries in Lanarkshire.

My Life My Money

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‘My Life, My Money Lanarkshire’ is an app that provides an easily accessible, comprehensive resource of information, advice and guidance to enable staff to recognise when poverty may be an issue for a patient and signpost them to where they can get help. It can also be downloaded accessed directly by patients.

  

The Scottish Government has identified the most vulnerable groups as:

  • People in low paid work, including NHS employees and contracted staff who maybe in low paid and/or part-time employment and/or on fixed term contracts;
  • Those with disabilities, including learning disabilities, and those with long term conditions;
  • People with mental health conditions in receipt of benefits or in low paid employment;
  • Children in low income families;
  • Women in low income households, particularly lone parents, carers and those experiencing gender based violence;
  • Larger families in receipt of benefits or in low paid employment; and
  • Low income pensioners.
this is reflected in our strategic objective to tackle health inequalities, including working with other public sector partners on issues like child poverty and period poverty, as well as paying the living wage and influencing our contractors to do the same.

Some healthcare professionals regularly come onto contact with patients from these groups within services such as Speech and Language, OT, mental health, maternity, addictions, pediatrics, community nurses and health visitors. However all staff have a responsibility and a role to play in tackling poverty.

Healthcare professionals have a significant role to play in a number of ways:

  • Looking for and recognising when poverty or money worries may be an issue for patients;
  • Opening up a conversation with patients to find out where they might need help;
  • Signposting patients to information and services that will help them and encouraging them to access these; and
  • Helping to reduce the stigma around poverty.

The information on this page can support you to fulfil this role, by providing knowledge and guidance, helping to build your confidence in tackling health inequality and improving the health and wellbeing of people in Lanarkshire.

You’ll find documents from a range of our public sector partners as well as links to websites that provide advice, guidance and support to people experiencing financial difficulties.

Visit: https://www.nhslanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk/services/financial-inclusion/ for more information.

South Lanarkshire has created the booklet When Money is Tight which has practical advice for when budgets are stretched, with information to help you make ends meet.

North Lanarkshire has created a resource Your Money that provides information, advice and contact details on tacking financial hardship.