Practical support that changes lives

Our Health Advocacy Service pairs trained advocates with individuals who are navigating complex or distressing health situations — from cancer diagnoses and gynaecological conditions to chronic illness management and maternity care. Advocates attend consultations in person or, where distance is a barrier, join by phone or video call.

They help clients prepare questions in advance, take notes during appointments, and debrief afterwards so that nothing important gets lost in the anxiety of the moment. In 2024 alone, our advocates attended over 600 appointments across Scotland, and 89% of clients reported that the support helped them make a more informed decision about their care.

Many women arrive at a health crisis having never received accurate, accessible information about their own bodies — particularly around menstrual health, menopause, cervical screening, and breast awareness. Our Women's Health Literacy Programme addresses this through a rolling calendar of free workshops delivered in community centres, libraries, and faith spaces across Scotland, as well as a suite of downloadable guides available in eight languages.

Sessions are facilitated by trained health educators and designed to be conversational rather than clinical — because learning is more likely to stick when it doesn't feel like a lecture. We also work with schools and youth groups to reach younger women before misinformation takes hold.

The postnatal period is one of the most significant health windows in a woman's life, yet many new mothers in Scotland — particularly those in rural areas or without strong local networks — describe feeling invisible once they leave the maternity ward. Our Postnatal Wellbeing Circles run fortnightly in 14 locations, offering a structured but informal space where mothers can discuss sleep, mental health, infant feeding, physical recovery, and the complex emotional terrain of early parenthood.

Circles are co-facilitated by a trained volunteer and a peer supporter who has attended the programme herself, creating a warm and non-judgemental atmosphere. Where in-person attendance is not possible, we run a parallel online circle so that distance is never a reason to go without support.

Many of the communities that most need health support are least likely to walk into a GP surgery or community centre to seek it out. Our Community Health Outreach programme takes the work to where people already are — farmers' markets, food banks, school gates, and community events — using a friendly, low-pressure approach to start conversations about health that might otherwise never happen.

Trained outreach workers provide information about NHS screening programmes, local services, and how to register with a GP, and can make warm referrals directly into our advocacy service or other specialist support. In partnership with NHS Health Scotland and a network of local third-sector organisations, we have reached over 1,800 people through outreach activities in the past two years who had not accessed any health service in the preceding twelve months.