NHS staff reach out to Doncaster’s Polish community though a church in the town centre

Magdalena Matthews and Agnieszka Kala, from Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), have met with Polish worshippers at St Peter-in-Chains Catholic Church to tell them about local mental health services and how to access them.

They were introduced by priest Father Daniel - also from Poland - who delivers special well attended services in Polich at the Chequer Road church in Doncaster’s town centre.

Natasha Mercier, from Doncaster Council, who heads a team responsible for forging links with minority groups across the borough, said Magdalena and Agnies’ language skills, and knowledge of the NHS and local Polish community, is proving a great asset.

She said: “We want to make sure they know that help is there if they need it and St Peter’s, based in the town centre where a lot of our Polish residents live, has been an excellent way of reaching out with that message. “

Magdalena said: “Father Daniel explained who we were and that we had come along to raise awareness of mental health for all ages of the congregation.

“A number of people came to see us afterwards and we had very positive feedback.

“We will maintain contact with the church as it was really useful being able to speak to members fluently and explain our role and the important work of the IAPT service in Doncaster.”

Magdalena, a trainee High Intensity therapist and Agnieszka, a psychological well being practitioner, are members of RDaSH’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) team in Doncaster.

Team manager Tim Godley said: “We are keen to reach out to all sections of the Doncaster community and Magdalena and Agnieszka’s work is a great example of making connections.

“We offer evidence-based talking therapies for adults aged 18 years and over who are experiencing common mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, stress, panic, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder.”

Click here for their website which will tell you how to become a patient.

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