Care Navigation

The CareNav+ Partnership is a collaborative network of partners and providers working together to support vulnerable residents across Essex who are accessing the Essex Wellbeing Service, often before reaching a crisis point.

By offering a Single Point of Access, the partnership simplifies and streamlines the pathways into care and support for both residents and professionals, ensuring that help is easily accessible. Embracing a “no wrong door” approach, the model proactively reaches individuals who may not have recognised their need for support, thereby extending the impact and accessibility of available services.

The CareNav+ Partnership works alongside many respected organisations across Essex, each contributing valuable expertise in their specialist areas to deliver comprehensive, person-centred care and support.

Ultimately, through Care Navigation, the Essex Wellbeing Service is here to connect people with the right support, strengthen relationships between services, and create a more integrated care system across Essex.

If you feel you would benefit from some extra support from some of the specialist teams in Essex listed below get in touch with us.

With your consent, you will be either quickly connected with the right team or contacted by one of the Essex Wellbeing Service Care Navigators.

We’re proud to be part of opening the door, one connection at a time.

ACL Essex

Adult Community Learning Essex (ACL) works across the community offering diverse opportunities to gain knowledge, skills and confidence.

This includes, but is not exhaustive: digital skills, qualifications and skills relating to employment chances, mental health courses for adults and families as well as creative and cultural learning.

ACL Essex offers more than just education; attending their courses brings connections that address health and wellbeing, loneliness and social isolation and supports family learning.

Action for Family Carers

Action for Family Carers is an Essex charity, which for over 30 years has been providing information and support to Carers and Young Carers who have unpaid, caring responsibilities for others.

Action for Family Carers, in partnership with Essex Carers Support, has been commissioned by Essex County Council to support Adult Carers in West Essex (Epping, Harlow & Uttlesford districts) and Northeast Essex (Colchester & Tendring districts). 

We also offer support for Young Carers, Young Carer Club Nights & Trips, Day Care for older people and Activity Groups for people with dementia or memory loss. We also work with Employers, GPs and Schools to help them provide better support for Carers.

Alzheimer’s Society

Alzheimer’s Society provides dementia support including advice and information, peer support and virtual Singing for the Brain sessions.

Carers First

Offering local support for carers in Mid and South Essex, including specialised information, advice, and guidance. We also offer support for your wellbeing, peer support and practical solutions to address specific challenges.

The Children’s Society

The Children’s Society offers support to children and young people from 8-18 years, and up to 25 years old with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), around challenging behaviours including online risks, drugs and alcohol awareness, relationships, and more.

Citizens Advice

The local Citizens Advice network across Essex provides free, independent, and confidential advice and support to people with problems around benefits, debt, housing, relationships and much more.

Community Agents

Community Agents provide support for vulnerable adults, and their informal carers, to gain and regain independent living skills including those with a learning disability and/or autism.

ECL sensory

ECL sensory is a one-stop route to the sensory support pathway, providing support, provision of information, advice and guidance regarding support for people who are sight-impaired, hard of hearing, deaf or deafblind.

Essex Carers Support

Essex Carers Support is an Essex-based charity with over 30 years’ experience providing support to Carers who have unpaid, caring responsibilities for others.

Essex Carers Support are working in partnership with Action for Family Carers to support Adult Carers in West Essex (Epping, Harlow & Uttlesford districts) and Northeast Essex (Colchester & Tendring districts). 

Essex Dementia Care

Essex Dementia Care is a small local Essex based charity with over fifteen years’ experience helping people with dementia continue to live active and fulfilling lives, keeping them out of full time care for longer.

Our One2One ‘Memory Companion’ service is tailored to the individual’s personality and needs, enabling them to maintain a sense of well-being and independence for as long as possible. We also run several activity groups that are designed to support different stages of the dementia journey within a social setting. Our services have also proven invaluable for providing care givers with much-needed respite.  

The ’Every Day Counts’ groups support people in the earlier stages of dementia whilst the Oasis groups have a gentler schedule suited to those whose dementia has progressed further.  Activity groups are held at Bradwell, Braintree and at Sandon, Broomfield, Writtle and Springfield in Chelmsford.

Group members might produce artwork, participate in games, enjoy Movement and Music, reminiscence, entertainment and more.  The ‘Every Day Counts’ groups get out and about enjoying lunch or going for walks and visiting places of interest.

Frontline

Frontline supports adults with a learning disability and/or autism, providing social isolation support (befriending) and supported employment, queries, advice and support.

Healthwatch Essex

Healthwatch Essex is an independent voice for the people of Essex. We gather and represent views about all aspects of health and care in the county to help shape services.

As well as gathering views, we can help you find out about and access health, social care and wellbeing services through our Information Service.

Mind

Mind offers a flexible, three-tiered, model of support for anyone with mental health problems, allowing an element of choice and control to people seeking support: self-support, interventions for those in need, and intensive support.

Peabody

Peabody’s Essex Outreach Service offers free, short term support to people over 16 years old who need to develop their skills to live independently.

This covers a range of areas including housing issues, benefits advice, employment, drug and alcohol support, mental health support, and money and budgeting management. 

Realise Futures

Realise Futures provides employment support and advice to people with a disability. Staff will be available to listen to any difficulties people are facing with employment, and offer support and signposting where needed.

Sport for Confidence

Sport for Confidence is a team of occupational therapists and sports coaches delivering support to anyone facing barriers to accessing physical activity.

The service can assist people to remain healthy at home, engage in exercise, create virtual social connections, build daily routines and manage anxiety. Participants include, but are not limited to people, with a disability, mental health condition, are neuro-diverse, have a long term condition or are in a caring role.

Specialist Suicide Bereavement Service

Specialist support is available if you have been bereaved by suicide and need support and guidance during this period of time and at any time afterwards.

Who can use the service?

The specialist suicide bereavement service is available to anyone, including adults, children* and young people, in Essex, Southend and Thurrock who has felt the impact of suicide at any time and is seeking emotional and/or practical support.

The service is confidential and free of charge.

Most referrals are made by our partners Essex Police when a death occurs within Essex, Southend, and Thurrock. They provide us with a minimal amount of contact information.

*Children aged between 4 and 11 can access the service, with an agreed appropriate adult, after an initial assessment.

How can we help?

We will have an initial conversation with you to find out more about the support that you require. This may include an offer of a referral to a specialist suicide bereavement service. If you choose to be referred, you should receive contact from the specialist service within 24 hours of the referral being received.

Get in touch

If you’ve been bereaved or affected by suicide and want to find out more about the available support, you can:

1. Complete the online assessment form
2. Talk to one of our trained staff about any of our services, please contact us on 0300 303 9988
3. Email us at provide.essexwellbeing@nhs.net and we’ll contact you

Summit Services

Summit Services offer a range of bespoke services for adults with a learning disability, autism or poor mental health. This includes advocacy, outreach work, support through medical assessments and correspondence support.

Kinder Essex

Kinder Essex combats loneliness and isolation through acts of community kindness. They help people to connect with friends, neighbours and strangers. 

If you are interested in setting something up in the community; want to share what you are doing to help people to connect with the community; or want to discuss what is missing in your community, Kindness Essex coaches can support this.

Each district of Essex has a dedicated Kindness Coach that will help with starting something new, expanding an existing activity or helping with acts of kindness.

Essex Fire Service

Home Safety Visits – Knowing how to reduce the risk of fire in your home is an important part of living safe and well. We offer free Home Safety Visits to all Essex residents. If you do not have working smoke alarms, or have working smoke alarms but would like more information about how to live safely and securely at home, book one of our free visits today.

Employment Retention Service

The Employment Retention Service is commissioned by Essex County Council to support individuals whose mental health is causing them difficulty within their workplace. Our specialists offer guidance and practical advice to help clients return to work or remain in employment, including the development of a clear and supportive plan. They identify potential triggers that may impact work retention and provide advice on phased returns and reasonable adjustments.

Support is also given in preparing to discuss health conditions with employers and ensuring that company policies and procedures are followed in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. Our specialists can assist during formal meetings with employers and will signpost clients to other sources of support when necessary. They facilitate Wellness Action Planning to help both clients and employers manage health conditions in the long term. Continued contact is maintained once the client has returned to work, ensuring support throughout the adjustment period.

Rethink Advocacy Service

Our advocates support people so they have a say in important and often difficult decisions about their treatment and care. This includes support with arrangements that could impact on their independence and quality of life.

Health in Mind (Mid Essex)

Heath in Mind provides access to primary care psychological therapy services in Mid Essex through a wide range of confidential talking therapy treatments and practical support for adults with common mental health problems. The services are part of the national initiative Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT).

Therapy for You (SE/North)

Therapy For You is the NHS Talking Therapies service for North East and South East Essex. Provided by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), our service aims to give people access to free, flexible and evidence-based mental health support.

Vita Minds (BB & West)

Vita Health Group works in partnership with the NHS to provide Talking Therapy services to support local residents in various districts throughout the UK.

NHS Talking Therapies is a free and confidential Talking Therapy service designed to support individuals by providing the tools needed to get things back on track. It’s a free service.

Fairleigh Hospice

Farleigh Hospice provides hospice care to people affected by life-limiting illnesses and bereavement across Mid Essex.

Dove – St Lukes Hospice

Our specialist team offer bereavement support to adults living with a life limiting illness, from diagnosis through to end of life or into survivorship.

Active Essex

Find Your Active is here to support you in taking your first steps to a more active lifestyle. Starting a new activity can be daunting, but there is an activity out there that suits your needs and your lifestyle. Whether you have never exercised before, used to be involved in an activity but haven’t for a while, enjoy moving but have a pre-existing health condition so are a little nervous, or just want to explore something new, Find Your Active is here to help.

Open Road

Open Road is an established Drug and Alcohol Recovery support charity in Essex and Medway. Open Road provides services to support individuals on their journey to recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. As well as this Open Road offers helps to individuals in the Criminal Justice sector.

Hamelin Trust

We support autistic people and people with learning disabilities to live their best lives and cultivate compassionate, equitable communities where they can realise their dreams.

Autism Anglia

Autism Anglia is an independent charity that provides care and support to autistic children, adults, and their families in East Anglia.

Mobilise (cares support)

Looking after a family member or friend, who has a disability, long-term illness or is elderly?
Well you might be struggling to find support with anything from finances to practical help, from mealtimes to continence, from hospital discharge to finding time for yourself.
We’ve got you.