![Angela Savovski visits four Tamworth schools and provides a range of health services. Picture by Peter Hardin Angela Savovski visits four Tamworth schools and provides a range of health services. Picture by Peter Hardin](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/164349425/34490c15-ef1a-4887-8148-37bc3ab32389.jpg/r0_0_7360_4912_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Angela Savovski is Tamworth's only wellbeing nurse.
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She has spent the past year entering Tamworth's local schools and putting her training as a registered nurse to use.
Part of the role is picking up on children's health and social needs.
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"I feel like I've definitely connected families with services, that had my role not been there, they probably wouldn't have been connected," she said.
The country music capital has joined other cities across NSW welcoming school-based health and wellbeing support.
Wellbeing nurses identify the health and social needs of students and their families, and then support them to access the services they need such as a GP, paediatrician, physiotherapist, dietitian, or mental health program.
"These roles have a lot of connection with outside agencies," Ms Savovski said.
"I know myself if you're trying to engage with an agency it's not a simple process.
"So we're kind of there to advocate and help those families engage with what's needed."
She's been visiting Tamworth High School, Tamworth South Public School and Hillvue Public School for the last 12 months.
She said a frequent need is access to specialists such as paediatricians and helping families advocate to get into a service.
She has also helped many children eligible for NDIS begin the process with the support services.
"It's really a role that you're helping them link in with those appropriate services so that they can get the support the need," she said.
NSW Health said the schools in Tamworth were selected based on a range of factors that identified those with the highest level of community need.
In 2021-22 more than 3,400 primary and secondary school students were seen by a wellbeing nurse, with the majority of students living in rural and regional NSW.
Ms Savovski worked in the Tamworth community in her previous role for Aboriginal Child and Family Health for 11 years.
She is a registered nurse and has completed child and family health specific training and is studying for a mental health graduate certificate.
There are currently 88 wellbeing nurses providing care and support to students in about 300 rural, regional and metropolitan schools around the state.
NSW Health did not state if another wellbeing nurse is headed to Tamworth.
"I would definitely say that there is certainly a need for it, and if we could get another one in Tamworth that would be awesome," Ms Savovski said.
"I guess that now that I've been working in the role for 12 months, or nearly 12 months, it is definitely getting busier and busier.
"The schools do utilise me, which is fantastic because I guess that's the big thing, now that the schools have got the trust in me, they're now starting to utilise me a lot more."
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