Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care Foundation Trust put Social Prescribing Firmly into the Workflow

Since announcing their social prescribing partnership with us back in June, we revisited Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care Foundation Trust (T&G ICFT) to find out how they’ve been progressing and how The Elemental Social Prescription Connector has put social prescribing firmly into their workflow.

It’s been over four months since Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care Foundation Trust kicked off their social prescribing partnership with us which enables GPs in Tameside and Glossop to effectively make one-click social prescribing referrals and also seamlessly integrates with their internal EMIS system.

A CONNECTED APPROACH TO HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

The Tameside and Glossop programme is underpinned by the fact that social, economic and environmental factors play a powerful role in determining an individual’s health and wellbeing.  

Through the Care Together transformation programme, Tameside and Glossop have invested significantly in the development of a social prescribing programme to bridge the gap between the support people access in traditional health and care services and the opportunities which exist in the community.

Faced with the challenge of information exchange between health and social care organisations and the voluntary and community sector, Tameside and Glossop recognised the need to establish a social prescribing service which would instantly connect their clinical community to the VCSE sector.

Chris Easton, Head of Person & Community Centred Approaches at Tameside and Glossop ICFT said “We have a responsibility as a health and care system to ensure that we support people with the things that affect their health and the widest possible sense.  Doing so delivers strong outcomes for individuals, but also the system by ensuring that people’s needs are met in the most appropriate way. Our partnership with Elemental is exciting – it makes it simple for GPs and other health and care professionals to connect people to a wide range of community-based support, simply and quickly.”

THE ELEMENTAL SOCIAL PRESCRIPTION CONNECTOR

Using The Elemental Social Prescription Connector, GPs within 35 surgeries across T&G ICFT can now make instant referrals to social prescribing services and programmes, reducing GP appointments while also helping patients make positive lifestyle changes.

Following the referral, GPs can also track the status of referrals at different stages, enriching the conversations they have with people when they come into surgery and allowing a seamless pathway to and from social prescribing via clinical services.

WITH THE ELEMENTAL SOCIAL PRESCRIPTION CONNECTOR EMBEDDED, GPS CAN NOW:

•  Connect patients to suitable social prescribing programmes in their communities
•  Evaluate the impact of a referral for an individual or across a community cohort
•  Contribute to achieving public health objectives of STPs
•  Reduce avoidable GP appointments, saving time, cost and resources
•  Easily manage everything from within EMIS Web, meaning a seamless and simplified user journey

IDENTIFYING CHAMPIONS IN THE COMMUNITY

In order to embrace a collaborative and community-centred approach to social prescribing, T&G ICFT has implemented twelve community champion groups to identify gaps within non-clinical programmes and services across Glossop, with plans to expand to Tameside in the near future. Not only does this help to identify local needs but it is also a vital aspect of developing and implementing potential solutions.

A major benefit for T&G ICFT is that they now have the ability to access, report and showcase detailed data analytics which helps to shape social prescribing services and close the loop between clinicians and the community.

Using these metrics, T&G ICFT can demonstrate the impact that their community programmes and services are making to people’s lives, tackling a key challenge for commissioners and funders.

FIND OUT MORE

To find out more about The Elemental Social Prescription Connector and hear how it could work for your GP practice, get in touch or request a demo.