Derry based Clarendon Medical Centre was one of the first GP surgeries to recognise the benefits of the Elemental social prescribing platform and the difference it could make in fast tracking referrals for individuals in need of non medical support.

Through involvement in the Local Commissioning Group, Dr Paul Molloy was an early advocate of social prescribing and the value it brought, particularly to elderly people in the local community.

The Challenge

It is estimated that around 20% of patients consult their GP for what is primarily a social problem (Low Commission, 2015) and evidence proves that referring to a social prescribing service can reduce such pressures.

In order for GPs to maximise the impact of generating social prescription referrals, the process must be simple, secure and instant. The feedback from research and consultations conducted by Elemental with GPs found:

• GPs lack time to research everything taking place in the community
• They want quality assurance on the referrals being made
• They would like to know if a referral has been activated and what difference it makes
• GPs wish to see a reduction in avoidable appointments

In this instance, Dr Paul Molloy needed to:

• Send referrals to local social prescribing hubs safely and securely
• Reduce the time between referrals being made and then received by Community Workers
• Spend less time on administration and more time advising people in need
• Check the progress of a referral

The Solution

The Elemental platform simplified and streamlined the process of referring individuals from Clarendon Medical Practice to social prescribing hubs in the local area which could support and connect individuals their community.

Using Elemental social prescribing software, Dr Paul is able to:

• Make a referral with 60 seconds to a local social prescribing hub
• Check the status of a referral
• Review the progress of referrals
• Monitor how many referrals are made

Outcome

As a result, Dr Paul can now :

• Support more people through social prescribing
• Drive longer term health improvements for patients
• Send instant referrals to multiple social prescribing hubs in the local area
• Monitor and track the progress of referrals
• Contribute to mainstreaming the social prescribing model of care

Testimonials

“At Clarendon Medical Centre we wanted to do things differently and be innovative in looking at ways that we can drive longer term health improvements for our patients. Elemental is a great solution, as it enables GPs to find all the support that is available when looking at the best solutions for our patients and we can do this quickly and easily at the point of access.”

Dr Paul Molloy, Clarendon Medical Centre

Making it easier for GPs to make and send social prescription referrals is crucial to widening the use of social prescribing and extending the resulting benefits to as many people as possible. It is great to see that GPs like Dr Paul Molloy are making the transition from paper based referrals to innovative technology designed to mainstream the social prescribing model of care.

Jennifer Neff, Elemental Co-Founder