ConnectWELL

Background and Overview

ConnectWELL – the Rugby Social Prescribing Project (Rugby SPP) – is the first project of this kind in Warwickshire.  It is funded by the Coventry & Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the Esme Fairbairn Foundation.  The scheme is delivered by Warwickshire Community and Voluntary Action (WCAVA).   The project is engaged with all 12 GP Practices in Rugby and takes referrals from health practitioners including nurses, pharmacists, dentists and self-referrals.

WCAVA manages a volunteer team to engage with patients assisting them to access services in the community.  To date there are some 800 organisations, groups and activities identified in the Rugby Borough.  Patients are provided with information about the services and in some cases are assigned a Health Buddy to accompany them.

The concept of social prescribing has emerged over a number of years and can be briefly explained as:

“Social Prescribing is at root about using community based services, alongside traditional health services to help improve health and well being.  There is a growing understanding of the need for health services to provide a ‘more than medicine’ approach, which focuses on the individual, their aspirations, needs, and assets, and their context within a community.” (Lindsay Manning. NHS Engalnd, speech to Rotherham Social Prescribing Summit, February 2015)

ConnectWELL aims to assist the delivery of the Coventry & Warwickshire CCGs’ joint 5 year strategy.

Alongside this are the Warwickshire Health & Wellbeing Board and Joint Strategic Needs Assessment which bring together health and social care to provide a more joined up care to individuals.  Flowing from this is the Warwickshire Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2014-18 and the evidence reviews commissioned to guide the strategy.  The principle of social prescribing could be seen to align with the three areas of evidence gathered which were: “Integration and Working Together”, “Promoting Independence” and “Community Resilience”.

The  aims of this project are to assist people in addressing underlying societal causes or manage compounding factors of ill-health by unlocking and aligning the many resources  and  community  assets  that  exist  within  the  Rugby  Borough’s  communities.

Future Development – 2016

  • Engage with all GP Practices and health professionals/providers in Rugby
  • Phase 2 Target referrals – 250 patients in Rugby – record impact and outcomes
  • Encourage the above to utilise the ConnectWELL referral form resulting in support for patients to access the full menu of local services and freeing up GP/referrers time.
  • Develop our generic Training Workshop that equips staff and volunteers with the skills and knowledge to operate safely when working in a health/caring environment
  • Inform and support Voluntary and Community groups to engage with the health agenda.
  • Engage and support groups to undertake ‘Quality for Health’, a quality assurance system for the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector delivering health services.
  • Develop a set of ‘Social Prescribing Principals’ so that there is a common understanding of what Social Prescribing is among partners.
  • Continue to work with partners to improve the ConnectWELL service
  • Work with Warwickshire Public Health on an agreed Outcomes Evaluation and evidence cost savings
  • Address the recommendations raised from the Pilot Year Evaluation
  • Seek funding to cascade the ConnectWELL service across Warwickshire

 

Evaluation and impact

Partners agree that the impact of social prescribing will not be fully evidenced for at least 3 years.  Evidence from similar programmes across the country is very positive and the ConnectWELL team keep up to date with learning from and participating in best practice. See example below – Rotherham*

ConnectWELL was up and running within 7 weeks of receiving funding for the pilot.  Systems, policies, procedures and branding are all in place and the project could be replicated in other localities and districts relatively easily working out of WCAVA bases.  WCAVA has a comprehensive data base of voluntary and community organisations and the ConnectWELL process of gathering intelligence and recording local activities could be replicated in each district.  Connectivity with the VCS, and the success of ConnectWELL in Rugby, along with the ability to access additional funding not always available to Public Sector services means that WCAVA is in a good position to support the VCS to contribute to the health agenda in Warwickshire.

Links to Case Study A and Case Study B.

Link to Warwickshire Cares film – ConnectWELL – https://youtu.be/JmYiGtsmC6g

 

The conclusions drawn in the report include:The evaluation findings for the Voluntary Action Rotherham social prescribing service, which focuses on people with long term health conditions, have been launched.

  • Positive impact on reducing emergency admission and A&E attendances – with a marked change for those under 80
  • Cost reductions for commissioners
  • Improved patient experience and satisfaction with care
  • Improved health and wellbeing of local people, through more engaged communities and a more sustainable and vibrant VCS
  • Contribution to the growing national reputation and interest in social prescribing

A full and summary report have been published describing the evaluation in more detail.

Alison Orr

WCAVA Training Manager and Rugby Locality Manager

29 January 2016