Bromford LAB

Understanding the Impact of Making Local Connections

Description: Having become aware of Social Prescribing organisation, Elemental, through our Lab network, we were able to capitalise on an opportunity to introduce colleagues from our Localities team to the Elemental team in order to take part in a short test which was funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority, Digital Well-being and Urban Challenge. The challenge sought to test solutions which could make the West Midlands a better place to live and work using digital social prescribing technology by:

• Exploring methods for delivering enhanced support through better connectivity, personalisation and self-directed support methods;

• Using digital technology to improve health and well-being outcomes in the area;

• Demonstrating how digital platforms can be used to support better mental health and well-being outcomes across the region.

We saw this as an ideal opportunity to learn more about how to measure the impact of our own coaching approach through the use of technology not currently available to our localities teams. 

Actions: The test was conducted by two Neighbourhood Coaches in the Black Country. We were able to support and guide colleagues throughout the duration of the test. By having a different conversation, coaches and customers were able to work together to find solutions to issues which were often preventing customers from being able to thrive. Using Elemental’s Core platform, Neighbourhood Coaches had the ability to instantly connect customers to services which would help them, including Citizens Advice Bureau, housing support, employment support and financial advice. 

The reporting feature allowed Neighbourhood Coaches to set a baseline for a customer’s social and mental well-being at the outset which then allowed them to monitor and measure the impact of social prescriptions in real-time. Using this data helped Neighbourhood Coaches better understand their interventions and helped direct their future coaching conversations with the customer.

Outcomes: In total, 17 customers participated in the pilot and 21 services were prescribed.

• 65% of customers experienced positive movement in their mental health and well-being after receiving their social prescription;

• Using the Duke Social Support Index, the largest improvement for a customer was an increase of 21 points in their overall well-being score. This was the result of receiving a referral to a Employment Coach social prescription which gave them opportunities to talk to someone about problems at work or housework, discuss personal or family problems and talk about money matters.

The test also provided the Localities team with valuable learning in terms of the coaching relationship with customers and also what Neighbourhood Coaches might want to report and how best to record it.

Next Steps: In January 2020, Innovation & Design will be working with two other Neighbourhood Coaches to run a small scale prototype to help better understand how we might measure the impact of our Localities approach by tracking progress towards self-identified customer goals. This work is part of a wider objective to find ways to enable customers to thrive and will be largely informed by learning derived from the Social Prescribing test.

Blog Posts:

How might we ensure that the services we provide are both useful and desirable to our customers? - March 2018

Social Prescribing and Neighbourhood Coaching - May 2018

Working with Elemental to Understand the Impact of Making Local Connections - July 2018

November #blabchat : Social Prescribing & Asset Based Coaching - November 2018

Social Prescribing Hour: Reflections From a Guest Host - April 2019