Report of the Director of Population Health and Consultant in Public Health Medicine

This report provides an overview of current social prescribing provision in Manchester within the context of the Prevention Programme, and outlines the high level plans for the future development of prevention and wellbeing services in the city, through the 2021 Wellbeing Model.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Population Health and Consultant in Public Health Medicine that provided an overview of current social prescribing provision in Manchester within the context of the Prevention Programme, and outlined the high level plans for the future development of prevention and wellbeing services in the city, through the 2021 Wellbeing Model.

Officers referred to the main points of the report which were: -

·         Providing the national and local strategic context for social prescribing;

·         A summary of the model for social prescribing, and information on how this was being delivered in Manchester; and

·         Describing the plans for further developing prevention and wellbeing support services.

To complement the report, the Committee received a video presentation from Big Life who delivered social prescribing services in Manchester. The video presentation detailed case studies of two residents who had overcome major barriers to their health and wellbeing with the support of Be Well, a social prescribing service for Central and South Manchester.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

·         Noting that people often had complex needs as a result of social deprivation;

·         Welcoming the presentation that contained case studies and was the service available to younger people;

·         Were GP’s engaged with this programme and making appropriate referrals for their patients;

·         Noting that people experienced barriers to employment as a result of criminal convictions received when they were younger and work needed to be done with employers to support them as this had an impact on their health and opportunities and outcomes;

·         Consideration needed to be given to supporting volunteers;

·         Recognising that the network of volunteers and availability of venues was different across the city;

·         What was being done to connect with and support BAEM (Black, Asian and Ethnic Minorities) residents and younger people experiencing mental health issues who may not present to services and as a result not be referred to this service;

·         Were Northwards Housing a partner organisation of the Big Life Group;

·         Would the smoking cessation offer be available citywide; and

·         Were referrals to and the take up of services monitored.

The Head of Service, Be Well informed the Members that they did work with young people, aged 18 years plus and demographic data would be shared with the Committee following the meeting. She also confirmed that they had an effective monitoring and tracking system established that enabled them to monitor an individual’s progress and identify any gaps in provision. She advised that this intelligence was shared amongst the team and was available to staff. She further stated that rigorous monitoring helped identify any GP practices that had a low number of referrals to the service. She advised that if this was identified the practice would be approached to discuss any barriers and offer any additional support. She described that the service had built effective and personal relationships with practices. She responded to the comment regarding young people by advising that they promoted their service in a variety of settings identified as places where young people used. She further commented that they were seeking to work with and engage with employers to address the issues experienced by young people accessing employment opportunities.

In response to the question regarding Northwards Housing, the Head of Service, Be Well stated that they had just recently been awarded the contract to deliver this service in the north of the city and Northwards would be engaged in this programme as a partner organisation.

The Consultant in Public Health Medicine acknowledged the comment regarding the network of volunteers in the community and that this was a challenge in some areas, particularly in the north of the city. She stated that the approach to develop this was to build on existing community strengths, utilise local intelligence and develop community leaders so this grew from the local neighbourhood. She advised that this approach was being specifically focused in the north of the city. She said that by using local intelligence this would assist in identifying any gaps in provision and help inform the response. She commented that this would also assist with issues around non engagement with services and hard to reach groups.

The Executive Member for Adults, Health and Well Being advised that a social prescribing development fund would be used to support this activity. She said this fund would be used creatively to deliver long term benefits for local communities, and this was a means to empower people in their local communities and build on their strengths.

The Consultant in Public Health Medicine said that they did work with front line health workers, including GP practices to encourage them to engage in conversations with residents and make appropriate referrals for appropriate support, such as Be Well. She said that whilst improvements had been realised this was still work in progress. She described that to support this the social prescribing services had retained the same name and provided a single hub model for referrals, as previous barriers had resulted from GP practices having to navigate a range of different services, often short lived that had made it difficult for practiced to keep track of. She said that Be Well may not be the most appropriate service for someone experiencing mental health problems, however other services and support was available.

In response to the question regarding the smoking cessation service, the Committee were informed that a city wide offer will be available from April 2020.

Decision

To note the report.