Mental Health Social Prescribing Pilot

The Pilot, funded by Rotherham CCG and delivered in partnership between Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber Foundation Trust (RDASH) and a consortium of 17 local voluntary sector organisations led by the host organisation.  It builds on and is integrated with the successful LTC Scheme.

 

The pilot was established with three key aims:

• Creating opportunities for mental health service users to sustain their health and well-being outside secondary mental health services.

• Creating more capacity within secondary mental health services.

• Creating efficiencies within mental health services.

 

It provides a six month pathway to support a smooth transition from mental health services to social prescribing activities and sustainable discharge. The pathway also supports primary care practitioners, social prescribing staff and voluntary organisations to respond appropriately to signs of relapse and re-access to secondary mental health services should a service user’s health deteriorate during the project. It was developed as a guideline and is applied flexibly so that individuals’ engagement with and experience of social prescribing is tailored to their personal circumstances.

 

In April 2018 some development/expansion initiatives have been implemented and supported by the CCG. The expansion of the Mental Health Social Prescribing scheme to support referrals from the Rotherham Alcohol & Substance misuse service.  The pathway is very similar to the Mental Health Scheme pathway with clients needing the same type of support to transition out of secondary care. 

The development of the LTC scheme to incorporate Personal Health Budgets (PHB) is also being piloted in April 2018, to understand the issues associated with the personalisation agenda and social prescribing, empowering people to have greater choice and control over the way their health and care is delivered, resulting in better health and wellbeing for individuals, better quality and experience of care that is integrated and tailored around what really matters to them and more sustainable NHS Services.

 

The commencement of conversations with the Local authority to understand Rotherham place based social prescribing and whether this can be brought together, to enable possible service efficiencies and better Value for Money. We will continue to recognise the requirement to adequately resource VCS services in Rotherham as they provide invaluable engagement and support to the NHS. We feel it is important to recognise the links between health and social care and how social prescribing needs to be part of the equation. The robust evaluation of social prescribing services will continue to inform the outcome of the service for patients and the system in general