How to use the information to support SP teams and demonstrate improvement/recognise achievement
Using quality improvement methods – how evaluation can support improvement
Quality improvement is an approach focusing on enabling those working in frontline services to identify, tackle, measure and flexibly adapt improvements to services. All with the aim to improve quality of care for patients, including improving the internal working of teams and the infrastructure that supports this. A guide by The Health Foundation on quality improvement explains methods in more detail.
Quality improvement is a helpful tool for social prescribing, particularly due to the multiple components involved, complexity and changing nature of services. It focuses on what is feasible and trying changes whilst continuously measuring them. This is different from a traditional evaluation, where an in-depth evaluation may be undertaken to develop an idea for a change, which will be followed until evaluated at the end.
Resources and activities for carrying out improvement projects in social prescribing from the Social prescribing Innovators Programme are here.
Example: In London, TPHC ran the Social Prescribing Innovators Programme, where 12 groups of people from across the system carried out improvement projects to tackle challenges their local services. Projects identified the challenges through data such as themes from meetings or GP referral data, patient, and staff feedback. They also collected data throughout to track their changes and improvements, snapshots of the impacts after six months are here. One of the projects is explained in more detail below.
You can learn how to support local quality improvement projects in our Innovators toolkit.
Detecting improvements for the service
Data collected from the GP IT system, case management system or patient surveys, or informally such as feedback from different staff members can be used to detect potential improvements to the service. These can give clues around potential improvements at any stage of the social prescribing pathway.
- The referral pathway
- The social prescription
- The referred to activities
Example: In Tower Hamlets, through looking at referral data, they identified that much fewer men were accessing social prescribing than women. However, they knew men in the local community could benefit greatly. This led the social prescribing service and three voluntary sector organisations, St Margarets House, Voicebox and Social Action to partner to engage local men and understand barriers to access and co-produced potential solutions with them. A one-page summary of the project is here on slide two. The report from the engagement activities is here.
The role of data in workforce development – portfolio of evidence and appraisals
Social prescribing link workers may find it valuable to collect evidence around their own work to discuss in reviews with their managers. The Workforce Development Framework for Social Prescribing Link Workers includes an example and guidance around developing a portfolio of evidence here. This was coproduced by NHS England and the National Academy of Social Prescribing.
Celebrating success and sharing best practice
Example: In Haringey the Social Prescribers employed by public voice attend three reflective sessions a year, coming out of the PCNs for half a day to reflect on their case work and share best practice. It’s helping people be less isolated and improve communication and wellbeing of the teams.
Supporting retention and recruitment
Example: In Camden, a pilot was run employing a Social Prescribing Link Worker focusing on ethnic minority populations. They recorded the demand for the new service, this helped build the case to make the social prescriber a permanent member of staff. See the impact summary of this project here.