Provision of Social Prescribing Digital Solution to Support NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB)

Norfolk and Waveney Integrated care Board utilised the Health Systems Support Framework (HSSF) to procure a social prescribing digital platform to support resilience and maturity of social prescribing offers, whilst providing improvements to care for our community.

The requirement emphasises the need for seamless integration, secure data handling, and continuous improvement to enhance personalised care and support for the community.

Personalised Care and social prescribing form part of a targeted initiative by NHS England to address health inequalities by focusing on wider determinants such as debt, housing, isolation, and physical inactivity. Evidence has shown socio-economic factors, influencing health and well-being by 40%, outweighing other contributors like health behaviours (30%), clinical care (20%), and the built environment (10%).

Moreover, integrating social prescribing with existing services in Norfolk and Waveney, aims to provide a centralised access point for digital devices, data, and support. This approach enhances reporting mechanisms, identifies gaps, and ensures inclusivity, particularly for those with protected characteristics or belonging to inclusion health groups, especially for patients at risk of digital exclusion.

This service aligns with the Shared Care Record, establishing a Social Prescribing Digital Platform to facilitate seamless referrals to non-clinical provisions. The platform serves as a case management system for non-clinical activities and offers an overview of input and output. The goal is to streamline access to care, support proactive personalised care through integrated teams, and contribute to health equity.

Further backed by two key recommendations for the health and care system:

The publication of the Fuller Report: Next Steps for Integrating Primary Care (2022) gives a clear mandate for the contribution of non-clinical services in achieving the objectives of: • Streamlining access to care and advice • Providing more proactive, personalised care supported through a neighbourhood Integrated Team • Helping people to stay well for longer.

The publication of the Hewitt review provides recommendations to support health equity and improvement though: • Empowering patients through the NHS app and new Citizen Health Accounts • Embed health promotion at all levels to improve population health and ensure the longer-term sustainability of the health and care system.

Additional information: Initial term of 2 years with option to extend for up a further 2 years.