The Beacon social prescribing service shines bright in Bury

The Beacon social prescribing service in Bury may only have been running for a few months, but it’s quickly making an impact for local residents.

 

A service for GP networks across Bury, the service supports patients who have social, emotional or practical needs by assessing their needs, developing personalised care and support plans, and referring them into suitable local community services to support their health and wellbeing.

 

The team of PCN Link Workers are hosted and based within local VCS infrastructure organisation, Bury VCFA. They use our Simply Connect social prescribing platform to record patient details, care and support plans and interventions, make direct referrals into services, and track health and wellbeing improvements and outcomes.

In just 3 months the service has supported almost 100 people across the borough, and reporting shows how the service is making a positive difference to patient’s lives, health and general wellbeing.

 

Georgina McNulty, Manager of the Beacon Service, says;

“It’s exciting to be part of a developing service, which is already making a huge difference. With the support of Simply Connect we hope to provide substantial evidence that will enable social prescribing to be valued for the support it gives to those accessing Beacon Service, and to the wider community – not just now, but in the long term.”

 

With the service placed within Bury VCFA it means the team ensure that community providers are meeting quality assurance and governance requirements – with help on hand from the Bury VCFA Community Development team if needed – and staff can also closely monitor the demand on VCSE services (one of NHS England’s priorities).

 

For more information about the service, visit: www.buryvcfa.org.uk/health-social-care/