Elemental is an award winning Tech For Good company that helps stakeholders in population health management to focus on addressing the wider determinants of health: income, wealth, housing, education, transport, leisure and supports the adoption of health behaviours and lifestyles: smoking, diet, drinking, exercise.
- Vision GPs are now able to make, manage and report on patient referrals to social prescribing Link Workers via Elemental Connector – join our webinar and sign up for a recording
- Collective of digital voluntary,community and social enterprise organisations, SPRING Social Prescribing, continues to support communities across Scotland and Northern Ireland during Covid-19 – read about the impact they are making on community health and wellbeing
- Scottish food distribution initiative, Scran Academy, chooses Elemental as digital partner as local leaders and agencies unite to be there for people when they need them most –it’s more than just good food
- We need your help! 4 years after we first launched our digital social prescribing platform, we have nominated as one of the UK’s top 10 digital leaders in the ‘HealthTech Innovation’ category alongside NHS Digital and we need your vote – Flying the flag for women in tech, for Derry~Londonderry and for community health and wellbeing
- Are you passionate about population health management, social innovation and making a difference? Good news, Elemental have created 3 new posts! – Could you be the newest member of our team?
1. GPs using the Vision clinical system can now make and manage patient referrals to social prescribing Link Workers for non medical support via Elemental – sign up to join or webinar or receive a recording
Elemental and Vision: Making it even easier for GPs to empower their patients through social prescribing, referring patients into community activities and interventions in as little as 3 clicks and so much more:
Join us Thursday 18 June at 2:00PM BST, as we showcase how clinicians who are currently using Vision can now:
REGISTER HERE
2. SPRING Social Prescribing is continuing to support communities across Scotland and Northern Ireland during Covid-19 tackling social isolation and loneliness and building community resilience
SPRING Social Prescribers across Scotland and Northern Ireland have adapted how they communicate and support clients. The co-production of health plans has been adapted to form the remote “Connect Well” service.
Following the government guidance- advising social distancing, all Social Prescribers were advised to stop all face to face visits with clients. The new “Connect Well Service” provides remote assistance and support to all clients. It is important to ensure people feel connected and supported.
There are 34, social prescribers working across Scotland and Northern Ireland, serving 28 communities in socially deprived areas. Each Social Prescriber contacts each and every client by telephone, text or video link every week.
Social Prescribers are making over 900 calls per week to clients and have recorded thousands of support interventions, as many people are reporting heightened levels of anxiety, poor mental health, problems with accessibility to health, food and financial problems. (Messages reflecting the issues and thanks are posted to our SPRING Twitter account.)
An ongoing support link has been set up with GP practices across Scotland and Northern Ireland. Referrals to the programme are open and SPRING Social Prescribers are on-hand to provide much needed help and guidance throughout this challenging time.
SPRING Social Prescribing Project Manager Danielle Keenan said: “We have adapted the SPRING model and have launched a new “Connect Well” service to provide support to our clients during the lockdown. We have also introduced additional training and mental health support for our staff to ensure that they too, feel supported and empowered to work throughout Covid-19.
“Elemental has been an integral part of our reporting system in SPRING Social Prescribing. The platform will help us get a specific picture of the needs and issues arising during lockdown, which give us an invaluable insight into the needs of our community and also a projection on the future demands on services.”
We caught up with Sean Mc Farlane, Social Prescribing Co-ordinator at Your Voice in Inverclyde to see how he and his team are continuing to support their communities:
Clare Cook, Regional Manager Scotland, said: “Our Social Prescribing team have adapted quickly to the new Connect Well service and have already linked many clients to essential services within our community. The role of community led health is more vital now than ever. Our delivery partners are rapidly responding to their community’s needs. The role of Social Prescribers has had a huge impact on the daily lives and mental health of our clients, who are extremely grateful for the support.”
3. Scottish food distribution initiative, Scran Academy, choose Elemental as their digital partner as local leaders and agencies unite to be there for people when they need them most.
Scran Academy is a non-profit catering company with a cause. They are leading a coalition of local agencies and charities that is rapidly responding to the food and safety needs of thousands of Edinburgh residents at greatest risk from coronavirus and who are currently self isolating.
The Coalition comprises of Scran Academy, Prep Table Scotland, Pilton Equalities Project, Fet Lor Youth Club, Out of the Blue Leith, The Edinburgh Academy and Fettes College with many other organisations coming together to support, produce and distribute much needed meals for over 1,300 of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable people.
Scran Academy offers more than just food, they offer daily, healthy meals. By delivering directly to doorsteps, they are supporting those who are unable to access food and/or lack the ability or resources to cook.
In their first seven weeks of operation, they have produced, packaged and delivered over 54,000 meals to over 1,500 people and are currently delivering around 3,500 meals per week.
Using Elemental, Scran Academy can easily report on and measure what the coalition has achieved to date which include metrics like:
- Over 54,000 ready meals freshly prepared and delivered direct to doors
- 1,500+ people accessing support
- Over 150 staff & volunteers have come together to give thousands of hours back to communities in Edinburgh
- Nearly 700 separate referrals from over 60 different agencies
- 13% of referrals have been made direct to the Scran Academy from family, friends or self-referral
- 53% of referrals represent single people, many of whom are socially isolated on their own
- 47% of referrals represent families and couples who have been disproportionately affected by lockdown through job loss, loss of free school meals and/or underlying health conditions
- 7% are facing homelessness or in temporary accommodation with no access to cooking facilities
- Over 300 people have been trained in Covid19 safety guidance and risk assessment
- 126 people (10%) no longer required support, due to exiting isolation or getting family support. A positive indicator that people in Edinburgh are avoiding a dependency culture.
Elemental also provides a seamless referral pathway for communities into Food Distribution support from GPs, Local Councils, Housing Associations, Social Care and more.
What’s even better is that these types of initiatives can ensure that all data relating to those who need to avail of support is secure, and only presented in an anonymised format when used for reporting.
“It is going to be great to have a platform that allows us to share relevant information appropriately, whilst minimising the risk of data breaches. We are excited to see how Elemental will change our organisation as we grow.” Charlie Johnson, Youth Development Coordinator, Scran Academy
Why Community Food Distribution initiatives need to become a major part of population health
Food and nutrition are key determinants of health. What people eat, and how much they eat, influences how healthy they are, their mental health and even how long they live. Food poverty arises when people lack the money or other resources needed to eat a healthy diet, something that’s particularly prevalent during Covid-19.
“Food Distribution is an extremely important element of community health and wellbeing. We’re finding more and more organisations in health, housing and Local Gov are identifying poverty and social isolation as a reason for referral into other services and it’s something that’s becoming a key catalyst for other health issues. Scran Academy is a great example of how local leaders & agencies are uniting to be there for people when they need them most. Elemental are honoured to be the platform that is helping power food distribution in these communities.” Jennifer Neff, CEO, Elemental Software
4. We need your help – Elemental have made the UK top 10 shortlist in the ‘Healthtech Innovation’ category alongside NHS Digital and we need your vote
We’re delighted to reveal that Elemental has made the Top 10 shortlist in the ‘HealthTech Innovation’ category in this year’s prestigious Digital Leaders 100 awards. The 2020 Digital Health awards received a large number of entries from across the UK, which have now been whittled down to a high-calibre shortlist of 10 finalists whose products or services have leveraged technology to improve healthcare provision or service efficiency, in the last year.
“As a team, Elemental are absolutely ecstatic to be included in the prestigious 2020 Digital Leaders 100 shortlist. To be recognised as a health tech innovator alongside services such as NHS Digital is a huge honour. Coming from a background of community development, we set out to mainstream social prescribing and make huge impacts to the lives of thousands of people around the UK and Ireland. It’s not just tech for the sake of tech, it’s tech for good, designed with a people first approach.” Elemental Co-Founder/CEO Jennifer Neff
Vote for Elemental
Voting for the Digital Leaders 100 Awards is now LIVE and you can vote for Elemental here. The public vote will be open until Friday 14th August, with the awards ceremony taking place in Leeds on Thursday 17th October 2020.
5. Are you passionate about population health management, social innovation and making a difference? Good news, we’re looking for 3 additional members of our team:
Due to the rapid demand for Elemental, we’ve created 3 additional roles in Elemental:
Vacancies include:
- Business Development Manager – North England and Scotland, closing date: 30/6/2020
- Sales Support Executive – Derry/Londonderry, closing date: 16/6/2020
- Senior Software Developer – Derry/Londonderry or Remote, closing date: 30/6/2020
Apply today: https://elementalsoftware.co/careers/
