The Access Elemental Social Prescribing platform went live across GP practices in the ICB’s East locality in June 2024 and is due to be rolled out across all remaining localities in September 2024.

Social prescribing is an approach that connects people to activities, groups, and services in their community to meet the practical, social and emotional needs that affect their health and wellbeing.

Under a two-year contract, the Access system will enable patients to self-refer to social prescribing services as part of their mental health support. It will also enable social prescribing cases to be captured and managed digitally, removing reliance on paper and manual processes.

It is hoped the platform will reduce pressures on primary care services in the region by improving access to mental health support.

Jennifer Neff, cofounder at Access Elemental Social Prescribing, said: “With social prescribing currently being run differently across primary care networks (PCNs) and ICBs, investing in digital helps those responsible for services to collaborate better, reduce health inequalities and improve community health and wellbeing.

“Social prescribing isn’t always seen as the top funding priority, yet it significantly eases primary care pressures. Partnerships like the one with Birmingham and Solihull showcases effective support for both physical and mental health in primary care”.

The cloud-based platform system integrates with primary, secondary and social care systems, enabling cases to be tracked and managed in one place.

The platform will be used for population health management across the ICB, and analytics will be tracked across the six localities to evaluate the impact of services in the region.

The Access Elemental Social Prescribing system will also be integrated with the NHS App at a later date.

Stephen O’Halloran, business manager at Birmingham East Central PCN said: “We operate in an ethnically and culturally diverse patient population, and as an ICB, we have struggled to manage the socio-economic pressures that our patients face. Using digital social prescribing means we have a consistent referral and communication pathway across the ICB.

“We now have a robust and user-friendly platform to collaborate with colleagues, engage with patients, our regional leads, and the wider community. And the related analytics will help us report on the success of the projects and build ‘use cases’ as we move forward”.

Eliminating health disparities has been a key focus for Birmingham and Solihull ICB, as highlighted by the ICB’s director of digital, Nick O’Reilly, at Digital Health Summer Schools in July 2023.