Staywell is delighted to announce a new service, launching autumn 2018.

As part of Kingston’s developing social prescribing programme - Connected Kingston - our new team of Community Connectors will work predominantly, but not exclusively with Kingston’s frail elderly population. This group numbers approximately 2,700 people, a cohort which has been identified as having a significant impact on the health and social care system locally:

• On average, each frail person costs £6,186 in acute and primary care costs – compared to £187 for an average healthy person.
• Inpatient emergency costs per person showed a 10-fold difference i.e. £3,446 for the average frail person, vs £320 for a non-frail person aged 65 and over.
• Average A&E costs were £285 for a frail person, compared to £46 for a non-frail person aged 65 and over.
• Frail people have 12 GP appointments per year compared to 7 for a non-frail person over 65 years old.

Positive

Our new Community Connector service is one part of Connected Kingston and the Kingston Coordinated Care Programme. Growing evidence from across the country has shown that social prescribing can make a significant impact on an individual’s use of health and social care services (reduced hospital admissions, use of primary care etc.) as well as having positive health and wellbeing outcomes and improved quality of life for the individuals themselves.

The service will work in the main with frail and frail elderly individuals who are referred through a range of routes, including multi-disciplinary meetings, from voluntary and community sector agencies and self-referrals.

Connect

A Community Connector will typically work with an individual over a period of 8-10 weeks, focusing on their needs, and what they want to achieve, or change in their lives. The aim is to connect the person to community-based services which can improve their general wellbeing, in turn improving their health and care situation.

This new community service will work closely with Staywell’s well-established and award-winning Community Team.

To find out more, contact the service manager Marion Caldwell on 020 8942 8256 or email [email protected].