Autumn saw the launch of the 100-day challenge in Tameside and Glossop, exploring ways to improve care and outcomes for people living in neighbourhoods across the patch.
The work builds on the great foundations already in place across neighbourhoods, and through the person-centred care agenda – and involves practitioners from across health, social care, the voluntary sector and people with lived experience in multi-disciplinary teams. Three teams have come together for the challenge across the Denton, Hyde and Glossop neighbourhoods.
With sponsorship from local leaders, teams are given the permission and space to develop and test new ways of working over 100 days – aimed at improving the outcomes of people in local neighbourhoods. Nesta, a national innovation charity, are working with GM sponsors and local leaders in Tameside and Glossop to support the efforts through coaching and facilitation.
The challenge teams are aiming to test new ideas, focusing on person centred approaches, self management and social prescribing, the involvement of communities and families and blurring the lines between clinical and non-clinical sources of support.
The Denton Diabetes Diverters and Hyde and Seek teams are concerned with engaging with individuals who have been screened as ‘pre-diabetic’ and have been testing different approaches targeting patients from 5 medical practices across the patches. The teams are multi-disciplinary and bring together health, social care, community services and people with lived experience. Both teams have organised events, inviting people to come along and learn more about what pre-diabetes is, and hear from a person who has made great improvements to their lifestyle on receiving the news they have raised blood sugar.
Denton Diabetes Diverters invited patients from three practices to a launch event at Denton Labour Club on Wednesday 1 November. There was a fantastic attendance of almost 80 patients! Be Well offered health checks and Live Active offered exercise sessions, as well as other community based offers and information about local services, healthy eating and self management. Alongside this was an opportunity for people to sit down with their GP in an informal environment to chat through their health and any concerns they had.
The Hyde and Seek team contacted 300 patients and offered brief advice over the phone on lifestyle change, drawing on motivational interviewing techniques, along with an open invitation to an evening education event and focus group. The phone calls resulted in a number of new appointments for Be Well and Live Active. A small group also attended the evening event and contributed their ideas on what would help people struggling to make lifestyle changes and move away from pre-diabetes.
Glossop Gold are the challenge team in Glossop and they are focusing on End of Life care. They have a multi-disciplinary team (GP, Practice Nurse, GP reception staff, Social Care, District Nursing, Macmillan Nurse, physiotherapy, paramedic, and Assistant Nurse Practitioner) who have been working together to ensure that people feel supported and involved with their care once they have been identified as being in the final stages of their life. Ideas they are focussing on include supporting person-centred approaches to difficult conversations – including training for staff, improving information available for patients and families, developing patient-held folders and records for their own care, and the incorporation of bereavement support for loved ones.
The teams are only half way through the challenge and already some fantastic learning and inspiring stories are emerging. They are engaging with individuals and communities who are not usually engaged, they are demonstrating true partnership working and bridging the gap between medical and non-medical resources, and testing the benefits of having a different type of conversation with the patients and public which is person centred, collaborative and asset based.
As one person reflected on leaving the Denton event:
It's going to turn my life around, this is!
The challenge runs until January 2018 with plans already in place for sustaining the learning beyond this. We will continue to provide updates and progress.