1. Embedding Advice Services in Health Settings
Roddy Samson

2. Impact of Austerity on General Practice
GPs increasingly supporting patients with social welfare and financial concerns.
GP workload adversely affected by greater financial hardship and changes to welfare provision
Requests for medical reports to support benefit applications and appeals increasing
Realistic Medicine - What matters to you?
‘I cannot address medical issues as I have to deal with my patient’s agenda first which is getting money to feed her family and heat her home.’ GP

3. Services Provided Benefits and Tax Credits Problem Indebtedness
Housing
Income Maximisation
Employability
Deal with Socio Economic Problems Early to Increase Chance of Engagement

4. Links with health services validates service
Making it Work
Links with health services validates service
Embedded Model
Access to Systems and Records
Welfare Rights Adviser Part of Team (sharing information / integration / nights out)
Use Experienced Advisers (SNSIAP & FCA)
Identify and Fix Problems Early
Partnership Working
Team Meetings / Training to feedback on success and emerging issues.

5. Impact on patients
Improved financial, material and social circumstances …..
Lower stress and anxiety
Better sleeping patterns
More effective use of medication
Smoking cessation, improved diet and physical activity
Feeling in control of the problem and able to deal with similar problems in the future
Having control over their life to live the way they want to
Able to have a say in the decisions that affect them
‘This service has changed my life around tremendously, it has turned my life around and allowed me to get out of the house.’ Patient

6. Impact on General Practice
Reductions in consultations and prescribing
Health staff confident in raising the issue of money worries
Person-centred care
Minimises requests for support with health-related benefit form filling, medical reports etc.
Practice staff make better use of time focussing on clinical care
‘This project is taking a huge amount of pressure off me to support people with matters I don’t know much about.’ GP

7. Family Friendly Advice
Partnership of NHS, Third Sector, and Local Authority.
Focus on addressing unmet advice needs, and providing access to advice services to those who would otherwise not access them (or know they have an advice need).
Community based rights organisation working in partnership with trusted intermediaries who provide legitimacy.

8. Project Remit
Increase referrals from partner agencies to advice services.
Building on work started March initially focussing on uptake of HSV.
Offers income maximisation and money advice services to referred families.

9. Need
Families do not claim their full range of entitlements following the birth of a child.
Family finances are affected following birth of a child leading to problem indebtedness and other problems.
Maximising household income has a positive impact on health and reduces child poverty.
Offering advice services to families around the birth of a child = “intelligent intervention”.

10. Referrals Remit is to increase referrals from partner agencies.
Referred/signposted families do not always follow-up referral.
Existing advice services do not always have capacity.
Provide an advice service that could accept all referrals made from partners.
Build on work embedding advice services within General Practice.

11. Midwifery Referral Process
Started with Leith midwifery referrals.
Trak asks a suite of questions about money worries and financial capability.
Only 1% of maternity bookings documented that a referral had been made.
Increase referrals and streamline process.
Embed the advice service within the process.

12. Referral Process TRAK Details of referred women extracted by NHSL
referrals to adviser
Honorary contracts and NHS addresses
Families referred to other ancillary / complimentary services for assistance

13. Outcomes & Successes HSV receipt maintains at a high level.
Over £2.6 million financial gain in under 3 years. (Over £4k per family).
Increase in referrals from project partners to advice service.
Top Team Award.

14. Roddy Samson Kerry McKenzie Thank You @adviceinhealth
Kerry McKenzie

15. Questions and discussion
Thinking about your role/service, how can you support families to access advice services?
What are the key financial issues affecting the families that you are working with, or provide services to?