We are delighted to announce that Pennine GP Alliance (PGPA) has been ‘Highly commended’ as ‘Employer of the Year’ at this years National Asociation of Link Workers Annual Awards ceremony.
Ella Fairbrother and Joanne Grantham who are the Personalised Care Team Leads for PGPA travelled to London to received the award as part of the #LinkWorkerDay23 Awards.
The Awards are about celebrating Social Prescribing Link Workers’ impact and recognising all those who have made outstanding contributions in Transforming Healthcare for All through social prescribing.
The Social Prescribing Employer of the Year award recognises a Social Prescribing Link Worker employer that has shown outstanding commitment to their Social Prescribing Link Worker and communities in which they operate, which have helped transform healthcare for all. The awards are given to employers that go the extra mile to empower and champion social prescribing link workers to flourish and can evidence this through their activities and processes.
Will Menzies, CEO of PGPA noted: “Social Prescribing Link Workers (SPLW) are a vital part of our organisation. As we manage the SPLW contract it is vital that we make sure that all staff feel welcomed into the team and the wider PCN network from day one. Thorough inductions, mandatory e-learning and Personalised Care Institute (PCI) learning, a well-being plan to support our staff personally and professionally, investment into training and building skills all continue to be a priortity for us in developing the best staff for the role and in turn a great working environment for our team.
Alongside this, we take our responsibility to be a good employer very seriously. This year in particular we have made improvements to policies including an increase in sick pay and maternity leave along with a recent cost of living payment. We also have a flexible working policy so that staff can balance work and home life.
SPLWs are also given the opportunity to take the lead on a variety of projects. This has increased confidence and skills which has resulted in team members being promoted within PGPA.
A number of SPLWs have accessed the accredited Level 3 Social Prescribing course. A number of positive changes have been implemented by staff following this such as monthly reflective practice sessions.
We encourage our SPLW staff team to take a proactive approach to supporting people through social prescribing. By embedding feedback as a key part of our support work we can see that by investing in staff and supporting them to do the best job they can is having a significant impact on patients.
What impact is the team having on patients and primary care?
A robust evaluation by the National Association of Primary Care gathering data from a large sample of 4170 patients using social prescribing across Calderdale (2020-2022) highlighted the following impact
We are really excited about how the team is developing. We now have four Personalised Care Team Leads who come together to ensure that, for an ever-growing team, the right processes and support structures are in place for staff welfare and continued successful patient outcomes.