In 2013 Dr Kingston applied for Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Innovations funding and employed Jenny Hartnoll. Frome Medical Practice employed Jenny on behalf of all the 12 Mendip GP practices. For two years the work was around mapping community resources; creating a website directory for community members and GP staff to access information about the support available to help improve their health and wellbeing; setting up a Talking Cafe; developing awareness raising stands in GP practices where external groups and services could promote their work; developing the Community Connector training and working alongside others to set up peer support groups. It was clear that there was a need for one-to-one support but with just one person in the team, this was not possible. In 2015 the CCG had funding from the Community Matron scheme which had finished. Each area of Somerset was asked what they wanted to do with this funding, Mendip chose to expand the Health Connections service from one person to a team who could work with each practice in Mendip.

In 2015 the CCG funded workers to work with patients one-to-one and in groups – we called these team members ‘Health Connectors’. This was before the NHS Additional Role Reimbursement (ARRS) Funding for Social Prescribing Link Workers (SPLW) and Health Coaches. Health Connectors are trained as a hybrid role of both SPLW and a Health Coach. The funding for our service is partly from ARRS and partly from Somerset Integrated Care Board (ICB).

Our website directory was one of the first things we created in 2013. It is a hugely useful tool for staff and community members alike. GP team members can access the website directory and print information out for patients or send them text messages with links to entries on the directory. This is then recorded on the patient record. Health Connections has an admin team, one for each Primary Care Network (PCN) and the admin use the directory with people calling in for simple signposts. This is a great way to give people the information they want without it necessarily ending up in an appointment with a Health Connector, if the person just wanted simple information.
Our website template has been shared with places in this country and abroad as a simple directory template. Contact us if you would like more information about our website template.

In 2013 we set up our first Talking Cafe in Frome. We now run scores of Talking Cafes across Mendip every week. We went on to share the idea with other organisations in Somerset and they replicated the idea. We also shared the idea with other areas of UK and abroad who now run them very successfully. The idea is that a Talking Cafe is a place where people can get information about support and opportunities in their community, if they don’t want (or can’t) to go onto our website directory to look for the information. Talking Cafes are also places where people can drop in regularly, or just once, to make friends and connections. Talking Cafes are places that are not ‘professional heavy’. The attendees are those who can offer others ideas based on their experiences but there is also a Health Connector there to offer ideas,signposts or also make an appointment for one-to-one support with a Health Connector.
During lockdown we were not able to hold our Talking Cafes so we set up Talking Benches. We have continued with these due to their success. The idea is that there may be people who don’t want to go online to find out information, they may not want to make a phone call, they may also not want to go into a building to attend a Talking Cafe. Talking Benches offer a place where people can find out information, chat to a Health Connector, feel connected something that is always there at the same time and same place each week. A community ‘anchor point’

Health Connections tries to provide many ways for people to get involved, not just one-to-one support. Some people like to attend groups rather than get one-to-one support. Or they may want to attend a group as part of their one-to-one support. We run Talking Cafes as signposting and connecting groups. We run healthy lifestyle groups for those who want to attend a programme of support based on topics such as sleep, moving, healthy eating, connecting and more. In some areas these groups are called Habits for Health or Be Healthy, Be Happy and we run them alongside GPs. In some areas we run On Track for those who are setting goals and want to do this alongside others. Sometimes we run 10 Footsteps groups for those living with pain. We also run groups such as Escape Pain in some PCNs.

Health Connections works alongside community members to help them set up groups if they see a gap. We support people to identify whether it is a real or perceived gap in provision, we link them to national support if it exists and we also link people into the Somerset umbrella body for VCFSE sector, Spark Somerset. Over time, we have realised that our place in helping people set up groups is with peer support groups. Over the years we have worked alongside community members to set up groups such as a Macular Degeneration Group, Leg Ulcer club, Cafe Connect for people living with dementia, Stoma Support group, MS exercise group, Stroke Support group and more. Some of these groups that were set up in 2013 are still running, some have been set up since then and others have closed or moved on and emerged as different groups with different names.
If there are groups or initiatives that are not peer support groups, we work alongside other organisations to help make things happen. For example we worked with Frome Town Council to support the set up of Frome Community Cars.

As the Health Connections team became more established and Area Leads were in place to support and manage the teams in each PCN area, it was time to create the Development Team. This team is tasked to work on ‘phase two’ of Health Connections. We are forward looking and work on things that we might want to embed in our service in the future. We test small new projects and initiatives, develop the Connector programme and work on improving things in our current service. Some small projects we trial and don’t continue but we know that sometimes a project isn’t successful because it is not the right time. An example of this was our Town of Names initiative. Other small projects eg Talking Bench and Postcard Project are very successful and become embedded in our main Health Connections offer. The Connector training is renowned worldwide and is a key part of our development.

Connector training was developed in 2013 based on work that happened in Harlesden, London around Street Connectors. Connector training and Connectors are a vital part of the Health Connections model. Connectors are community members who have had a short training session/workshop on a certain topic. The aim is for Connectors to signpost friends, family, neighbours and even strangers to support and opportunities in the community. This simple signposting means that more and more people know about what is available in the community – rather than saying ‘if only I had known that’ the aim is for people to say ‘I know about that’. We have trained over 1,900 people in Mendip as Community Connectors and we have developed the Connector work to include Digital Connectors, Green Connectors and working alongside Historic England, we have developed Heritage Connectors.
We have also supported many areas of the UK and abroad to develop their own Connector programme.

There has been quite a bit of press interest in the work we do due to an article written by Dr Julian Abel about our work and the wider work in Frome Medical Practice and the town of Frome itself. In the article the work was called Compassionate Frome. The work in Frome is just based on lots of organisations working together to do what is right in our daily work – based on trust and appreciating each other. Also the town of Frome is full of amazing people and initiatives and working alongside these people has been key to the work we are all doing in this town.
The work of Health Connections is across Mendip and not just in Frome. The work across Mendip is just as developed as that in Frome and there are similar teams such as Health Connectors and Complex Care teams who work closely together.
We have shared our Health Connections work both in the UK and abroad. We try to explain that what is happening is not unique but that we perhaps have a more developed system due to having, perhaps, started the work a few years before other areas. The work that we share most is the ‘phase two’ development work of Health Connections. We provide regular drop in online sharing sessions and bespoke support/presentations when we are able to.

Jenny and Hayley are the Development Team. We are here to take the work to the next stage by trying out ideas, learning from others and developing the work that is already in place in the team. One day we might be developing the new website for the team and the next day we may be trying out a new idea such as the Talking Benches. We also share our learning via our online drop in sessions which can be booked via Eventbrite.

We have worked with 100s of other organisations and areas to develop our work and also to share our work. More on this to come once we have launched this new website.