Practical advice service helping to tackle causes of poor health

A ground-breaking service that provides financial support and advice through Liverpool GP practices is demonstrating a significant impact.

An evaluation of the Advice on Prescription service, which was introduced by NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and is run by Citizens’ Advice Liverpool (CAB), has shown how it is helping some of the city’s most vulnerable households to increase their income and reduce debt.

NHS Liverpool CCG announced a new five-year contract for Advice on Prescription in 2016, representing a £2.5 million investment as part of its mental health strategy.

Operating from 50 locations across the city, all Liverpool GPs can refer patients for assistance from CAB advisors on a range of issues including: housing, homelessness, job loss, complex debt issues and benefits advice.

Figures compiled by the CCG and the CAB show that between 2016 and 2018 the service resulted in:

• A total of £6.7 million in income maximisation – helping people make sure they are receiving all the financial support available to them and reducing debt and other outgoings where possible.
• An average increase in household income for referred patients of £762.
• Helping people to manage debt totalling £2.7 million – with more than £157,200 of this written off.

The service was developed after GPs reported a rise in patients presenting with problems that had a practical rather than medical cause, reflecting the strong link between social and economic hardship and poor health.

A significant number of Liverpool residents live in areas of high deprivation – the city was ranked as the fourth most deprived authority on the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2015.

The evaluation found that nearly 57% of people referred to the service had a monthly household income below £800, and 62% of referrals came from the most deprived areas of the city.

Advice on Prescription reports high levels of satisfaction with both those using the service and GPs who refer people into it: 77% of patients reported an increase in their capacity to manage their own physical and/or mental health, and 23% reported an increase in their capacity to maintain somewhere to live and avoid eviction.

Dr Fiona Lemmens, a Liverpool GP and Chair of NHS Liverpool CCG, said:

“There are many non-medical factors which can impact on a person’s health. As GPs we regularly see patients whose problems are rooted in things happening in other areas of their life, including those struggling with money or housing problems. The strain created by these type of issues increases the risk of developing conditions such as depression and anxiety.

“The Advice on Prescription service gives GPs and other health and care professionals a clear route to help patients who might need practical advice and support. This is good for individuals as it creates an opportunity for them to tackle problems which are having a negative effect on their health, while also reducing pressure on GP practices.

“We’ve very proud of the service and the positive impact it’s having. It demonstrates how we need to recognise the wider issues that impact on physical and mental wellbeing, and the importance of addressing the cause of problems rather than simply treating the symptoms.”  

Debbie Nolan, Project Manager, South Liverpool Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) said:

“Citizens Advice Liverpool are pleased to be the third sector delivery partners on the Advice on Prescription programme, and that is it making such a real difference to the lives and health of so many people in Liverpool. 

“Advice on Prescription is an excellent example of collective and partnership working which is providing help and support to people with a range of non-medical issues such as debt, housing and loneliness and isolation in conjunction with local GP and their teams.”

You can read a full copy of the report here.

One-Day FREE Course to Help Liverpool Women Manage Stress

Is feeling stressed taking its toll on your mind, body and general health? You are not alone. Recognising and dealing with stress can be a hard cycle to break.

Stress is a reaction to feeling under pressure, and everyone feels stressed sometimes.

However, stress is something which can be managed via your thinking. If you can train your mind to think right and think positive, you’ll be able to cope with stress better.

This year we’ve made it our mission to help the women of Liverpool step BEYOND stress, because we all need a helping hand sometimes.

Our FREE one-day course is open to women living in the Liverpool City Council area who are dealing with stress, living with a health condition or a disability. And this summer, we’re taking Step Beyond Stress on the road to a number of venues throughout Liverpool:

Stoneycroft Children’s Centre – 15th July, 12 – 3pm

Anfield Children’s Centre – 17th July, 9:15 – 12:15pm

The Women's Organisation, 54 St James Street – 18th July, 10 – 3pm

Clubmoor Children’s Centre – 22nd July, 10 – 1pm

Ellergreen Community & Early Years Centre – 7th August, 10 – 1pm

The Women's Organisation, 54 St James Street – 5th August, 10 – 3pm

PAL Centre – 8th August, 11 – 2pm

Women’s Advice Centre – 14th August, 9:30 – 12:30pm

Felicity House – 20th August, 10 – 1pm

WHISC – 22nd August, 1:30 – 4:30pm

The Women's Organisation, 54 St James Street – 3rd September, 10 – 3pm

This course covers:

• The signs, symptoms and causes of stress 
• What stops us caring for ourselves? 
• Lifestyle changes 
• The ability to categorise reasons for stress 
• How to develop coping strategies

If you’d like to find out more about Step Beyond Stress or book a place, please contact the venue directly using the phone number below.

Stoneycroft Children’s Centre – 0151 233 4770

Anfield Children’s Centre – 0151 233 4001

The Women’s Organisation, 54 St James Street – 0151 706 8111

Clubmoor Children’s Centre – 0151 233 8500

Ellergreen Community & Early Years Centre – 0151 233 3337

PAL Centre – 0151 708 9669

Women’s Advice Centre – 0151 494 1777

Felicity House – 07572545691

WHISC – 0151 707 1826

This course is part of the Citizens Advice on Prescription: Ways to Wellbeing Liverpool programme.

The WO Team Get 'Learning at Work' with Advice Skills Academy

Building skills and encouraging staff development has been key to the success of The Women's Organisation for the last 22 years, so when the opportunity came up to be part of a new programme supporting just that we jumped at the chance!

Our team full of new ideas and inspiration

Advice Skills Academy is an innovative programme bringing together the Citizen's Advice services from across the city region in partnership with The Women's Organisation to co-ordinate learning and development opportunities specifically for those working in the advice sector. 

Through Advice Skills Academy, which is part funded by European Social Fund, our team have benefited from a number of tailored training sessions, but have also been offered encouragement to take up independent learning and development opportunities.

This 'Learning at Work' week we've added some extra activities and given extra encouragement to the team to ensure we can maximise the opportunity to invest in the great staff we have here.

Maggie John, Cynthia and Laura from our team examine the Business Model Canvas

Learning at Work Week Signage

As part of this our team enjoyed a brilliant session looking at using the 'Business Model Canvas' as a tool for both organisational development and a to offer advice and guidance to those looking to start or grow a business. 

The opportunity was open, not just to those who are directly client facing, but the wider team including those involved in finance, administration, marketing, training and development. This meant that everyone who participated could understand how we could potentially use this tool through our programmes to further improve the level of advice offered to our clients, and how we can use the Business Model Canvas to look at how we work and could work more smartly as an organisation.  

The session was delivered by Amanda Brooks, Enterprise Education Development Manager at Lancaster University, and was a chance to not only hear about how they have used the Business Model Canvas in practice, but an opportunity for our team to take part in an idea's sharing session to compare methodology and experiences.  This helped to strengthen the understanding across the wider team of how our advice services work, and to build best practice models for moving forward.

Our team moving around the space to explore different BMC methods

Some of the comments from our staff following the session included:
"It was great to be given the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of our organisation and the work undertaken by my colleagues. Great for team building as well as building my knowledge"

"I really enjoyed exploring the Business Model Canvas in this session.  It was interesting to see how each of us had used it so far to offer advice, and I think sharing our ideas had helped to strengthen our toolkit for supporting a diverse client base."

"It's always nice to feel like your organisation is investing in you, so having time out from the day to day during Learning at Work week is a real boost on a personal level as well as for professional development."

Also during learning at work week The Women's Organisation are encouraging their team to ensure they are putting time in their diary to focus on personal learning and development.  Some of the team have expressed an interest in taking time to explore Google Digital Garage modules as part of their development, while others are opting to shadow colleagues or join in smaller discussions to further their knowledge.

To find out more about the Advice Skills Academy project please click here.