Ruils, a local charity supporting people across SW London, are working in partnership with the SWL Integrated Care System and GP practices in Richmond to deliver Health in your Hands. For Jenny Strickland, a typical working day might find her taking someone’s blood pressure one minute and connecting with an organisation to solve a tenant’s mould problem the next. This is an example of the ‘wrap-around’ support which Jenny offers in her role as Social Prescribing Wellbeing Coordinator.

SIGNAL is a crucial component in helping Jenny to deliver this holistic, person-centred service which is designed to tackle health inequalities in an area with high incidents of Long-Term Health Conditions (LTHCs) such as Diabetes, Hypertension, Asthma and Depression. It is aligned to the project’s key outcomes to encouraging self-management. Health in your Hands aims to bring support out into the community and ensures there are no barriers to accessing healthcare.

Jenny explains: “SIGNAL is perfect for our one-to-one sessions with people who have LTHCs, especially where they feel they don’t know where to start. SIGNAL helps me and my clients to work together to make a plan!”

Jenny has picked up the baton from her predecessor, Jessica McGreal who was the first Wellbeing Coordinator to be appointed when the project started in September 2022. Since that time, SIGNAL has provided important data that shows people identify a wide range of priorities in their lives and, where they have completed a follow-up SIGNAL, we can see the progress they have made, for example in improved self-esteem or eating healthier food.

This reflects Jenny’s person-centred approach to addressing health inequalities; by understanding what people’s real needs are, irrespective of whether they are clinical or non-clinical, and how to make a plan to tackle them.

If you would like to find out more about how SIGNAL is being used in Social Prescribing projects please get in touch at contact@clearsignal.org