Communication and Engagement

As part of any new referral pathway communicating the new process is critical for successful implementation. Staff training and awareness of the referral pathway will be required to make sure everyone throughout the process is aware of each step.

If the social prescribing project was to include several clusters of GP Practices it may be worth providing a process map to Grampian Guidance who can then add the information process within the GP Practice IT system. The Grampian Guidance Team will be able to assist with providing advice on how to communicate the new referral process across the primary care teams. It would need to be clear which GP Practices the new referral pathway applied to as it is not possible to publish a Grampian Guidance for certain GP Practices across Grampian.

As well as the communication within the NHS healthcare system, the new referral pathway needs to include communication and engagement with a number of key stakeholders including service providers, patient populations and members of the public. An example of a Communication and Engagement Plan can be found here.

A recent Communication and Engagement Toolkit has been developed across Grampian in partnership with Community Planning partners. A link to the toolkit can be found here. In addition there is a training package which has been developed details of upcoming training can be found here.