Identification and referral - About-Us - Upstream

Identification and referral

It may be difficult to identify those who could benefit most from the Community Mentor service. These people may not be currently involved with existing activities in the community and are therefore less likely to hear about the service or be recognised by others to be potential beneficiaries. See link to Who is it for?

Mentors take the following steps to help identification: 

• List the most likely circumstances of people who might benefit in their area – different areas (urban, rural, local districts, etc.) will have different needs.
  
• Leaflet about the service (see below).
• Visit and explain the service to professional teams, including:
  
  • GP practices throughout the area, and the multi-disciplinary team (including health visitors, occupational therapists, district nurses and others)
  • Local hospitals
  • Pharmacists, dentists, opticians and other professionals in the community
  • Social Service Help Desks and/or community information centres
• Visit local institutions, organisations and clubs, including residential homes, sheltered and warden-assisted accommodation, city, district or parish councils, etc.
• ‘Map the area’ further by visiting pubs, post offices, newsagents, and other ‘community antennae’ that might recognise potential beneficiaries of the service - the Pilot Project identified this as an effective method of promotion.

‘Invitation’ leaflet

It is important to get the language right with a single clear message common to all who read the leaflet, professional or participant, so that the service is seen to be inclusive and positive. There needs to be thorough consultation with all interested parties on language and content, which might differ according to the needs and character of different areas. Further messages about the service can be conveyed through additional information for particular interest groups. The leaflet is distributed through:

• GP surgeries, libraries, community organisations and outlets
  
• Door-to-door in selected areas or villages
• Leaflet with GP repeat prescriptions, or distributed at flu-jab clinics, etc.
• with prescriptions from pharmacists, dentists and opticians;
• included in patient’s information packs at hospitals;
• inclusion in registered list of interface services for effective GP referrals.

Referrals

At first, referrals will come mostly from health and social care professionals but the service should aim for a shift towards 50% professional referrals, 25% from community signposting, and 25% from family, friends and self-referral. The increasing number of self-referrals indicates the positive effect of word of mouth. Most professional referrals are likely to come through occupational therapists, health visitors, community psychiatric nurses and similar. The integration of mentors on GP multi-disciplinary teams and networking among voluntary organisations through the Healthy Living Community increases the number of referrals and the positive amount of signposting.