Healthy Lives Together

Over 15 million people in the UK suffer from long-term health conditions such as diabetes, asthma and heart disease, with most experiencing poorer health outcomes and reduced quality of life as a result. They are also proportionally higher users of health services: 70% of national NHS spend is on patients with long-term health conditions.

Healthy Lives Together supports people with long-term conditions with a ‘social prescribing’ intervention. This delivers specific types of support to help people develop an improved attitude towards challenges, gain access to specialist services, and improve their lifestyle.

This is an outcomes-based contract, so the commissioner only pays for measurable improvements in people’s lives. The target outcomes of the programme are to improve well-being, improve health, and reduce utilisation of healthcare services.

Through the personalised support provided by Healthy Lives Together’s link workers, 86% of participants have reported improved wellbeing after six months.

Healthy Lives Together has taken a holistic approach to protect this vulnerable cohort during the current crisis. The team has assessed the needs (support network, IT equipment and others) of each participant, and is using technology to maintain engagement.

To support the wellbeing of the participants, the team has developed a mental health pack that includes activities like word searches and puzzles, links to anxiety and mindfulness apps, therapeutic worksheets with links to online videos and contact details of local community support services. In addition, the team is running a number of social activities to help participants combat isolation, from virtual quizzes to virtual bake offs.