Case Study: 58-year-old Male
Patient Background
The case involves a 58-year-old male patient who had been struggling to reintegrate into society.
Challenge
After years of reclusive behaviour and locking himself indoors, the patient was referred as a challenging case by the Mental Health Team. He was finding it particularly difficult to adapt socially.
Solution
It was decided to treat the patient through a combination of medication and working with the practice social prescriber.
Medication was used to support the patient through any crisis episodes, whilst the social prescribing activities were designed to help wean him off it.
The patient undertook 3 consultation sessions over a period of 6 months and the Mental Health Team and social prescriber worked as a team, using Help at Hand’s Patient Manager system to track the patient's progress and confirm the effectiveness of their strategy. They were also able to easily share the progress report with the patient themselves, to provide additional motivation to maintain their focus.
Outcome
The social prescriber has reported that the combination of the Help at Hand Patient Manager systems and the sessions with their team has meant they have successfully managed to keep the patient away from the need for intensive GP involvement.
The patient is now out of crisis, and describes the ease of access to local support through the Help at Hand app as “magic”. He has developed a keen interest in horticulture, and he regularly contacts the social prescriber to explore other areas of support available to him through the app.
The social prescriber credits the Help at Hand app as a significant contributor to the patient's successful outcome.
Testimonial
"The Help at Hand app helped the patient discover local services that catered to his specific interests. In one particular case, a service was added to the app the week of a consultation between the social prescriber and the patient, and it was discovered by them both during that session. This would not have been possible without the app. The social prescriber commented: 'There was no way I would have remembered it at all without the Help at Hand app!'"
— Jack, Social Prescriber