Refer-all wins second tender with Wandsworth Council

Refer-all, which specialises in software solutions to enhance the efficiency of exercise referrals from GPs to leisure providers, has won a second tender with Wandsworth Council.

In 2012, Footsteps for Health in Wandsworth tasked Refer-all with creating a software hub to assist with the running of their service. This umbrella service commissions lifestyle services for patients via GPs using a single form to refer their patients to a central hub. The aim was to improve the services for everyone involved and, looking to the future, the council was keen to move away from paper referral towards electronic referral.

Matt Robinson, Health Living Project Officer – Footsteps, explained: “This tender exercise was about identifying a modern, efficient referral system which could help meet the council’s service improvement aims. Our previous approach allowed us to look at the number of referrals and where they had come from but had no other information. Refer-all’s software has given us access to way more information at the touch of a button.”

Refer-all specialises in software solutions to enhance the efficiency of exercise referrals from GPs to leisure providers. The company offers a fast and efficient referral pathway for Exercise on Referral schemes from GPs via an online form. The referral from the GP appears instantly on the leisure provider’s dashboard, from where they can use Refer-all’s software solution to move the patient through their service, setting target dates and recording actions completed against the referral, such as contacting the patient and booking appointments, for example, via a task bar. The integrated system also provides the leisure provider with information about where the referrals come from.

In 2014, with the Exercise on Referral and specialist activity services now under the jurisdiction of Wandsworth Council, the authority made the decision to phase out paper based exercise referrals for these services. Refer-all, again, won the tender to provide specialist software solutions for this and to assist Wandsworth Council to stitch its public health function together.

Matt Robinson said: “With this contract we needed a value for money service which could bring together a range of public health services within a single, efficient system framework. Refer-all was able to deliver against all of these criteria.”

Exercise on Referral and the specialist activity services are operated by People for Places on behalf of Wandsworth Council, with Refer-all’s software working across six of the borough’s leisure centres at Balham, Latchmere, Putney, Tooting, Wandle and Roehampton Sport & Fitness Centre.

Matt Robinson commented: “Refer-all helps with the management of referrals, with tracking and also strategically, as we can see how the different services fit into the whole scheme, the whole patient intervention. It is also really helpful for the lifestyle services to see how the patients use a wide range of services. When I am asked to report on referral ‘traffic’, I can see the targets for each service and have the capability to track these. This creates a targeted approach in terms of intervention and good demographic information that we can act on.”

Patients are also benefitting. Matt Robinson said: “Sometimes it is hard for patients to know who is contacting them as the differentiation between Exercise on Referral isn’t always fully explained or understood. Refer-all enables GPs to give patients a receipt which clearly shows them which services will be contacting them and their contact details. This means that they can contact the lifestyle service direct, rather than having to recontact their GP. Furthermore, during any appointments, the lifestyle services can see other appointments with other services so there is a complete view of patient care, which can only be of benefit for the patient.”

Since April 2012, Wandsworth’s Health Trainer service, and more recently, the Exercise on Referral scheme, have seen around 3,000 referrals using Refer-all’s software system.

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Editor’s notes:
Refer-all are specialists in software solutions for exercise referral and consultancy providing great communication, strong outcomes and efficient workflow to make people active.
www.refer-all.net

For further information contact:
Abigail Harris at Big Fish Public Relations
Tel: 07738 331019
Email: abigail@bigfishpublicrelations.co.uk