LAUNCH OF POSITIVE PATHWAYS PLATFORM TO EMPOWER YOUNG PEOPLE TO CONNECT TO COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES

A new platform has been launched to assist children and young people in Coventry and Warwickshire to navigate and access a range of activities and opportunities in their local community.

Positive Pathways is a social prescribing platform that empowers young people, parents, and carers to choose the support or activities that suit their individual needs. The platform allows young people to access a range of physical and creative activities, as well as support with skills and employability.

The activities available range from sport sessions delivered by Coventry City FC and youth groups provided by YMCA, to arts and crafts, music groups and radio opportunities, to career advice, paid placements and work-related training delivered by Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

Hosted on the Integrated Care System website, the resource will make it easier for young people aged 11-18 to access the support that is right for them. Young people have been central to the development of the platform and have been involved in its design, ensuring it is user friendly and meets their needs.

The platform has been created to connect young people to activities, groups, and services in their community and provide opportunities to try new things, develop their life skills, and improve their health and wellbeing.

By providing access to a range of support services and resources locally, the platform also offers reassurance to parents and carers and involves them in their children’s health and wellbeing support journey.

There are also benefits for health professionals who are working with young people who may be struggling to access support. The platform streamlines the process of referring patients to non-medical support services, saving valuable time and resources for healthcare professionals, and more efficiently connecting young people with support that is right for them.

The platform aims to lead to a more efficient health system that delivers better outcomes for young people. By bringing together healthcare providers and community organisations, the platform offers opportunities for new services to be developed, as well as for improvements to existing services, that better reflect the needs of local people. It also empowers young people to take an active role in managing their health and wellbeing, meaning they get the support they want and need, leading to greater satisfaction and better health outcomes.

Lyn Ranson Clinical Consultant Lead West Midlands Trauma Vanguard at NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB, said:

“The Positive Pathways platform is a valuable tool for children and young people and professionals alike. The platform represents a repository of opportunities and activities in an easy-to-use format to foster positive outcomes for the children and young people across Coventry and Warwickshire. In addition, the Vanguard commissioned the development of a look up tool for Warwickshire to compliment the already established navigation tool in place for Coventry.”

“This resource is a fantastic example of how the Vanguard project is promoting a person-first approach and empowering our local young people to choose how they access support that is right for them.”

Dr Surinder Chaggar, GP at The Forum Health Centre in Coventry, said:

“I would encourage all professionals involved with care around children to consider social prescribing as a standard part of their management plans. I have found social prescribing to be invaluable in providing children with the right support and often de-medicalising their case. This holistic approach factors in health, education, and deprivation; looking at children through a family lens rather than a medical presentation.

“As we move towards integrated care systems and personalised care planning; patient outcomes will become central to our overall population health. Social prescribing will become more important at supporting children from all backgrounds.”

The Positive Pathways social prescribing platform is part of the Trauma Vanguard Project, which formed when Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) were selected to be the West Midlands Vanguard for the Framework for Integrated Children and Young People (CYP) Care in the Community by NHSE/I in August 2021.

To find out more about the Positive Pathways and the work of the Vanguard team and how this has led to the launch of the social prescribing platform, click here.