This week, with pen in hand, we have Dr Ollie Hart writing for the Connecting Conversations blog. Ollie is a GP based in Sheffield, England, and a prominent advocate for person-centred and community-integrated healthcare. He serves as the Clinical Director of the Heeley Plus Primary Care Network, which provides care for approximately 42,000 patients .

With over a decade of experience in personalised care, Ollie has held several national roles, including Co-chairing NHS England's Strategy Board for Supported Self-management, serving as a national champion for the Royal College of General Practitioners' Collaborative Care and Support Planning Programme, acting as Clinical Lead for Personalised Care for NHS Sheffield, and participating as a member of the South Yorkshire Social Prescribing Board .

He is also the Director of Peak Health Coaching, a company specialising in health coaching training and organisational development for person-centred care. Peak Health Coaching was the first organisation nationally to be accredited for health coaching training by the Personalised Care Institute and has trained over 2,000 individuals in coaching skills .

Ollie is an advocate of the "Three-Dimensional Healthcare" model, which integrates medical care, social care, and self-care to support better patient outcomes. This approach emphasises the importance of addressing not only medical needs but also the social and personal factors that influence health, something which aligns very closely with the salutogenics of social prescribing.

I first met Dr Ollie Hart some years ago just as social prescribing was evolving in the NHS. We had invited him to be a keynote speaker at a regional social prescribing conference and he didn't disappoint,, delivering an inspirational message and having a positive, uplifting impact on the audience. It was one of the first places that the importance of coaching skills really hit home for me in relation to social prescribing and Link Workers. It was also the place I decided I needed invest in my own coaching skills if I was to truly practice what I preached when supporting social prescribing to grow and sustain.

Ollie like me is a connector and a very skilful and engaging, yet humble, one at that. His blog illustrates this perfectly, placing as always the person (patient), in this case Frank, at the centre stage, being led by their story and agenda rather than the "clinician know best" rhetoric. I hope you enjoy the story he shares as to "what matters" for social prescribing .

Happy reading!

Siân

SPN Chair

 Last week I was part of a book club with a difference. We gathered 100 people on a zoom call with the author of the book and 2 of the main characters. The book is called "The Connection Cure", the author is New York Journalist Julia Hotz, and those 2 characters were Frank and I! 

I met Frank as a patient over 10 years ago now. He was a new patient in the practice and was coming for a first-time diabetic review. Frank was a patient with a difference. He had just read a Michael Mosely book, totally changed his diet, and come off his insulin injections. In truth he'd done it all alone as he was too scared to tell any of his previous doctors and was in a bit of a mess. This meeting started a shared journey of discovery. We stabilised Frank's health, due in a big part to him taking up cycling (his social prescription) and maintaining a low carb diet. I learned about the possibility of remission from type 2 diabetes, something I'd not discovered in the first 15 years of being a GP.

Jules joined in our story about 5 years ago, she wrote an article on social prescribing for Wired Magazine that featured mine and Franks shared learning journey. In researching the piece, she got hooked on the idea of social prescribing. It led her on a 2-year world tour researching and writing her book, and cemented a shared purpose between us all.

The Connection Cure is the result of seeking out multiple examples of social prescribing across many continents. Of course, with my ego brimming from the spotlight I'm biased, but the book is a wonderful mix of storytelling and investigative journalism. Jules brings in studies and data, alongside tales of wild swimming, forest bathing, mechanic clubs, dementia farms and of course Franks "Chain Gang" cycle club for the over 75s! There is so much more as well, it's a tremendous synthesis of some of the most successful and enthusiastic champions of social prescribing.

Despite drawing on the interesting and trail blazing, the overwhelming theme of the book is that social prescribing is different for everyone. Most commonly it is not headline grabbing, but kind and compassionate local people looking out for each other. It is often small local groups, quietly connecting and creating opportunity for people to feel wanted, heard and valued……usually through the medium of a cup of tea (or similar local tradition).

For me as a GP and Clinical Director of a Primary Care Network, social prescribing is one of the ingredients of an evolving and enhancing primary care. As the NHS resets, I can see the need for primary care to firmly claim the delivery of whole person health- integrated health, social and self-management. My experience has been that traditional medical science is much more effective, and produces the most valuable outcomes, when grounded in a person-centred environment. General Practice at its best is masterful at providing health creation at the interface of medicine and real life. I think it is worth our while building systems where things like social prescribing, supported self-management and complex case co-ordination are integral to our practice. It feels like there are prizes beyond QoF points awaiting those that embrace these trends……happy staff and patients at the very least!

18 months on from launching the book Julia has hosted many discussions, listened to feedback and reflections, even delivered a TedX talk on social prescribing. Interestingly she reflects she is not sure she would now include 'cure' in the title. She recognises that social prescribing is rarely a finite treatment or course, that leads to a distinct end point. She sees it as a part of the health and wellness jigsaw, a piece that has often been missing. But part of an ever evolving and dynamic life experience.

I would thoroughly recommend the book, and you are welcome to watch the book club presentation and watch the Ted Talk below.

More about Dr Ollie:

Part of the world I live: Sheffield - the gem of the Peak District!!

Occupation: GP and managing director of Peak Health Coaching

What makes You well? Running with friends, surfing in clean seas.

Why is social prescribing important for the future? It pays attention to our basic human needs to be connected to people and our planet, to find our flow, and to allow an outlet for your creative side.

Your favourite nature based space? Got to be the sea when a 6 foot swell is rolling in. 

Your favourite music? Depends on my mood - at times I enjoy pumping house, funky mototown, or even folk and jazz. Something to resonate with my sympathetic or parasympathetic needs!

Your favourite pastime? Apart from running and surfing as above, I love riding a bike and writing.

If you had one wish for social prescribing what would it be? It was seen as one of the core pillars of health care. But it would be a prescription it would be universally accessible opportunities

What are your leadership tips for others who want to set up social prescribing projects?  Believe in its worth, and be persistent

Which one person has most influenced you and why? Michael West - lovely gentle man, who meditates, but has persistently championed compassionate leadership all his career , and successfully inspired so many

Any advice for others when working in this space with communities? Take your time, but keep building networks……its that old saying you'll not do as much as you want in 1 year, but you'll achieve so much more than you expect in 10.