How NHS Dorset and BCP Council are improving community service information for frontline professionals
Chris Small from Community Action Network and Simon Dickinson from Digital CoProduction talk about their project with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council and NHS Dorset implementing the Open Referral UK standard to improve access to community-based services, particularly for mental health support.
The problem
NHS Dorset recognised an urgent need under their mental health strategy to improve awareness of reliable, up-to-date information on community services. Their data revealed a pressing concern - 60% of suicides take place at home or in the community. Easier access to information about community services could be lifesaving.
To address this, they began conversations with Community Action Network and Digital CoProduction to create a Service Finder tool to make local service information accessible and accurate to professionals, so they can signpost people quickly to the right support.
A collaborative approach
A big part of this project was the collaborative teamwork with the local authority, NHS and voluntary and community sector in Dorset.
Community Action Network (CAN), a local infrastructure support organisation, champions charities, community groups and social enterprises across Dorset. CAN had existing contracts with NHS Dorset, including a serious mental illness project. They had a shared goal - to better link people to community services to improve mental health and wellbeing.
Digital CoProduction joined as a digital partner who could provide what BCP council and NHS Dorset were looking for - a standardised, reliable and assured data hosting platform alongside a tool for professionals.
A pilot with frontline professionals
An 18-month pilot project focused on co-designing a tool with frontline health practitioners. This involved the creation of, and maintenance of, a shared dataset of service information.
Empowering frontline professionals was effective. Instead of creating a public directory, they gave the tool to a focused group of people who help lots of individuals in their community. This expanded the tool's reach and connected more people to the support they needed. BCP Council also actively promoted its use with public-facing teams - from Family Hubs to Adult Social Care and Housing - to support people locally.
The project combined national data with locally gathered information, including from CAN’s 800 member organisations. To make it work, they ‘restructured’ the local data to fit the ORUK format, focusing on the services offered as well as the organisation providing them.
The impact
Professionals trust the data to be accurate
More than 650 professionals are now using the tool, with over 18,000 searches this year. Feedback has consistently shown practitioners value the accuracy and reliability of the data, giving them the confidence to recommend services without needing to check information. This streamlines referrals and improves outcomes for those seeking help.
A Wellbeing Practitioner said:
“Service Finder makes it very easy to search for local services, and I’ve been amazed at how much support is available for people locally. The tool has really expanded the range of options I can share with people.”
Adapting to the way professionals search for information
The Service Finder tool goes beyond simple keyword searches. Professionals can apply multiple parameters (location, day, online or face-to-face) to discover the most appropriate support options.
Gave public users a flexible way to find services
The flexibility of the Open Referral UK standard allowed the team to introduce a very malleable approach to searching detailed service information, allowing appropriate signposting for all users.
Sparked conversation at a wider level
Distinguishing between the data and the tools that use it can be tricky, but BCP Council have demonstrated a clear understanding of the benefits and a keenness to extend the work.
Crucially, the commitment by Dorset HealthCare as part of Adult Mental Health Transformation: Access Wellbeing to reuse the shared dataset via the API was a huge step forward. This proved that a single dataset can power both a feature-rich tool for professionals, and a user-friendly public tool, making conversations about future opportunities much easier.
A Dorset HealthCare Project Manager said:
“The work that has gone into developing it and the opportunity it represents to support communities are fantastic. I have seen first-hand how enthusiastic professionals have been at the opportunity it represents to guide patients more effectively.”
Challenges
Getting a consensus on taxonomies
The team found that achieving consensus on taxonomies across more than 30 initial partner organisations was challenging. The language used directly impacts how easy a person can find and engage with services. Terms can be inconsistent even between neighbouring counties, so the project team advocates for taxonomy alignment to become a national conversation, preventing localised definitions.
The range of ways users approach service discovery
Early on, the team recognised users approach service discovery differently. Some prioritise location, others by date or cost. This reinforced the idea that a single front-end tool cannot serve everyone and there is a longer-term need for multiple, purpose-built applications.
Measuring the precise impact of the tool
The referral process has many stages, so establishing a link between professional signposting and positive outcomes for individuals is complex.
Thinking about future expansion
While small datasets are manageable, anticipate challenges like de-duplication and consistent naming conventions as data grows from hundreds to thousands of services.
Next steps
Tracking impact
The team is keen to monitor return users and measure how people engage with recommended services. This will be monitored through click-through rates and actions taken (such as clicking a self-referral button) to see how services are used and improve future recommendations. The goal is to reach a stage where shared data is seamlessly integrated into existing professional workflows.
Build beyond a single tool
While this work delivered a Service Finder, it also provided an API feed of reliable data so services can be exposed through third-party tools. The Access Wellbeing public website will be the first to consume the shared dataset in Dorset.
The longer term vision is for the data to be used in multiple applications, tailored to specific user groups, and BCP Council are looking to help make this a reality.
Other developments include:
- developing a public facing tool under NHS Adult Mental Health transformation
- expanding into the NHS Children and Young People mental health transformation and professionals’ network
- supporting the NHS Neurodevelopmental pathway