Connect North holds first Community Appointment Day
Innovative initiative for people who have been newly diagnosed with dementia and their carers aims to streamline access to suitable support
The Northern Health and Social Care Trust’s Connect North service has held its first Community Appointment Day (CAD) for people who have been newly diagnosed with dementia and their carers.
The innovative programme aims to make it easier to get the right support at the right time by providing comprehensive assessments, engagement and connections to essential community services all within a single appointment.
Explaining more, Claire Ramsey, Health and Wellbeing Manager, said: “Since the launch of our referral pathway in December 2022, Connect North has observed a steady rise in referrals for clients newly diagnosed with dementia.
“Data analysis highlighted the need for innovative approaches to resource management while maintaining high-quality, person-centred care. The CAD initiative was designed and piloted with care to assess, engage and connect clients and their carers to valuable services and supports without impacting the quality of the service they receive or waiting times.”
The first CAD was held in Antrim Library with clients and carers from the Mid & East Antrim and Antrim and Newtownabbey council areas invited to meet with their Connect North Link Worker for an assessment and connection to meaningful and appropriate community services.
Feedback
Feedback and experiences were collected throughout the day from clients, carers, family members, providers, and staff, all of which will inform learning for future events.
“We are incredibly proud to introduce the Community Appointment Day initiative,” said Sabrina Lynn, the Northern Trust’s Health and Wellbeing Locality Lead. “This approach enables us to provide timely and comprehensive support to our clients and their carers, ensuring they continue to receive the best possible care from our service.
“We’re very grateful to the organisations and service providers who joined us on the day and we’re looking forward to continued collaboration as we roll-out the CAD approach.”
Social prescribing
As the Northern Trust’s area-wide social prescribing team, Connect North, in partnership with Age NI, aims to connect people to community activities, groups, and support to enhance their overall health and wellbeing. Otherwise known as social prescribing, their work helps to address social factors affecting health and wellbeing, such as work, finances, housing, long-term conditions, and feelings of loneliness or isolation.
If you would like to find out more about Connect North or how to refer someone to a Connect North Link Worker, please contact the team by emailing connectnorth@northerntrust.hscni.net
To browse the Connect North directory go to www.connectnorth.co.uk
11th April 2025
