A NEW service that aims to help lonely adults finds friends, companionship and activities is being officially launched in Poole this week.

The Poole Social Prescription Service is the first in Dorset and aims to improve people’s health by finding solutions within the community.

Poole Well-being Collaborative is launching the scheme with funding contributions from Borough of Poole and the local NHS clinical commissioning group of £100,000 a year for the next two years.

“That level of funding contribution demonstrates a real commitment in the investment required to allow our scheme to come to fruition,” said Charlie Sheldrick, independent chairman of PWBC.

A staff of five based at offices in Wimborne Road, have helped 28 people since the scheme began last September, a lot of them aged 90-plus, from GPs and a variety of voluntary sector organisations, and people can also refer themselves.

With an increasingly older and isolated community, the scheme aims to reduce pressure on busy family doctors and find alternatives to help people who might be depressed, bereaved, out or work, or autistic and not knowing how to get help.

“Our aim is to try and be creative for how we refer people and look at how individually we can make a difference to them by being original and inventive,” said services manager Judith Bacon.

People have been referred to the Red Hat Society which holds weekly coffee mornings, and to the Royal British Legion which can offer a range of help.

Sarah Haysom, health and wellbeing link worker, along with Pete Thompson, meet people in their homes and find out what help they need.

“There is a writer, Mandy Jenkins who works with older people and writes their life stories in a book and we have referred a lot of people to the Silver Line, Esther Rantzen’s helpline,” said Sarah.

“It’s really exciting, there is tremendous potential,” said Judith. “The number of people we have had referred already shows how wide the demand is.”

Knowledge bank is next...

AN OFFICIAL launch of the service takes place at Lighthouse on Thursday with more than 60 people invited, including those who could be referring people to the service.

PWBC is also compiling an extensive Knowledge Bank.

“It’s of every adult activity that happens in Poole,” said Sasha Morgan, who looks after marketing and communications.

“We are not aware of anyone else doing what we are doing,” she added.

The data, which will be continually updated, will help create a personal and local service.

Similar social prescribing services are running successfully in other places.