East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH) has been chosen as a finalist in two national awards.

The social enterprise, which provides NHS community services across Norfolk and Suffolk, has been shortlisted for the Public Services Social Enterprise of the Year by Social Enterprise UK (SEUK). It has also made it to the finals of the Health Tech Newspaper (HTN) awards in the category of Best Use of Digital for Improving Care Pathways.

As a social enterprise, ECCH reinvests its surplus resources in enhancing its services and supporting local good causes with a view to improving neighbourhood health. It has four multidisciplinary teams of nurses and therapists working closely with the four groups of GP practices in Great Yarmouth and Waveney to treat people in their own homes, as well as a wide range of specialist community services such as Dietetics, Heart Failure and Specialist Palliative Care.

In the past year some of its achievements include working with Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board to develop a Health Connect Service which supports people leaving hospital by providing practical and emotional support at home. It has also worked with partners to operate a Virtual Ward system where patients can be digitally monitored at home rather than having a hospital stay. It has run events to promote healthier lifestyles and understanding of conditions such as diabetes and Parkinson’s, and given thousands of pounds to a range of local good causes through it’s East Coast Support Fund.

It was the introduction of digital advances to services that led to the HTN shortlisting. ECCH’s Digital Health and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy teams developed a self-help app to support patients to self-manage their conditions. Online self-referral and appointment booking was also introduced, giving thousands of additional patients access to support without needing to attend a GP appointment. Patients can now receive a response, guidance and start their rehabilitation journey within 48 hours of their self-referral. The changes have also led to a drop in appointment non-attendance from 13% to 7.8%.

ECCH Chief Executive, Ian Hutchison, said: “We’re delighted to be shortlisted for these two prestigious awards. We pride ourselves on working really closely with GPs, system partners and the voluntary sector to really understand the needs of our neighbourhoods and ensure they receive the most appropriate and ‘joined up’ care. We also continue to emphasise the importance of broadening and deepening our digital offers to improve patient accessibility, experience and outcomes. Being chosen as a finalist twice is a great accolade and tells our teams their hard work is focused in the right direction and is making a real difference.”

Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK, Peter Holbrook CBE, said: “Our Awards are the ultimate showcase of social enterprise impact and excellence – so those who made the shortlist represent the future of business, and a beacon of hope in turbulent times. Despite economic challenges, these trailblazers are not only making profit but using it for the good of people and planet. Businesses big and small have a vital role to play in solving the problems we face as a society, and the social enterprises celebrated at our Awards give us all inspiration and motivation to do business better.”

The HTN awards event takes place in October and the SEUK Awards will be held in London in November.