Health services: Prescribing legal advice
Four out of 10 clients who obtained legal advice at their GPs’ surgeries reported that their issues were resolved within three months, research for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has found.
Researchers said feedback on the support from health justice partnerships (HJPs) was “extremely positive”, with most of those interviewed six to nine months after receiving support saying that their issue had been partly or fully resolved.
HJPs enable GPs, nurses and receptionists to book legal advice sessions for people, often at their surgeries.
Researchers said clients most often wanted assistance with applying for welfare benefits and debt management, and problem resolution “often led to an increase in income and therefore an improved ability to cope financially”.
An economic analysis of data provided by HJPs found that on average, clients facing a financial issue received “an additional £2,332 annual income gain through their issue being resolved (through a combination of increased welfare payments and debts written off)”.
HJPs were “relatively effective at problem resolution within a three-month window”, with 39% of clients reporting resolution within three months.
“Clients felt that advisors had given them a clear path forward, allowing a ‘weight to be lifted’ where managing the issue had been causing a significant amount of stress and anxiety.”
IFF Research and York Health Economics Consortium based the final report of their Evaluation of Integrated Advice Hubs in Primary Healthcare Settings on qualitative interviews with HJP leads, advisors, healthcare professionals and clients, followed by a survey of HJP clients and a counterfactual group (who faced a legal issue but did not seek help via an HJP).
Clients of HJPs were more likely to be White (90%), female (67%), aged 45 or more (58%) and from the lowest socio-economic group (45%), compared to those with legal issues but without the support of a HJP.
They most commonly had issues to do with government payments (35%) and treatment for their mental health (31%). Researchers said the “primary outcome” of HJPs was “to lessen the negative impact” that a legal issue was having on their mental and physical health.
After three months, clients were less likely than non-clients to report that the issue they were facing was having a negative impact on their physical health, 59% compared to 73%, or mental health, 63% compared to 78%.
However, HJP support did not generally lead to improvements in clients’ overall health and wellbeing, or reduced demand for healthcare services.
“This was because clients accessing support from a HJP tended to be more likely to have one or multiple health issues, separate to the legal problems they were seeking support for, which were ongoing…
“Although the advice could not lead to a wholesale improvement in their quality of life, the support they received helped with managing related life issues that can deepen health consequences and lead to other problems.”
Qualitative data from both healthcare professionals and HJP clients suggested that referrals to advice by a GP helped improve access to legal advice for vulnerable people.
“Prior to being referred, clients were unsure about where to go for help, and had concerns that their problem wouldn’t be considered ‘bad’ enough and they would be turned away.
“However, having a healthcare professional recognise their issue helped to build confidence in seeking advice.”
Researchers added that HJPs had “the potential to achieve positive cost-benefit ratios in terms of financial gain to the individual and benefits to the public purse from reduced resource use”.