Derry tech entrepreneurs are off to spread a little happiness in Gulf

Jennifer Neff and Leaann Monk are the Derry women behind Elemental, a company that electronically connects patients with chronic conditions to the appropriate health care solution for them.

The firm was recently awarded the prestigious INVENT 2016 award for best Enterprise Software and as a reward Ms Neff and Ms Monk will also be heading to California on a tech mission next year.

Before then Elemental is launching in Dubai during Innovation Week (November 23 - 26).

The local women will be partnering with the Emirate’s Department of Health (Dubai Health Authority) to help it launch its ‘Dose of Happiness’ programme “where they will be prescribing happiness through health and wellness to Dubai using Elemental Social Prescribing Software.”

It’s the latest success for the local women after the INVENT 2016 win, which secured a share of a £33,000 prize pot and a trip to the Golden State next year.

Co-founder Jennifer Neff said it all started from an idea to transform community health and activate patients by connecting them to programmes and services in their community to help them live longer and better lives.

“It is other wise known as social prescribing,” Ms Neff explained.

“We have taken this model of care to the next level having developed software that makes it easier than ever for health and social care professionals to refer, signpost and connect people with health risk reducing programmes and activities in their area. It’s the tracking and measuring element that’s getting the most focus,” she added.

Social prescribing has been cited by the NHS GP Forward View 2016 report as one of ten key areas for action for the sustainability of the NHS.

“Three years ago when we start working on this hardly anyone understood what we were doing,” said Ms Neff.

“We now have the attention of health care professionals, commissioners, third sector organisations and most importantly, patients across the UK and more recently the United Arab Emirates.”

Fellow co-founder Leeann Monk said: “We have given everything to making this business work and have surrounded ourselves by a team of industry experts to fast track the development of our social prescription software.”