Northern Ireland technology firm marks decade in business by helping Aboriginals in the Australian outback

Technology developed in Northern Ireland is to play a key role in supporting the community in one of Australia’s remote townships.

Londonderry’s Access Elemental, previously known as Elemental Software, has signed a deal with nib Group, a health, wellness and global travel insurance company to help improve people’s health including over 800 Aboriginals.

The deal is to provide a digital social prescribing platform, which will be used in nib’s Bourke Pathways programme. The programme aims to improve long-term health outcomes for Bourke’s community, and reduce pressure on public health and allied services.

Bourke is 760 kilometres north-west of Sydney in western New South Wales and has a population of about 2,400, about one-third are Aboriginal. It is synonymous with Australia’s ‘outback’ with many people who need access to major hospital or health services travelling either 400 kilometres to Dubbo, or 550 kilometres to Orange, the next nearest large towns.

Founded by Leeann Monk-Ozgul and Jennifer Neff, Access Elemental’s social prescribing model leverages existing networks within a community to refer people to sources of support to help improve wellbeing.

Jennifer explained: “We know that social determinants, like access to housing, good health services and community connections dictate better health outcomes. “We developed the technology to leverage existing networks, make it easier to refer people to the right services in their communities, and track their progress.

“We have a decade behind us; we can see the savings to the healthcare system, and more importantly, significant improvements in health outcomes for people from a wide range of communities.

“To see our work reach into communities in Australia is a huge step. We are immensely proud, particularly as it comes as we mark a significant milestone - 10 years since Leeann and I first came up with the idea for Access Elemental.”

Leeann continued: “Using Access Elemental’s digital social prescribing technology, nib will deliver a care navigation service. nib group will capture individual client data through a range of assessments, generate client care plans based on care path templates, and interact with other systems used by local providers to facilitate data uptake for client referrals into and out of the service.

“It is an honour to have our software used in such an important programme, which is a real landmark as we mark our 10th anniversary.”

nib group is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, and has a market capitalisation of more than $A3.5 billion. Their programme in Bourke will be launched in 2024 and is the first of its kind in Australia. The Access Elemental technology will also help nib understand health trends, impacts from social determinate support models, which could be deployed in other discrete communities.

“In a world where health services are stretched thin, our focus is clear: to bring innovative support to the communities that need it most,” explained Roslyn Toms, nib group head of sustainability, group executive legal and chief risk officer.

“We are blending Access Elemental’s global expertise with the invaluable insights of our local partners. Bourke Shire residents, like many people living in smaller townships, have particular health issues endemic to remote locations in Australia. Sometimes, those health issues can be solved with greater access or better coordination to existing services.”

Invest Northern Ireland has supported Access Elemental since it was founded in 2013. Grainne McVeigh, Invest NI’s director of advanced manufacturing and engineering, added: “This breakthrough into the Australian market is a testament to the innovation being developed by Access Elemental and more widely throughout the north west.

"We are proud to have supported the company over the last 10 years with a variety of support from R&D to develop its social prescribing platform to expert advice and guidance to grow its exports in new markets. This support is reaping tangible benefits culminating in this new deal. On behalf of Invest NI, I wish the entire Access Elemental team well as they work to deliver this significant contract for a highly important and influential programme.”