Social Prescribing

Social prescribing is “a means of enabling GPs and other frontline healthcare professionals to refer patients to a link worker – to provide them with a face to face conversation during which they can learn about the possibilities and design their own personalised solutions, i.e. ‘co-produce’ their ‘social prescription’- so that people with social, emotional or practical needs are empowered to find solutions which will improve their health and wellbeing, often using services provided by the voluntary and community sector.” [Social Prescribing Network]

Social Prescribing is a key component of NHS England’s Universal Personalised Care.

The Social Prescribing Network works to share knowledge and best practice, to support social prescribing at a local and national levels and to inform good quality research and evaluation.

Social Prescribing e-learning programme on the eLfH platform includes the core elements and skills required to deliver social prescribing as part of a PCN multi-disciplinary team.

Resources and interesting reading

• NHS England Social Prescribing – how social prescribing fits in Universal Personalised Care, including the standard model, resources and FAQs.
• Social Prescribing: Making it work for GPs and patients – guidance from the BMA to help GPs make the most of the non-clinical support schemes they refer patients to, and collaborate with social prescribing link worker. (You can also read the BMA guidance on Primry Care Networks).
• Driving forward social prescribing: A framework for Allied Health Professionals – A Framework by the Royal Society for Public Health to help build a shared vision and increase social prescribing across the different AHP professions.
• What is Social Prescribing? – a Kings Fund publication (Published 2017, before the creation of Primary Care Networks)
• Social prescribing BMJ 2019;364:l1285 28 March 2019 [Available using NHS OpenAthens ID] – a clinical update outlining what social prescribing is, the evidence behind it, and offers some tips for embedding social prescribing within healthcare systems.
• The Social Care Institute for Excellence Prevention library includes examples of social prescribing initiatives
• High Impact case studies from the GP Development Programme
• The FutureNHS collaboration platform includes a Social Prescribing workspace with a five minute guide, resources and case studies.
• NHS England Social Prescribing online learning platform – to join the platform, contact england.socialprescribing@england.nhs.net.

See also the Link Workers page.

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