Expo 2024 – Social Prescribing
Social prescribing can play a crucial role in improving health and wellbeing, nationwide.
- It helps people feel heard, valued, and understood,
- It creates thriving communities,
- It can support people who are most at risk of poor health,
- And it helps people get the most relevant and effective support available.
For some people, social prescribing provides an alternative to medication. For others it works alongside it. Either way, it can help tackle the root cause of many health and wellbeing issues.
It is estimated that almost a fifth of GP appointment time is spent on non-medical problems – including loneliness, isolation, relationship issues, or stress related to money or housing. Social prescribing gives doctors, organisations, and other professionals a way to help people, and address their problems more effectively.
Many socially prescribed activities are run by voluntary and community organisations. These organisations are vital in the way they connect people with services and activities that make a difference.
For more information please visit:
NHS England » Social prescribing
NHS England » Social prescribing – frequently asked questions
What is Social Prescribing? | NASP (socialprescribingacademy.org.uk)
Statement from Tracy Haygarth – Social Prescribing Link Worker:
I was attracted to social prescribing as I wanted to get involved in grassroots community support after a career working for charities in information management. The role is really varied, interesting and rewarding, there’s never a dull day and you never stop learning.
I work alongside lovely colleagues as part of a network called the Hospital and Community Navigation Service, who manage us. We are funded by the PCN and a host organisation arranges our pay and leave (in my case Age UK Herts).
We work from home, supporting anyone 18+ on the phone, or face to face, usually at the person’s home. We provide non medical support, with issues as varied as finances, housing, caring, long term conditions, mental health issues and social isolation. Someone could be going through a difficult time at work, struggling to care for a neurodiverse child or loved one with dementia, struggling with how they are feeling or with their physical health, feeling lonely, or dealing with multiple issues. They may need extra support, be feeling overwhelmed, misunderstood or currently not coping well. We aim to improve wellbeing through the support provided.
We directly help with some issues (for example form filling) and refer onto other agencies that can provide more specialist support (for example with benefits). We can use health coaching and motivational interviewing approaches where appropriate, facilitating people to explore what they want, helping them to come up with the solutions. Sometimes we just give someone the space and time to be heard.
We often work with people who struggle to engage, which can be challenging. In these situations, where possible, we build trust gradually.
We research details on local services which are constantly changing. We are always learning about new services or more about existing services, researching whatever someone is interested in.
We introduce people to groups if they need that support, for example a social group or to get involved in a new hobby.
We use many skills in the role. These include listening, researching and information recording.
This explains more about what’s needed to be a social prescriber:
There are no formal qualifications required and social prescribers have transferable skills from other roles and experiences. There is a Social Prescribing Qualification which became available after I had been in the role for a while which I completed.
Come and speak to us at the Expo to find out more. 😊
