Social Prescribing and why its the need of the hour
The core idea behind social prescribing is recognizing that a person’s holistic health is determined by a range of social, economic, and environmental factors. Social prescribing (also referred to as community referral) is a means of enabling General Practitioners, nurses, and other health and care professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services. Not only does this help support individuals in taking greater control of their own health, but it also helps reduce the rise of healthcare costs and ease the pressure on general practice clinics.
How does Social Prescribing work
Social prescribing enables all local agencies to refer people to a link worker. Referrals to link workers can come from a wide range of local agencies, including general practice, local authorities, pharmacies, multi-disciplinary teams, hospital discharge teams, allied health professionals, fire service, police, job centers, social care services, housing associations, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organizations. Self-referral is also encouraged. Some healthcare professionals whose roles involve long-term intensive support may undertake social prescribing directly.
Link workers, one of the critical links in social prescribing, are those who give people time and focus on what matters to the person as identified through shared decision making or personalized care and support planning. They connect people to community groups and agencies for practical and emotional support. Link workers collaborate with local partners to help community groups be accessible and sustainable and support people starting new groups.
Social prescribing complements other ‘light touch’ approaches like active signposting. Active signposting uses a ‘making every contact count’ approach where existing staff in local agencies engage individuals in conversations about what matters to them and provide information to signpost people to services, using local knowledge and resource directories. Active signposting approach is best for people who are confident and skilled enough to find their own way to services after a brief intervention
Social Prescribing And Outdoor activities like cycling and walking
More patients across the West Midlands could be given cycling and walking prescriptions after a successful pilot showed improvements in participants’ physical and mental health. A successful initial pilot of the scheme was delivered in Birmingham and the Black Country throughout summer 2021 and saw 79 GPs help over 560 patients through targeted engagement and support designed to meet their individual needs. The social prescribing program there is designed to tackle health inequality by offering patients with certain health conditions living in disadvantaged communities free-to-access cycling and walking activities, such as walking groups, free bikes, and cycle training.
Read more about health benefits of cycling here