Social prescribing

Social prescribing is when health professionals refer patients to support in the community, in order to improve their health and wellbeing.<ref name="bmj-review">,

 Social prescribing: less rhetoric and more reality. A systematic review of the evidence, 
 BMJ Open, 
 
 Vol. 2017(Issue: 7),
 
 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013384,</ref> The concept has gained support in the NHS organisations of the United Kingdom as well as in Ireland<ref>

,

 What is social prescribing and how it can benefit your health Full text, 
 , 
 Irish Times, 
 9 April 2019,

</ref> and the Netherlands.<ref name="ft18"/>

The goals of social prescribing are to reduce the rise of healthcare costs and easing pressure of general practice clinics.<ref name="bmj-review"/> A 2015 Commission in the UK estimated that about 20% of patient consultations were for social problems rather than medical problems.<ref> ,

 Plan to expand social prescribing in bid to tackle health inequalities Full text, 
 , 
 GP Online, 
 24 August 2017,

</ref>

Definition

Doctors can refer some of their patients to a social prescribing specialist or link worker who can then suggest local social groups which they can participate in to improve their health and wellbeing.<ref>

Social Prescribing Network(link). Patient Outcomes in Health Research Group Projects. University of Westminster.

Accessed 7 May 2019.

</ref> These may include social enterprises, community businesses and local volunteer groups.

Evaluation

A 2016 review in The BMJ concluded that further, more robust testing was needed to determine how effective it was, noting that evidence in favour of social prescription came from small trials that were open to a range of biases.<ref name="bmj-review"/> A study of social prescription programs at 23 GP surgeries in central London found it produced a strong improvement in qualitative outcomes such as making participants less isolated, while quantitative outcomes such as general health and wellbeing were largely unchanged.<ref>

Social Prescribing: integrating GP and community health assets(link). {{{website}}}. The Health Foundation.

Accessed 7 May 2019.

</ref> <ref> </ref>

Examples

In the London borough of Hackney, a social-prescribing scheme is in place. The local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCGs) tends to follow clinicians' lead, and so initiatives coming from doctors can make all the difference. Hackney CCG ran a tendering process for setting up social prescribing and got a service provider to implement it for them.

Resources

It is proposed to establish a establish a National Academy for Social Prescribing in the UK.<ref name="ft18"> ,

 Community activity as a path to better health Full text, 
 , 
 Financial Times, 
 20 November 2018,

</ref>

Healthy London Partnership has produced a report intended to help CCG commissioners make decisions about implementing social prescribing<ref>

Steps towards implementing self-care(link). Healthy London Partnership. NHS.

</ref> and are also hosting a wiki specifically on Social Prescribing and Self Care.<ref>

Social Prescribing and Self Care wiki(link). Healthy London Partnership. NHS.

Accessed 7 May 2019.

</ref>

There are plans to recruit more than a thousand linkworkers in England.<ref> ,

 More 'social prescribers' to ease pressure on GPs Full text, 
 , 
 BBC, 
 28 January 2019,

</ref> The NHS Long Term Plan committed to recruiting at least 1000 trained social prescribing link workers in primary care networks by April 2021, with more in the following three years, so that at least 900,000 people will be referred to social prescribing by 2023/24.

See also

• College of Medicine (UK)
• Michael Dixon (doctor)
• West Wakefield Health and Wellbeing Ltd