What is Social Prescribing?

Social prescribing is a form of non-medical intervention that aims to improve the health and well-being of individuals by connecting them to community-based activities and services. One way to think of social prescribing is as 'health creation'.

The idea behind social prescribing is that non-medical interventions, such as walking, gardening, cooking classes, or art therapy, can have a positive impact on an individual's physical and mental health.

In the UK, social prescribing is typically delivered by a healthcare professional, such as a GP or nurse, who will assess a patient's needs and then refer them to a community link worker. The community link worker will then work with the patient to identify and access appropriate community-based activities and services that align with their needs and goals. These activities and services may include things like exercise classes, volunteering opportunities, or support groups.

One of the key benefits of social prescribing is that it can help to address the underlying social and emotional causes of poor health. For example, if someone is experiencing feelings of isolation and loneliness, social prescribing might involve connecting them to a community group such as Green Pathway to help them build social connections and a sense of purpose. Similarly, if someone is experiencing stress or anxiety, social prescribing might involve connecting them to a yoga or mindfulness class to help them learn coping strategies and manage their mental health.

Another benefit of social prescribing is that it can help to reduce the burden on primary care services. By connecting patients to community-based activities and services, social prescribing can help to address health problems at an early stage, before they become more severe and require more intensive medical intervention. Additionally, social prescribing can help to reduce costs by directing patients to low-cost or free community-based services rather than expensive medical treatments.

Social prescribing is becoming increasingly popular in the UK, with many local authorities and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) investing in the development of community link worker schemes. There are ongoing studies being conducted on the effectiveness of social prescribing in order to fully understand its impact on patients' long-term health and well-being. There is also a need for more training and support for healthcare professionals to ensure that they are able to effectively refer patients to community-based activities and services.

Social prescribing remedies is one of the ways Green Pathway is working to improve the health and well-being of individuals to reduce the burden on care services.