by Tom Burton
National partnerships lead for health and inactivity, Sport England
Today is Social Prescribing Day. It’s a chance to showcase examples of great work taking place and people’s stories.
Now, many will have heard of social prescribing, been involved with it (some for many years, decades even!) or be working out the role they can play in it.
With a focus on reducing health inequalities, meeting people where they’re at and helping connect physical activity with health and wellbeing, there's a clear alignment with our Uniting the Movement strategy.
But don’t worry if social prescribing still feels a bit of an enigma – it’s a complex landscape with many organisations involved, spanning different sectors.
Local approaches can also look slightly different from place to place, so...
What is it?
Social prescribing focuses on “what matters to you?” rather than “what’s the matter with you?"
We know that quite often social needs are at the heart of issues seen in primary care and that local community activities and services – as opposed to medication – can help.
It’s been estimated that around 1 in 5 GP appointments are primarily for a social issue – not a medical problem or concern
This is where social prescribing comes in, often supporting people with more complex needs and focusing on what really matters to them.
It enables health and care practitioners, as well as other local agencies, to refer people (or sometimes people self-refer) to a national network of link workers, who get to know the individual, learn about their circumstances and help them access a service based on their individual needs and wishes.
The NHS aims to recruit 4,500 link workers by 2023 and it's this depth of support that differentiates social prescribing from the likes of brief advice or signposting.
Who's supported by social prescribing?
Some headlines from the National Academy of Social Prescribing's (NASP) Academic Partnership suggest:
- There are nearly twice as many women than men accessing social prescribing
- The highest proportion of people accessing it were retired or unemployed
- Individuals with long-term health conditions access social prescribing more than the general population.
While, in terms of people's social needs, the most common reasons for referral to social prescribing were:
- Symptoms related to anxiety and depression
- Exercise-related
- Issues relating to work or finances
- Being frequent attenders at primary or care services
- Isolation and loneliness
- Related to specific physical health complaints
- Struggling with life changes.
So what impact is social prescribing having?
The headline is that: social prescribing has an impact on a very wide range of outcomes, including decreases in loneliness and improvements in mental health and wellbeing, as well as social connections and in overall wellbeing.
Data shows there are strong levels of referral into local physical activity programmes, particularly so for the 65+ age group and for those living in the most deprived areas.
In terms of economic impact, there are emerging examples of reduced pressure/cost saving to primary care alongside a favourable Social Return on Investment (SROI).
How is the social prescribing agenda being supported?
There's a wealth of fantastic work taking place to connect people with a range of needs to local opportunities that help them to move more and connect with others.
It’s helping build strong relationships between public and voluntary sector partners – which of course includes many sport and physical activity opportunities.
Does this mean we have all the answers yet? No.
Is there a collective sense of commitment, ambition and opportunity for this work, with bundles of passion? Absolutely.
In fact, we’re learning a lot, such as how a common purpose is key to building trust across this complex system and the importance of ‘place’ being at the heart of this work.
Today is Social Prescribing Day. It’s a chance to showcase examples of great work taking place and people’s stories.
Now, many will have heard of social prescribing, been involved with it (some for many years, decades even!) or be working out the role they can play in it.
With a focus on reducing health inequalities, meeting people where they’re at and helping connect physical activity with health and wellbeing, there's a clear alignment with our Uniting the Movement strategy.
But don’t worry if social prescribing still feels a bit of an enigma – it’s a complex landscape with many organisations involved, spanning different sectors.
Local approaches can also look slightly different from place to place, so...
What is it?
Social prescribing focuses on “what matters to you?” rather than “what’s the matter with you?"
We know that quite often social needs are at the heart of issues seen in primary care and that local community activities and services – as opposed to medication – can help.
It’s been estimated that around 1 in 5 GP appointments are primarily for a social issue – not a medical problem or concern
This is where social prescribing comes in, often supporting people with more complex needs and focusing on what really matters to them.
It enables health and care practitioners, as well as other local agencies, to refer people (or sometimes people self-refer) to a national network of link workers, who get to know the individual, learn about their circumstances and help them access a service based on their individual needs and wishes.
The NHS aims to recruit 4,500 link workers by 2023 and it's this depth of support that differentiates social prescribing from the likes of brief advice or signposting.
Who's supported by social prescribing?
Some headlines from the National Academy of Social Prescribing's (NASP) Academic Partnership suggest:
While, in terms of people's social needs, the most common reasons for referral to social prescribing were:
So what impact is social prescribing having?
The headline is that: social prescribing has an impact on a very wide range of outcomes, including decreases in loneliness and improvements in mental health and wellbeing, as well as social connections and in overall wellbeing.
Data shows there are strong levels of referral into local physical activity programmes, particularly so for the 65+ age group and for those living in the most deprived areas.
In terms of economic impact, there are emerging examples of reduced pressure/cost saving to primary care alongside a favourable Social Return on Investment (SROI).
How is the social prescribing agenda being supported?
There's a wealth of fantastic work taking place to connect people with a range of needs to local opportunities that help them to move more and connect with others.
It’s helping build strong relationships between public and voluntary sector partners – which of course includes many sport and physical activity opportunities.
Does this mean we have all the answers yet? No.
Is there a collective sense of commitment, ambition and opportunity for this work, with bundles of passion? Absolutely.
In fact, we’re learning a lot, such as how a common purpose is key to building trust across this complex system and the importance of ‘place’ being at the heart of this work.
Some examples of how we’ve supported this agenda include:
National Academy for Social Prescribing
We’ve provided strategic capacity and leadership that ensures physical activity continues to be a key pillar of this work.
NASPRegional physical activity and social prescribing advisors
Helping bridge local to national working, each advisor is hosted by a local organisation, responds to the unique system needs of that region and has a primary focus on supporting voluntary sector partners. See below for the list of advisors.
Green social prescribing programme
A cross-government programme being tested across seven areas, aims to prevent and tackle mental ill health. Sport England has invested as a national partner to this work and each site receives physical activity support.
Green social prescribing programmeActive Through Football
Working in partnership with NASP, the English Football League Trust and the Football Foundation to provide a learning programme for clubs helps understand and respond to local health and care priorities.
Active Through FootballWe’re also supporting work led by the Department for Transport around Active Travel Social Prescribing Pilots and our colleagues at ukactive are navigating the important role that the fitness and leisure sector can play through their Leading the Change report.
Want more information?
The NASP website is a great please for people to find out more and join networks of like minded organisations.
You can also speak to your local Active Partnership, who might be able to help with any queries or ways to get involved on a local level.
Or you can liaise with one of the regional advisors:
North West - Ben Fatimilehin BFatimilehin@activelancashire.org.uk
North East - Andrew Tunnah Andrew.Tunnah@wearerise.co.uk
Midlands - Charlotte Leonhardsen charlotte.leonhardsen@Activepartnerstrust.org.uk
East - Kimberley White Kimberley.White@ActiveEssex.org
London - Rob McLean rob.mclean@londonsport.org
South West - Gary Head Gary.Head@exeter.gov.uk
South East – Jo Pappenheim Jo.pappenheim@energiseme.org