Regional Voices’ partner organisations, including Wellbeing East and East Midlands are collecting examples of Social Prescribing projects from across the country.

If you are a CCG or local authority who is funding a social prescribing or a voluntary community or social enterprise that is delivering a social prescribing programme we would like to hear from you. Please contact Wellbeing@selfhelp.org.

Social prescribing sometimes called ‘community referral’ is a way of linking patients in primary care with sources of support within the community. It provides GPs with a non-medical referral option that can operate alongside existing treatments to improve health and well-being.

“While the medical model diagnoses and treats disease rather than people, it is the social context in which people live their lives that often determines their health, and wellbeing” More Than Medicine: New Services for people powered Health (Nesta)

While the majority of patients are referred to social prescribing by a GP (through primary care) social prescribing can be a valuable tool for a number of other health and care professionals. These include:

• Any statutory agency working with at-risk people
• Any voluntary sector agency working with at-risk people
• Primary care mental health workers
• Primary care-based mental health nurses
• Practice nurses
• Health visitors

The Department of Health have previously proposed the introduction of social prescriptions for those with long-term conditions* and it can also be particularly useful for people with long-term mental health problems, and those in vulnerable and at-risk groups

Two examples of mapping already undertaken by two of the Regional Voices partners can be found below

Social prescribing map of London Link to the map

South West Social Prescribing map http://www.raise-networks.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/RAISE-MAP-edition-11.pdfV

Useful References included

Community Action Southwark; Social Prescribing Briefing January 2015 

*  Department of Health, White paper. Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services Crown Copyright; January 2006.