Connecting communities and healthcare: Making social prescribing work for everyone
Social prescribing – where a person is referred to a link worker who then works with them to identify and link them to activities to improve health and wellbeing- can connect communities and healthcare. It is a way to support people’s wellbeing and quality of life while reducing pressure on the NHS. It links patients to community based activities, rather than simply prescribing them medicine.
The National Lottery Community Fund's paper - Connecting communities and healthcare-making social prescribing work for everyone - describes what they’ve learned from their grantholders who are piloting or scaling social prescribing, or who provide services as part of existing schemes. They share experiences and offer inspiration for anyone thinking of designing, improving or expanding social prescribing schemes.