What is social prescribing?
Social prescribing is a community development approach to health and wellbeing to support people with a wide range of social, emotional, and practical needs. The process uses a Link Worker or social prescriber to connect people to a range of non-clinical interventions within their community. This allows people to learn and apply skills to manage issues they are dealing with more efficiently.
What is a social prescribing Link Worker?
Social prescribing Link Workers often work within GP practices and refer patients to non-clinical interventions to connect people with the local community, services and local activities to improve their health and wellbeing.
A Social Prescribing Link Worker (SPLW) can be referred to as Link Workers, support brokers, social prescribers, and community navigators. Social prescribers tend to have patients referred to them from pharmacies, GPs, social care services, and job centres to name a few. Currently self-referral is also highly encouraged too.
By listening carefully to people’s issues, a Social Prescribing Link Worker can build a relationship with them to find solutions to both overcome and manage their issues. By 2023/24 the NHS have stated that up to 900,000 people will be referred to social prescribing as a part of driving the universal personalised care plan.
What does a social prescriber do?
The main duty as a social prescriber is to build relationships with whom you are working with, to collaboratively create personalised support plans and give them control of their health and wellbeing.
The support plans could contain a variety of different things including connecting them with local communities and voluntary groups like art classes or exercise classes, to more practical advice about budgeting and finding a house.
The NHS suggest a Social Prescribing Link Worker will see an individual at least six times, depending on their needs, to discuss how they are getting on in their social prescribing journey. The meetings will be evaluative and offer the individual time to explain anything that is not working so adjustments can be made accordingly.
Sometimes social prescribers may work with more specific groups such as children or refugees. Others may work on specific categories of social prescribing like homelessness.
How to become a Link Worker?
To be a successful Social Prescribing Link Worker there are no specific entry requirements apart from basic literacy, numeracy, and IT skills. What is more important is your work ethic, the way you work with others, and your personality including:
- Being Empathetic
- Not being judgmental
- Being emotionally resilient
- Having excellent listening and communication skills
How much does a Social Prescriber earn?
Most Social Prescribing Link Workers earn between £20,000 and £27,000 a year. This does depend on where you are and if you specialise with a particular age group or social prescribing category.
Social Prescribing Link Workers – Why are they important?
Introducing more Social Prescribing Link Workers will alleviate the pressure and waiting time to see a GP. Patients that do not require clinical treatment will be referred to social prescribers instead. A BMA study into social prescribing showed the use of Social Prescribing Link Workers could reduce GP waiting times by as much as 28%. The work of a social prescriber is crucial for making connections for people within their community to have a positive impact on their health and wellbeing.
NHS’ long term plan is to build the infrastructure of social prescribing in primary care. Social prescribers are additional roles within this and have been added in the Five Year Framework for GP Contact Reform and are included in the Network Direct Enhanced Service Contract . This is currently the biggest investment in social prescribing by any national health system highlighting the importance of community-based services and medical treatments working alongside each other as part of personalised care.
At Access Elemental Social Prescribing, we understand the challenges that communities can face in making a support plan a reality. We offer a trustworthy and meaningful partnership to support your foundations and visions to create a sustainable approach to social prescribing in your community. Discover our social prescribing software to learn first-hand how our work helps you deliver and grow your services.