what is a social prescriber

Social prescribing is a means of enabling health professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services to improve their health and wellbeing. It is a non-medical referral option for a range of professionals, including GPs and allied medical staff, as well as non-medical professionals working in the social care and charity sectors. Social prescribing link workers give people time, focusing on ‘what matters to me?’ to co-produce a simple personalized care and support plan, and support people to take control of their health and wellbeing. The goals of social prescribing are to reduce the rise of healthcare costs and easing pressure of general practice clinics. Social prescribing is designed to support people with a wide range of social, emotional, or practical needs, and many schemes are focused on improving mental health and physical wellbeing. Those who could benefit from social prescribing schemes include people with mild or long-term mental health problems, people with complex needs, people who are socially isolated, and those with multiple long-term conditions who frequently attend either primary or secondary health care. Social prescribing complements other approaches in a local area such as active signposting, where existing staff in local agencies provide information to signpost people to services, using local knowledge and resource directories.