Joining the dots: assessing the roll out of social prescribing link workers in primary care

Social prescribing is the referral of patients to non-clinical treatments – often for mental health needs and long-term health conditions.

In 2019, the NHS Long Term Plan embedded the role of link workers to coordinate and refer patients from Primary Care Networks. But are the right areas getting the support they need – and how sustainable is social prescribing for both primary care and VCSE organisations?

In this blog from Policy@Manchester, Paul Wilson (ARC-GM Lead for Implementaion Science) discusses the rollout of the link worker programme, and what is needed from policymakers to ensure the longevity of social prescribing.

• Referrals are made through GPs to link workers, who connect patients in primary care with sources of support within the community.
• Research has found fewer link workers in areas with the highest need – generally urban and deprived communities of lower socio-economic status.
• Public health policymakers at local, national, and regional levels must ensure link worker recruitment is targeted where it can have the greatest impact.
• There is also a need to comprehensively map, fund, and integrate VCSE organisations into primary care, to ensure the sustainability of social prescribing.

You can access the full blog from the Policy@Manchester site here 

Published 14th March 2024