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Exploring social prescribing referrals & impact on information, advice and guidance services

31 Mai 2023

Exploring social prescribing referrals & impact on information, advice and guidance services [ 3 mb]

The impact of social and wider determinants of health on health outcomes is well established. As a result, health systems have recognised a more personalised approach is needed to tackle those determinants that lead to poor health and to reduce pressure on the healthcare system. Social Prescribing is one of the first formalised interventions to meet patients' unmet social needs, impacting their health and wellbeing to enable holistic healthcare delivery. 

Citizens Advice (CA) is England and Wales's largest provider of free social welfare law advice. As a result, it has seen unprecedented demand for their service due to the social prescribing schemes referring to their local services for issues. Demand has been further exacerbated by the cost of living crisis and the aftermath of Covid-19. As a result, patients who need an urgent resolution to their socio-economic issues have a significant wait for this vital support and therefore risk the non-clinical issue exacerbating the clinical one.

Our research found some implementation challenges in service delivery that must be addressed:

  • Commissioners, academics, and social prescribing service managers must consider the entire service user/patient journey, including social prescribing link workers and community based support services, such as Citizens Advice, in their service design or research.

  • Social prescribing key performance indicators must include the entire patient/service user pathway (including social prescribing link workers and community based support). 

  • Resources should be made available to enable data to be captured in the whole patient journey, including funding for the entire patient/service user journey and recruiting more social prescribing link workers to reduce or eliminate overwhelm.

Views from Scotland, Wales, and England are included in this report; therefore, the recommendation will be helpful to all nations.