Social prescribing, also known as ‘community referral’, can be thought of as “connecting people with activities and services that improve their health and wellbeing.”^1,2,3

By supporting people in primary care to access non-medical resources within the community, social prescribing can help address aspects which may be adversely affecting a person’s life, but which cannot be treated by clinical or pharmacological means alone. It is estimated one fifth of visits to GPs stem from non-medical problems.^1,3

Social prescribing is a component in the NHS Comprehensive Model of Personalised Care, announced in 2019. This aimed to benefit up to 2.5 million people by 2024, “giving them the same choice and control over their mental and physical health that they have come to expect in every other aspect of their life.”⁴

It was envisioned that around 5% of the population, or around 3 million people, could benefit from social prescribing per year. If social prescribing is implemented across primary care, and 80% of people take up their social prescription after referral, there could be 14% fewer GP appointments and 12% fewer A&E attendances.