Social prescribing

Social prescribing occurs when health professionals or link workers refer patients for support in the community, enabling them to make their own health choices and develop skills to improve their personal health and well being.

GPs, nurses and other members of the primary care team are able to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services often provided by the voluntary sector. It can help individuals to experience a better quality of life, improved mental and emotional wellbeing, and lower levels of depression and anxiety.

The RCN General Practice Nursing Forum has developed these pages to raise awareness of the benefits of social prescribing. They provide a range of resources, links and guidelines for the successful introduction of social prescribing in a variety of settings. See: Social prescribing in action - evidence from a nurse-led project.

The RCN Congress fringe event on social prescribing was live streamed. You can watch a recording of the launch event. If you haven't done so already, you will need to register for a free RCNevents.tv account to access this. See: Nurse-led social prescribing: Does it work?