Social prescribing - what's it all about?

Many things that affect our health can’t be treated by doctors or medicine alone. Like loneliness, debt, or stress due to financial pressures or poor housing. Social prescribing connects people to non-medical support to address these issues and other unmet needs. This could involve a Social Prescribing Link Worker or Advisor:

• Helping someone who is isolated join a befriending group, an art class or a community gardening project, based on what works for them.
• Connecting someone struggling with financial stress to a service that helps with managing debt or claiming benefits.
• Supporting someone with dementia to join a dementia choir, enabling them to maintain a sense of social connection.
• Working with someone with high blood pressure to take up a form of exercise that they’re comfortable with.

Social prescribing can help change the circumstances that can make people unwell. It can empower people to manage existing health problems, to get the right benefits or get back into employment. It can help people to connect and to grow in confidence.

Celebrating Live Well Wakefield

We're proud to be the lead partner delivering the local social prescribing service - Live Well Wakefield. The incredible team support adults across the District through social prescribing and offer a range of courses and workshops.

Here's some highlights from the past 6 years:

• 93% of clients achieved their primary health and wellbeing goal
• Delivered over 730 peer led workshop or course sessions to those living with physical/mental health conditions and their carers
• 100% would ‘likely’ recommend the service to family or friends
• Won the Social Prescribing Network Award for the Best Larger Social Prescribing Project in 2021
• Over 17,000 referrals!

That definitely calls for a day to celebrate!

How does social prescribing impact the VCSE sector?

Live Well Wakefield do incredible work to support our local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector. Did you know that they've:

• Awarded over £1 million to local VCSE sector organisations through Live Well Small Grants since 2017!
• Referred up to 83% of clients out to VCSE organisations - around 655 each quarter.
• Circulated 400 information packs each quarter with details of local VCSE activities, groups and services.

To find out more about the service, or to contact the team go to the Live Well Wakefield website.