In Wakefield District, we have a social prescribing and self-management service called Live Well Wakefield.

It’s delivered by Nova and the NHS (SWYPFT), and commissioned by Wakefield Council and Wakefield’s 7 Primary Care Networks - groups of GP practices that work together.

Social prescribing is about helping people feel healthier and happier by not just treating their medical needs but also the other factors that affect our health (like loneliness, money problems, housing). It often begins with a referral from a GP, hospital, charity or other organisation to Live Well Wakefield. Social Prescribers listen to people to understand their situation, and what matters to them. They then “link” that person to community activities, groups and services that can help.

This means that Live Well Wakefield connect with a lot of people who are looking for support, but might not know about your VCSE organisation or what you can offer. Live Well Wakefield help to bridge that gap.

They offer a different route to raise awareness of your activities and services, and find the people you’re wanting to support. We are here to explain how your organisation can make the most of this.

How to get referrals

To refer people to your organisation, the Live Well Wakefield team need the right information about your work so they can quickly understand: what you do and who it’s for. Social prescribers have a lot of services to remember, so clear and user-friendly information is the top priority if you want to get on their radar.

There are different ways you can do this, depending on how much time you can spare. Please don’t feel daunted by the long list, we’ve gone into detail to make this as helpful as possible, so you can work on this over time if this is something you want to explore. It’s not a checklist or a requirement!

1. Create a 1 page summary

A one page summary should include:

• Clear eligibility or target audience
• Practical details: cost, transport, accessibility, dates/times, venue
• Registration details: if a referral or registration is needed, contact details
• What outcomes you can help with (e.g. reducing isolation, confidence building)

You can share this directly with the team by sending it to livewellwakefield@swyt.nhs.uk

[Tip: a named contact of who will be there is particularly helpful. This helps Social Prescribers reassure their clients and connect them to a friendly face, so they are more likely to feel ready to attend. Other information that helps to reduce any unknowns for people is great for people who are anxious or socially isolated because Social Prescribers rarely attend activities and groups with people instead working on building empowerment and the skills to attend independently. The more detail you can provide, the better e.g. where people can park, bus routes, what to expect on arrival, what door to go in /what size a group is.]

2. Share your promotional material

Email your posters and promotional material to livewellwakefield@swyt.nhs.uk and add this email address to your newsletter distribution list.

This is a good way to remind the team on a regular basis ofwhat you’ve got on and provide up-to-date information so they havedates/details handy.

3. Promote your activities on Connect to Support

Connect to Support is a free directory where you can list your services.

Live Well Wakefield recommend that you use this directory becausethey often work with clients to search for services themselves.

4. Invite Live Well Wakefield to your activities

This gives the social prescribing team a better awareness of what a client would experience when they visit the group or activity. It helps the team to explain your work better and to speak from experience, especially to those who need encouragement and support to overcome social barriers and social anxieties to access a group activity / public space.

5. Create videos

If you want to go the extra mile, videos can really help the people that Live Well Wakefield work with. You may already have some that you could share or create something new – it doesn’t have to be anything fancy.

This could include: you introducing yourself, the activity and the layout of the venue. This goes a long way to encouraging people and is what people want to know.

6. Service Information Sessions

The Live Well Wakefield team have online Service Information Sessions every six weeks, where they invite organisations to talk through their offer in 20-minute slots and with an opportunity for Social Prescribers to ask questions. The team decide on who to invite based on previous contact with organisations and current district priorities, so we recommend you take a look at the other options above as well.

Identifying referrals

If you take some time to work on these options, we wanted to let you know that you won’t always hear directly from Live Well Wakefield with formal referrals. The team usually work with their clients to establish contact, engage or attend independently, as their support is about skill development and empowerment. So Live Well Wakefield may be directing people to you, even if you aren’t getting professional referrals though.

Who is social prescribing for?

Social prescribing can help anyone with their practical, social, and emotional needs. It’s tailored to their individual needs, preferences, and goals. It works particularly well for people who:

• Are lonely or isolated
• Need support with low-level mental health issues
• Have one or more long-term conditions
• Have financial instability or are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis
• Have social needs which affect their wellbeing

Live Well Wakefield work with people who are 18+ and live in Wakefield District, or are registered with a Wakefield District GP.

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This article was published on Social Prescribing Day 2026, we hope you found it useful. Nova is a charity that supports Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise organisations in Wakefield District.