£4.5 million for social prescribing schemes

The Department of Health and Social Care will invest nearly £4.5 million in programmes to refer patients to local voluntary and community services such as walking clubs, gardening or arts activities.

Known as ‘social prescribing’, the practice seeks to improve patients’ quality of life, health and well-being by recognising that health is affected by a range of social, economic and environmental factors. To this end, the government points to research that shows that this approach can reduce demand on NHS services, with 80 per cent of patients referred to a social prescribing scheme having reduced their use of A&E, outpatient appointments and inpatient admissions.

As part of this new announcement, 23 social prescribing projects in England will receive a share of the funding to extend existing social prescribing schemes or establish new ones, reaching out to people who may be socially isolated, providing support for those impacted by health inequalities and helping people with particularly complex needs who regularly access health services.

Care Minister Caroline Dinenage said: “The voluntary and community sector has such a vital role to play in working with our health system to provide the kind of support that you can’t receive at your local GP surgery or hospital. This new funding will mean that many more people receive support that looks at their needs holistically, enabling them to live happier, more independent lives. I look forward to seeing these projects put their plans into action and provide support to hundreds of thousands more people.”