Social prescribing

What is social prescribing?

Many things can effect your health and well being, whether it be isolation, loneliness or anxiety.  A Health and Wellbeing Advisor may be able to help you.

Our Social Prescriber may be able to support you. Our Social Prescriber will work in partnership with you to help you focus on what matters to you. They will connect you to local community groups, agencies and Charities for support, advice and companionship.

Social prescribing is part of the NHS Long-Term Plan to make personalised care prevalent across the health and care system.

Personalised care means people have options over the way their care is delivered based on what matters to them and their individual strengths and needs.

This represents a new relationship between patients , professionals and the health and care system. It provides a positive shift in Power and decision making that enables patients to feel informed, have a voice and be connected to each other and their communities.

Getting a social prescribing link worker

There are local agencies, such as local charities, social care and health services that can refer you to a social prescribing link worker. They can give you support and connect you with what’s going on in the community to help you take control of your mental health and wellbeing.

What support could be offered?

• Loneliness/social isolation
• Helping promote healthy lifestyle choices
• Mobility/balance-reducing trips and falls
• Exercise
• Getting out and about
• Meeting others
• Emotional wellbeing
• Support and bereavement
• Supporting other life changing events (ie moving house, retirement, births)
• Getting back into or accessing work
• Volunteering opportunities
• Learning new skills/finding new hobbies
• Music, arts, crafts, gardening

How it works

A Health and Wellbeing Advisor can arrange to meet you in your own home, in a common place like a local coffee shop or at your own GP Surgery.

The meeting will be confidential, non judgmental and casual. Together you will discuss your interests and what is important to your life and wellbeing and which activities, services and/or charities that may benefit you.

The Health and Wellbeing Advisor will continue to support and encourage you along the way, including attending introductory groups so you don’t have to take the first steps on your own.

Who is my local Health and Wellbeing Advisor?

Caitlin Hayton works at Ashington House Surgery and splits her time between North Swindon Practice. This service is free and available to anyone, if you feel you would benefit from speaking to a Health and Wellbeing Advisor than you can contact her via email on caitlin.hayton@nhs.net

Health and Wellbeing Advisors ARE NOT medically trained and therefore cannot give any advice regarding conditions, symptoms, diagnoses or medication.

A guide to self isolating

We know this time can be very worrying and stress inducing for people especially our patients who are at a higher risk of being effected by the Coronavirus.

In order to help you feel reassured and to provide you with some ideas of how to get through self isolation we have designed this booklet to include exercise ideas, meditation, some crosswords and puzzles to keep your brain engaged and ways in which you can help your community if you are not experiencing any symptoms or if you have recovered from the virus.

NHS resources

If you would like more information on social prescribing in England, then we recommend visiting the NHS website. The website has lots of resources and further information on the NHS England social prescribing programme.

Community hub

There are lots of local groups, services and activities that you can get involved in. Find out what’s going on in your community.