Understanding social prescribing in East Basildon PCN
East Basildon PCN supports social prescribing within its 4 GP practices catering to approximately 27,000 patients.
Social prescribing is a unique approach whereby General Practitioners, nurses, link workers, and other health and care professionals refer individuals to various local services that cater to their non-clinical necessities.
The overarching objective is to adopt a more comprehensive stance towards an individual’s health and overall wellbeing by customizing the intervention according to their unique needs.
This method constitutes an indispensable component of Universal Personalised Care, which is a supported and integral part of the Long Term Plan NHS England for its implementation.
What is social prescribing?
Social prescribing is a valuable approach to promoting the overall health and wellbeing of individuals by facilitating their access to essential support services and fostering community engagement.
This methodology provides an effective means of addressing the diverse needs of individuals, empowering them to attain optimal health outcomes and lead more fulfilling lives.
Furthermore, it is a patient-centred approach that leverages the power of social connections and community based services.
These services are in place to enhance health outcomes, promote wellbeing and improve social welfare.
This method of care delivery is aimed at improving the overall quality of life of patients by addressing their social and emotional needs.
An example of social prescribing would be an individual diagnosed with severe mental health being signposted to a mental health group or organisation.
Visit this link to learn more about social prescribing on the NHS website.
The Role of a Social Prescriber
GP surgeries work in close partnership with these healthcare professionals.
Therefore, social prescribing link workers can help people to access appropriate support in the community to help them make positive changes to their personal wellbeing.
Learn more about social prescribing link workers by visiting this link containing a video.
Who can access this type of support?
This type of support can be accessed for the benefit of a patient looking to receive help and support for their particular healthcare needs.
Patients looking to access this type of social support should be:
- People above the age of 18
- Patients not under the care of another Social Prescriber or Support Worker
- People not receiving support from a Support Worker or Secondary Mental Health Teams
Areas that Social Prescribing can support
Social prescribing can support patients in a scope of areas including but not limited to:
- People with one or more long-term health conditions
- People who are lonely or isolated
- People who need support with their mental health
- People who have complex social needs that affects their wellbeing
How could social prescribing help you?
There are many ways that we can support you with your healthcare needs.
This includes:
- Mental Health support services and groups
- Groups and activities for your physical health and well-being (available for different levels of fitness)
- Access to food banks
- Access for help to stop smoking
- Access to services available within social housing
- Referrals for help with medicine management
- Referrals for care and support
- Befriending services
- Access to financial support and advice
- Access to social activities in the community
- Access to disability support
How to access this support?
There are ways to access social prescribing for you and your family.
These ways are:
- Call your the reception of your GP practice to book an initial appointment
- Be referred by the Reception Team or a Healthcare Professional (GP, Nurse, Healthcare Assistant, Pharmacist, Physician, etc.)
If you would like to access this service, find the contact information for your local GP within our East Basildon PCN via this link.
Other supporting healthcare roles
There are other healthcare professionals who work closely with GP practices in the East Basildon area.
To learn more about the additional healthcare roles within our Primary Care Network, visit this link.
Benefits of the Self Referral Form
Please fill in your details below if you would like a self referral.
By using our self-referral form, our practices can signpost you to the right service more quickly than waiting to be seen by a GP.
We will contact you when a slot becomes available and offer you a 45-minute assessment appointment.
This will be via telephone or webcam. During this appointment, we will explore your issues and what matters to you as we devise an action plan together.
