Social prescribing - the evidence
How many people have been referred for social prescribing in England?
Social prescribing was included as part of the NHS Long Term Plan for England in 2019. This led to the recruitment of Social Prescribing Link Workers across England, who work as part of primary care teams. Referrals to link workers can come from GPs, other healthcare professionals, local community organisations and others. These link workers spend time understanding the social issues affecting a patient’s health and then connecting them to community-based support.
Latest figures show that there are around 3,300 Social Prescribing Link Workers (FTE) employed as part of primary care teams. Research by University College London suggests that there have been 5.5 million referrals from GPs to social prescribing services since 2019. In 2023 alone, more than 1 million people were referred.
Is social prescribing effective?
A national evaluation of the impact of Social Prescribing Link Workers on population outcomes found that the rollout of link workers was associated with improvements in patient experience and better outcomes for population groups specifically targeted for social prescribing.
An additional full-time equivalent link worker per 50,000 patients was associated with
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higher probabilities of having confidence in managing long-term condition(s) and having enough support from local services, for respondents with long-term conditions
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a higher probability of having their mental health needs understood, for respondents with mental health needs
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a higher probability of having a good experience at their general practice, for all respondents
A nationwide evaluation of social prescribing outcomes, based on more than 19,000 patients, demonstrated "consistent and sizeable improvements across different wellbeing domains in the 1–6 months following initial referral to social prescribing". The authors estimated a return of £9 for each £1 invested, based on improvements in life satisfaction.
An evaluation of the cross-Government Green Social Prescribing programme also showed statistically significant improvements in wellbeing, and reductions in anxiety and depression. It demonstrated that nature-based social prescribing programmes are effective, accessible and cost-efficient compared to other interventions available through the NHS.
Other research has shown the economic benefits of social prescribing, as well as potential gains in Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs).
Many other studies have shown that social prescribing is associated with a range of positive outcomes for patients. There is also a strong evidence base for many of the activities that people may be connected to – including physical activity, nature-based activities, creative health approaches and heritage projects.
There is also a growing body of evidence to show how social prescribing can support people living with a range of long-term conditions.
Our research with Sheffield Hallam University, commissioned by Local Trust, also highlighted the importance of community leadership for social prescribing and investment in community organisations.
Does social prescribing reduce pressure on the health service?
NASP’s report, The Impact of Social Prescribing on Health Service Use and Costs: Examples of local evaluations in practice looked at analyses of system data from nine areas to unpick the difference that social prescribing is making. While the methodologies varied, the overall results suggest that social prescribing can lead to substantial reductions in health service use and costs, particularly among patients who frequently use NHS services.
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An evaluation of 1,751 people referred to social prescribing in Tameside and Glossop reported a 42.2% reduction in GP appointments for those patients after 12 months, compared to a 5.6% reduction in a control group, who did not access social prescribing.
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In Kent, A&E attendances were reduced by up to 23% among patients who accessed social prescribing, when comparing the six months before and the six months after.
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In Sussex, studies compared patient data over two years and found a 25% fall in demand for GP appointments among those supported by social prescribing, compared to 78% rise in those just starting support.
We are working on a model to support Integrated Care Boards to calculate return on investment for link workers in their area. Our current estimate is that social prescribing saves the NHS around £4 for every £1 spent on salaries for Social Prescribing Link Workers (excluding costs for training, supervision and onward referrals).
Who is accessing social prescribing?
A study by UCL in 2025 showed:
Growing numbers of referrals from more deprived areas
Year on year, there was an increase in GP referrals to social prescribing among people in the most deprived areas. Representation from patients in more deprived areas increased from 23% prior to the 2019 national roll-out to 42% in 2023. Previous research from UCL, which looked at referrals not just from GPs but from social care, voluntary organisations and other sources, showed that people from the most deprived areas were accessing social prescribing even more than people from more affluent areas.
23% of people who are referred to social prescribing are from ethnic minority groups
This supports previous research from the Race Equality Foundation, which showed higher proportions of social prescribing referrals for those from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities compared to their population.
60% of patients referred to social prescribing are female
This reflects previous research suggesting that more women than men are being referred to social prescribing services.
Research from the University of Manchester in 2026 suggests that link workers are "increasingly supporting patients with the fundamental social determinants of health, especially in socioeconomically deprived areas.”
Does social prescribing help people return to work?
There is emerging evidence to suggest that social prescribing can support the health and wellbeing of people who are out of work as a result of health issues. We have worked with the National Association of Primary Care to analyse data on sick notes in two Primary Care Networks. This showed that people who had received sick notes who were then supported by Social Prescribing Link Workers saw reductions in sick notes, chronic pain and anxiety and depression, while a control group saw increases in all of these. More research is needed in order to build on this data.
What are the gaps in evidence?
While there is now a good range of evidence to show the effectiveness of social prescribing, there is still a need for better data, in order to track patient outcomes and health service usage. That is why NASP has set up the National Centre for Social Prescribing Data and Analysis with UCL. Large-scale studies like the Social Prescribing EU programme (carrying out Randomised Control Trials in eight European countries) will also add to the research.
More evidence is also needed on social prescribing in specific areas. For example, there is promising evidence that social prescribing can be effective in supporting children and young people’s mental health, and several research projects are underway to build on this.
Ongoing research is also needed on the effectiveness of the many different models of social prescribing and how they can best be implemented in the context of a neighbourhood health service.
