The Government has announced a new £40 million scheme for GPs and their teams this winter to help prevent serious illness and reduce avoidable hospital admissions.
The funding – reallocated from existing GP budgets – will be used to proactively support people with conditions including heart disease or frailty through health checks, home assessments and medication reviews. Primary Care Networks (PCNs) will be able to receive £126 for each eligible patient supported.
Social Prescribing Link Workers can meaningfully contribute to delivering this programme, working as part of primary care teams to offer holistic support, care planning and connection to preventative community services.
Social Prescribing Link Workers should play a vital role in programmes like this one. They are experts in carrying out holistic assessments and support planning, can do home visits and can engage vulnerable patients and help them to articulate what matters to them. They can connect patients to a wide range of services – including support groups, warm hubs, housing services and financial support, as well as medical check-ups or mental health treatment where needed.
For some patients, getting their boiler fixed, accessing volunteer transport to get out of the house, or joining a community falls prevention session can make a big difference to their health and wellbeing. It could also mean that they are far less likely to become so ill that they need to be in hospital.
Social prescribing programmes targeting people with long-term conditions have had a substantial impact.
For example, in Cheltenham, link workers are part of a multidisciplinary team with a frailty nurse, care coordinators and the Complex Care at Home team, providing proactive, holistic support to older patients: Social prescribers as part of a multi-disciplinary team at Cheltenham Peripheral PCN - National Academy for Social Prescribing | NASP
Another programme supporting people with long-term conditions, led by Ways to Wellness in Newcastle, led to a 27% reduction in secondary care costs for those patients.
There are currently more than 3,300 Link Workers in multidisciplinary primary care teams across England. Evidence shows that they help to improve patient wellbeing and take pressure off GPs and hospitals.
Find out more about how social prescribing can support people living with long term conditions: Social prescribing and long-term conditions - National Academy for Social Prescribing | NASP
