It's Social Prescribing Week! What better way to celebrate than to speak to social prescribing link workers who work tirelessly on the ground to provide personalised care for individuals, supporting them to live their best lives.
This week, Dr Radha is joined by three guests.
Our first guest is Bev Taylor, Executive Director of Strategy at the NASP. Bev led social prescribing at NHS England from 2015-2019 and has a background as a housing manager and community development worker. She has worked 30 years in the VCSE sector, where she has supported co-production and leadership development at local, regional and national levels.
Gay Palmer is a link worker for Southwark PCN, she is also a Trustee at NASP. Gay has supported the programme in Southwark since it was implemented in March 2020 and has helped to maintain its ongoing growth and development in relation to number of referrals and the capacity of the team. Gay has a 20-year history of being a Nurse and has worked in a variety of community settings across North and East London.
Thirdly Radha will be joined by Michelle Pilling. Michelle is Senior Lead for Social Prescribing at NHS England and NHS Improvement. Her social prescribing journey started back in 2001, first as a link worker in the VCSE sector, as a charity manager, through to strategic leadership roles in the NHS. She brings a broad perspective of social prescribing and the VCSE and health and care economy, with extensive experience of coproduction and personalised care.