Social prescribing is all about empowering people and equipping them with the skills and knowledge which enables them to take responsibility for their own wellbeing and improve their quality of life, while respecting the choices they make.
We understand that some people need more support than others to achieve these aims.
Social Prescribing aims to
• Connect clients to existing provision in their communities
• Help prevent or reduce the need for clinical intervention
• Deliver a flexible, person centred and holistic service which is delivered on a 121 personal level
• Support clients with identifying and achieving goals
• Improve the clients health and wellbeing
• Reduce loneliness and social isolation as well as raising self-esteem and confidence.
Social Prescribing is ideally suited to:
• Someone over the age of 18
• A person who has given their consent to the referral
• A person who is actively willing to engage in self-care/self-help activities
• Someone who is struggling in one way or another to manage some of their social issues
• Someone who is classed as having mild-moderate frailty
• Someone whose medical needs are managed/stable; this includes their physical and mental health
• A person who has been identified as requiring a non-clinical service
Services and areas of support we can help people to access:
• Befriending schemes
• Health and wellbeing support - smoking cessation or weight loss services
• Lifestyle support services - shopping, meal preparation, cleaning, gardening, companionship
• Mental health support - local groups with mental health focus, signposting to a range of charities/services for specific situations for example bereavement or domestic violence
• Debt management
• Benefit support
• Housing support
• Training, employment and education opportunities
• Volunteering
Social engagement activities - a wide variety of community groups which cover arts, craft, outdoors, gardening, coffee mornings, specific hobby activities and much more!
Voluntary Centre Services is working in collaboration with colleague across Health, Social Care and third sector organisations and our role is to enable health and care professionals to connect people with community services and opportunities that support wellbeing.
You can be referred into our service by your GP or by any other professional that may be working with you or you can self refer using the link below
http://lvet.co.uk/social-prescribing/"
This is good for wellbeing because
- We have the time to actively listen to your wants and needs and help you create an action plan on how you can achieve those by utilising groups, organisations and services available in your community.
- We offer a service which works with you to achieve goals rather than to you
- You can't be discharged from the community - we can work with you to achieve goals and will welcome you back in the future if you have further social prescribing goals you wish to achieve.
Recent case study:
A client was referred after presenting at A&E feeling suicidal. Ongoing depression which was exacerbated by her husband's dementia. Needed and would benefit from social support and monitoring
The link worker was able to work with the client and connect them to a variety of things: Care support service, mental health support, telephone support lines, sensory support around hearing loss, dementia groups they could both attend, access to additional benefits - attendance allowance, help with application for POA and befriending for clients husband.
Outcomes achieved with the client
Seeing my husband so happy following his befriending visit has improved my mental health
I don't know what we would have done without you - the link worker supported me to complete the attendance allowance form on behalf of my husband, following which we received attendance allowance. The link worker then supported me to apply for the higher rate following a change in his health
The client feels more in control - help accessing additional benefits has allowed them to pay for a gardener as their garden was becoming a bit too much for them to handle.
The link worker found a specific befriender which allowed her husband to talk about his farming days
