References
Social prescribing: surely, we are not just going to prescribe tea and biscuits
Social prescribing involves referring people to alternative non-clinical services to address their unmet needs. It was highlighted in the NHS Long Term Plan (NHS England, 2019a) as a key component of the Universal Personalised Care Model and identified as one of the NHS England's 10 High Impact Actions (NHS England, 2016). All GP practices will join one of the 1400 primary care networks in England by 2023/2024, and funding has been secured for employing a ‘link worker’ to support social prescribing in each network from 2019 onwards (The Pulse, 2019).
At present, most of the social prescribing referrals are completed by a GP; however, increasing numbers of health professionals including practice nurses, secondary care consultants, and allied health professionals (such as physiotherapists and pharmacists) are taking on the role of social prescriber (Dowden, 2019). Paramedics working in primary/urgent care services and ambulance clinicians working in traditional NHS ambulance services should consider how they can incorporate social prescribing into their clinical practice.
Subscribe to get full access to the Journal of Paramedic Practice
Thank you for visiting the Journal of Paramedic Practice and reading our archive of expert clinical content. If you would like to read more from the only journal dedicated to those working in emergency care, you can start your subscription today for just £48.
What's included
-
CPD Focus
-
Develop your career
-
Stay informed