Social prescribing

Many things that affect our health and wellbeing cannot be treated by doctors and medicine alone, for example loneliness, anxiety or stress. Social prescribing connects children and adults to activities, groups and services in their community to meet the practical, social and emotional needs affecting their health and wellbeing.

Working in partnership with the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector, and health and care colleagues, we have seen a real growth in social prescribing over the last five years. Making it easier for public services to help people find what they need and supporting the development of community-based activities.

Social prescribing is now available in all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester, with 26 schemes in place. Over 47,000 people were supported last year, and they tell us it makes them feel happier, healthier and more connected. We continue to pioneer these approaches to help people Live Well in Greater Manchester.

The growth of social prescribing

One development is the growth of social prescribing to support the health and wellbeing of children and young people, empowering them to navigate life’s challenges with confidence and resilience.

School, college, community and primary care-based youth social prescribing link workers and Health and Wellbeing Coaches are supporting children and young people with social, emotional and physical issues. As a result, students, schools and colleges say more young people are getting the support they need and want, when and where they want it.

Healthy Hyde

An example of this is seen in Healthy Hyde, a Primary Care Network supporting 72,000 patients in eight GP practices in Tameside. Healthy Hyde’s youth work aims to engage children and make a positive impact on their experiences in school, whilst supporting their health and wellbeing needs.

Through group discussion about emotions, bullying, respect and communication and activities that promote movement, team building, social skills, emotional regulation, and positive relationships with other children and adults, the Healthy Hyde team sees increased confidence, self-esteem and empathy, and reduced anxiety.

Individual success stories, such as that of student F, highlight the scheme’s effectiveness. F was struggling with his emotions and missing classes because he was often upset. He found comfort and support through one-on-one sessions where he was able to speak without judgement, and express his feelings, thoughts and worries. Over time, F’s confidence, trust and emotional resilience improved significantly, leading to a successful transition to high school.

F said: “I have learned not to bottle up my emotions and not to run away from my problems. The sessions make me feel uplifted and good.”.

F’s class teacher said: “F didn’t enjoy coming into school and his attendance was poor. I could see positive changes in his behaviour and F seemed happier. His overall wellbeing improved.”

F’s Health and Wellbeing Coach said: “He is completely different from the shy, emotional and quiet boy I saw in our very first session. He is now confident, well liked and deals with his emotions and feelings so much better. He has all the tools and coping mechanisms to know how to deal with his feelings and behaviours.”

Be Well Children and Young People Programme

Be Well’s children and young people programme, funded by Manchester city council, supports young people in the local community. Family hubs, youth justice, mental health teams and GP practices, among others, can refer young people for support. Sessions begin with conversations to find out what really matters to the young people, and what steps they can take to achieve their goals. Working with 42nd Street, which offers support to young people experiencing mental health distress, and Greater Manchester Youth Network offering support to young people to engage in enrichment activities, Be Well provides person-centred coaching and can address practical issues affecting their mental health, for example debt or housing.

Here is one of the many success stories. When L came to Be Well she was struggling to stay in work because of anxiety, low mood and the limited support she got from her employer. But working wither her Be Well 16UP Coach has enabled L to rebuild her confidence and embark on an exciting new career.

Initially L had tried to keep her job going, with Be Well’s Pathways coaches offering financial and benefits advice. But L found juggling her work and mental health was not the best way forward for her. What L really wanted was to take her life in a new direction as a paramedic. This aspiration brought multiple issues with it: building the confidence to handle interviews for the University Paramedic Practice course; passing her driving test; getting a Level 2 in Maths; and finding new ways to manage her mental health to cope with course pressures.

Be Well helped her unravel these difficulties. L already used a mental health journal. L’s coach, Rosie, encouraged her use it to improve her confidence by adding a daily gratitude to diary entries as a reminder of the good things that were happening in her life.

Then Rosie set about building on L’s other strengths. She discovered L liked creative pursuits and so looked for ways to support these hobbies to improve her wellbeing. Though L was struggling to leave her home because of the anxiety it triggered, Rosie supported L to try the Greater Manchester Youth Network creative groups. She arranged an appointment at the venue so L could get more familiar with it; provided a route map for public transport and walking routes from transport stops; gave L building photographs; and set up mobile tracking and offered to come to her help if L got lost.

L also told Rosie she’d got a lot from the therapy she’d done in the past and felt it would be a big help getting ready for university. But waiting lists are long for most therapy, so Rosie found L a low-cost option. Then she supported L’s work with the therapist by adding a range of new tools to her wellbeing toolkit like: compassion focussed therapy to boost confidence and reduce anxiety before the university course interview; the 5 minute motivation rule; grounding techniques to overcome driving test nerves; mood tracking while journaling; and more outdoor exercise like walking and the Couch to 5K program to help tackle anxiety about leaving the house.

All of this gave L a big boost to her wellbeing and confidence and led to a successful university course interview. One final challenge remained though. She needed to pass the Level 2 Maths test for the course. But with Rosie, L was able to explore how she liked to learn and was given study aids to master concepts she struggled with. L passed. And after passing her driving test and finishing her therapy too, she’s now at university. A new career as a paramedic awaits.

On her time with Be Well, L said: “Be Well helped me build confidence and achieve goals. They pushed me out of my comfort zone and that was all good.”

Further information

Read more about Live Well, Greater Manchester’s movement for community-led health and wellbeing.

Social prescribing can help you if you are:

• Struggling with finances and need some advice
• Feeling low, stressed or down
• Feeling lonely or isolated
• Want to improve your management of a new or long-term health condition
• Need help getting housing or employment advice
• Want to get more active
• Experiencing a change, for example a job loss, relationship breakdown or bereavement
• Needing to talk through multiple things affecting your wellbeing

Find out how a social prescribing project has helped new mums who are feeling low, anxious and isolated.

Social prescribing involves a range of activities, groups and services. These are provided by voluntary, community, faith, social enterprise or organisations in:

• Arts, culture, and heritage such as singing or craft
• Nature-based gardening, conservation, fishing, or other outdoor activity
• Group learning such as cookery
• Social, befriending or peer support groups
• Advice for housing, work, education, training, debt, benefits
• Volunteering
• Support services for example for carers, bereavement, domestic abuse, or relationships
• That keep you moving such as walking, gardening or yoga

For instance, you might want to:

• make friends by joining a community allotment session
• gain work skills by volunteering at a community organisation
• get financial advice to reduce your money stresses.

Watch this video about the Nature for Health social prescribing scheme in Greater Manchester.

Read more about Nature for Health or find out more about our plan to use culture and creativity to improve people’s health and wellbeing.

Social prescribers are practical, helpful and non-judgemental professionals who talk with you about the things that are affecting your physical health, mental health and overall wellbeing – what matters to you!

They listen to you and support you to find ways to improve things.

What are they called?

These professionals might be called link workers, community connectors or have another name.

There is also a growing number of care coordinators who can support you to manage long term conditions. Meanwhile, health and wellbeing coaches can help you develop knowledge, skills and confidence to improve your health.

Social prescribers work in GP practices, councils and voluntary organisations, alongside your GP and other public services, to find support that’s right for you.

Julie, a social prescriber in Greater Manchester, explains what she does in this video.

Link workers start by getting to know you, the challenges you are facing, your interests and what connections you’d like to make in your community.

They take things at your pace and you work together to set and achieve goals to improve your wellbeing.

Link workers have lots of knowledge about local services and what’s going on in your community, so they will help you find the right support and information.

“I was in a total mess. I just couldn’t carry on.” Partick talks about how social prescribing helped him.

“I feel happier and healthier now.”

“I’m now enjoying full time employment and my finances are more secure.”

“I’ve got my confidence back and I’m part of the community.”

“I’ve got a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It’s got rid of a lot of negative thoughts.”

Read about out how social prescribing helped Darab.

Participants talk about how the Men’s Music for Health programme benefited them.

Social prescribing services are available to all adults across Greater Manchester, while children and young people’s link workers are increasing.

If this sounds like something that might help you, please speak to your GP practice who can connect you to your local team.

Please note, social prescribing is not an out-of-hours or crisis service.

Visit our mental health page for details of mental health crisis helplines.