Estimated that around 20% of patients consult their GP for what is primarily a social problem; for these patients a medical approach is inappropriate. Social prescribing can alleviate some of these pressures by reducing pressure on surgeries and facilitating the patients’ access to a range of voluntary and local services. This empowers patients to look for solutions to social problems before a crisis occurs that might affect their physical or mental health.

The report sets out recommendations on the principles underpinning effective service provision and the steps needed to capture and measure the impact of social prescribing, both of which facilitate moving social prescribing from the local to the national agenda.

Report of the annual social prescribing network conference. (2016). London: University of Westminster, Wellcome Trust, & College of Medicine.