Recommendation 11

Frontline health and social care staff do not only deal with immediate medical needs. People also present to the health service with issues that relate to unmet social needs, which can in turn, over time, develop into medical needs. Increased use of social prescribing can both relieve pressure on clinical pathways and protect good health through enhancing people’s connections with, and ability to participate in activities in their local communities—particularly for people who often lack resources to access these activities independently. There is potential for health services to make much greater use of this approach amongst groups that are currently underserved by social prescribing, such as young people. Many GPs, however, do not feel as confident working with social prescription pathways as they do with the clinical Prevention in health and social care: healthy places 27 pathways that their training focuses on. Building confidence amongst frontline providers in recommending social provision will be key to both protecting and improving individuals’ health, and promoting more cohesive, health-enhancing communities.