SOCIAL PRESCRIBING

-OUR PROJECTS-

Social
Prescribing

What is Social Prescribing?

See our poster below to see how Social Prescribing works at Voluntary Action South West Surrey

You can see how the social prescribing referral process works below at VASWS.

Peter

THE PROCESS

Step 1: Refer

Any professional can refer an individual to Social Prescribing for non-medical support.

As members of the primary care network (PCN) team of health professionals, Social Prescribing Link Workers will take referrals from the PCN’s Core Network Practices and from a wide range of agencies to support the health and wellbeing of patients. These agencies include but are not limited to the PCN’s members, pharmacies, multi-disciplinary teams, hospital discharge teams, allied health professionals, emergency services such as the fire service and police, councils, job centres, social care services, housing associations, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

At this current stage, we are trialling self-referrals in East Guildford PCN. For further information regarding self-referrals and to access the self-referral form, please click here. For further information about the general referral process, or to receive a copy of the referral form, please contact socialprescribers.guildfordandwaverley@nhs.net.

Please note that the Social Prescribing service is not an emergency service, and is subject to wait times during busier periods in some areas. In case of emergency, we recommend contacting a GP or appropriate emergency service.

Find out more about Social Prescribing in Guildford and Waverley

The Guildford and Waverley Social Prescribing Service was set up in 2019 to address the wider determinants of health in the local population. It was recognised that the social, emotional and practical needs of people were having a significant impact on their physical health and that the community and voluntary sector had a wide range of services that could support people with these needs. The Social Prescribing Service provides the link between health and community by finding out what matters most to the person and supporting them to access local and national services that can address their needs. The service is funded by NHS England and Surrey County Council. You can find out more about the service below, including information on how to refer in our boundaries, as well as testimonials from our clients and referrers. The service is proud to continuously be involved with and develop community networks, projects and groups, for example our Watts Art Gallery project. If you believe the service could work with a project or organisation, please do get in touch.

OUR IMPACT 2023/24

1841

referrals to Social Prescribing

1327

new patients referred to the service

4271

destinations signposted on to

different referrer organisations

87%

of patients with high service satisfaction

What our clients say..

"Thank you so much for arranging the food parcel delivered this morning [...] this was like a miracle on the doorstep and has lifted our spirits! Please thank the people who sent this, and delivered this on my behalf. I'm sending this with tears rolling down my cheeks - this has definitely taken some stress away. I'm so thankful to everyone."

- Anonymous client

Looking for support and organisations that could help immediately?

To access the Guildford and Waverley Social Prescribing Service, speak to your GP or any other professional that could refer you into the service. Please note that the service is not for urgent or emergency support. If you would like to know what support could be available to you, the Surrey County Council 'Connect to Support' service allows everyone to start exploring local care and support in your area to help you stay independent, healthy and connected to your community.