September 2018 news
I hope that for many of you, summer has provided some holiday and relaxation time. I socially prescribed myself some sunshine and some surfing with my kids. I also switched off social media and emails and had a 'proper' holiday. So feeling refreshed and relaxed (and hoping that lasts!), I am delighted to bring you the latest social prescribing newsletter.
Did you notice by any chance the recent announcement from the Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, that he favours a rapid expansion of social prescribing in the NHS? We are really happy to hear this statement of intent and it goes to show how far developments can progress when we all work together on this. Of course, ensuring the expansion of social prescribing also supports the sustainability agenda for the VCSE will be crucial and we look forward to more discussions on that.
I had the pleasure of hosting The Campaign to End Loneliness for their research and policy meeting last week. Such a buzz in the room, some great talks and a lot of areas where social prescribing can play an important role. Whilst I was doing this, many of the social prescribing family were at NHS Expo in Manchester. There has been some great feedback on that event too. Finally this week I had the pleasure of meeting the team at UK Active, at their national summit. Some very inspirational speakers on the stage and a huge amount potential to weave social prescribing into the work many people are doing. It was a real surprise to hear Tom Watson, Deputy leader of the Labour party speak. He spoke not only of his only personal journey on losing 98lbs and putting his type 2 diabetes into remission but also for his desire to expand social prescribing schemes...and then there was 'play on prescription' for young children... the innovations are endless!
Our Social Prescribing: Coming of Age conference on 6th November still has tickets available. Due to the demand for places, more have been made available, please do continue to spread the word. Please go to the booking page to secure your space.
Enjoy the newsletter and Happy Social Prescribing!
Marie
Co-Chair, Social Prescribing Network
Network updates
For those of you who may have missed it, our new website has been up and running for a few months now which we are continuously updating and are currently working on regional and special interest group pages. Our vision for the website is to act as a central resource for social prescribing. Many people have asked about the presentations and posters from our 1st International social prescribing network research conference. These are permanently available on the website
Our latest blog is from Dr. Michael Dixon who provides some thoughtful points on how far we have come in the last two years and what we need to consider for the future.
Outcomes from the International Research Conference
At the conference in June, we put several questions to our delegates to gather their views on several topics relating to social prescribing. The majority of attendees at the conference identified as being from the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors or as researchers. The overwhelming majority also considered themselves as innovators and early adopters.
Our first question was 'when it comes to social prescribing, what are your two main concerns for the future?'. As you can clearly see from the word cloud generated, funding was at the forefront of everyone's minds. As promised on the day we have now analysed all the responses and done some basic content analysis to create broad themes. You can view the rest of the questions, along with a summary of the data by downloading our PDF document here.
Reports on social prescribing
VCSE Sector Engagement and Social Prescribing
This report by Elemental and commissioned by the GLA, looks at the role of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in scaling social prescribing in London – in particular, the role of the sector in effective delivery of services, the challenges and opportunities the sector faces and the support required, as well as outlining its future role.
In order to compile the report, extensive consultation and engagement was carried out that included interviews, workshops and deep dive compilations of good practice case studies and brief summaries (ones to watch) with over 100 experts –predominantly across the VCSE sector but also statutory-sector commissioners and representatives of the health and social care sectors. You can access the report here.
Social Prescribing and the Digital Landscape
Another report by Elemental, this report into digital and information technology and how it can support social prescribing, forms part of the overall report for the Greater London Authority for the Mayor’s vision around social prescribing and should be read in conjunction with that. A summative evaluation of the East Merton Social Prescribing programme's first year and a review of its pathway. You can access the report here.
Social Return on Investment
A new Social Return on Investment report has been produced by Envoy Partnership who were commissioned to conduct research to evaluate the impact of the model and analyse the Self-Care social prescribing model. The report demonstrates that the model has led to a reduced avoidable need for hospitalisations, reduced need for GP practice hours, and reduced levels of physical pain and depression for patients. An executive summary and the full report can be accessed here.
Impact of social prescribing
Making Sense of Social Prescribing
This guide was co-produced last year, by those who have been there and done it. If you are new to social prescribing then please do use this resource to do some of the legwork for you!
Upcoming conferences and talks
Our next main conference, Social Prescribing: Coming of Age is Tuesday 6th November at The King's Fund. The conference programme is now finalised after extensively consulting with our networks to ensure the event will be responsive to the current climate. The programme is available to view online. We want to thank Elemental, University of Westminster and The Conservation Volunteers for the initial financial support for this event. More tickets are available for the conference, due to demand. Please go to the booking page to get your space
2018 Music Care Conference: The Power of Music in Health and Social Care
12th October, University of Nottingham. Register your interest by emailing powerofmusic@nottingham.ac.uk.
East of England conference
The East of England Social Prescribing Network would like to invite you to the next Social Prescribing Conference being held in Stansted on the 3rd October. This is a free event for anyone who wants to be involved in shaping the future of Social Prescribing. Following successful social prescribing network conferences held last year, there has been a growing movement across the region to position social prescribing as a cornerstone for creating good health and wellbeing. The event will be of interest to clinical commissioning groups, public health, voluntary and community organisations, local authorities, general practitioners, academics, community groups, community organisers and other key stakeholders.
It would be great if you could attend (or send a representative), please use this link to register.
https://www.events.england.nhs.uk/events/east-of-england-social-prescribing-conference
There will be a limited number of tickets so please book your space as soon as possible – previous events have been extremely popular and spaces have filled quickly!
Regional social prescribing network conferences save the dates
South East - 22nd November 2018
North West - 13th December 2018
Yorkshire & Humber - 21st January 2019
Campaign To End Loneliness will also be hosting their annual conference October 9th at the British Library. Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, the keynote speaker will be joined by Professor Emiritus Lord Layard, Libby Page and Kate Leaver. Booking is now open.
College of Medicine Two Day Foundation Course on Integrated Medicine. The fifth foundation course is taking place on 15th & 16th November 2018. It is open to all clinicians and therapists but should be particularly helpful for GPs and nurses interested in looking beyond the conventional biomedical box. Further details and booking available on the CoM website.
2nd Annual Arts Health Research Intensive will take place 4th-8th February 2019 at Snape Maltings in Suffolk.
A 5-day residential course that will provide a rich introduction to the evidence base around the arts in health and fundamentals of evaluation and research:
- explore the development and scope of the field
- learn about psychological, physiological, social and behavioural effects
- discover research and evaluation methodologies
- discuss practicalities and issues in carrying out research
- engage in group-based debates, activities and presentations
For more information and to apply, visit artshealthecrn.com/research-intensive.
Social Prescribing Peer Learning Programme
With funding provided by Dudley CCG and hosted by Dudley CVS, an exciting new peer learning opportunity for staff delivering social prescribing schemes around the country is available this year.
- Would you like to connect with other link officers/navigators delivering social prescribing schemes around the country?
- Would you love to learn about how we have successfully delivered our Integrated Plus social prescribing project in Dudley borough?
- Would you benefit from training in motivational interview techniques, solution-focused therapy and much more?
If so, this 10-day programme may be of interest to you. Please contact Kate Green for further information buildingblocks@dudleycvs.org.uk.
Funding
Health and Wellbeing Fund - results of successful applicants
The long-awaited news was announced a few weeks ago that the Health and Wellbeing Fund has awarded £4.5 million to be shared amongst 23 social prescribing projects in England, either to extend existing social prescribing schemes or establish new ones. To see all the schemes that were awarded funding go to the link at Gov.uk. We wish all the schemes success with their projects!
The Health and Wellbeing Fund is part of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Programme. The fund aims to reduce health inequalities by building the evidence base around good practice in social prescribing, sharing lessons and widening adoption of practices that are proven to work.
M-ARC-H Network #MentalHealth
We are thrilled to announce that the MARCH Network focusing on the impact of social, cultural and community assets on mental health has been awarded funding from UKRI (UK research councils). The funding is in the vicinity of £1.25m
and the network has over 100 founding partners - including the social prescribing network. There is an online registration system for other individuals or organisations who may be relevant to our work.
Find out more by signing up to developments from the M-ARCH-H network via https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/M-ARC-H , follow @Daisy_Fancourt and @UKRInews on twitter or read a 1 page description here.
Media Interests
The Guardian and Social Prescribing
There was certainly a big buzz around social prescribing last week following the announcement from Matt Hancock with The Guardian featuring it on the front page.
London Mayor's views on Social Prescribing
It's not just Matt Hancock who's on board with SP, the Mayor of London has further his support with recent announcements. You can find out more at GPOnline and Gov.uk.
Social Prescribing on Radio 4
Social Prescribing featured on Inside Health earlier this month when Marie was invited as a guest. You can still catch the broadcast online if you missed it.
Sveriges Radio AB
It's been another international month with social prescribing & Marie Polley appearing in segments on loneliness in Swedish radio. The article was published in Swedish and if like us your Swedish is a little rusty, we have run some of it through google translate. Click here for the translated pieces. The original version can be viewed here.
Join the conversation every Wednesday 8-9pm. #socialpreshour
You are invited to join a dedicated conversation to social prescribing on Twitter, every Wednesday, 8-9pm GMT. We currently have 600 followers that consist of CCGs, Clinical Leads for Social Prescribing, VCSEs, Housing Associations and Local Authorities - discussing key themes, news and topics around social prescribing. The weekly @SocialPresHour will be hosted by a range of thought leaders throughout 2018.
Want to sign up to the social prescribing network or share something with us?
Sign up directly by clicking here and completing the short form.
Email us at socialprescribing@outlook.com.
Tweet us @SocialPrescrib2.
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