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Welcome to our newsletter!

How fast the time flies and Christmas is nearly upon us.  It has been an incredibly busy few weeks not least because we had the Social Prescribing Coming of Age Conference last month.   The presentations from the conference are available to download here

We would like to say a massive thank you to all the presenters in the breakfast session, the plenary sessions and the breakout workshops for all their efforts.  Thank you to everyone who has been in touch with feedback, we are so glad that you all enjoyed the day.  We also want to thank all the exhibitors who attended, we hope it was a good day for you as well. Finally thanks to the team of organisers, and in particular Caroline Viac at the Kings Fund and Craig Lister at TCV.

Alongside the presentations, the Journal of Holistic Healthcare dedicated the whole of their last issue to social prescribing.  This is a great read that reviews how we got to where we are now, as well as the challenges and the triumphs associated with social prescribing.  Thanks to the JHH, this issue is for free for network members and it is available for download.

So do read on for the updates on news, events, media, reports in the world of social prescribing.

Warm wishes for this Christmas time,

Marie Polley, Co-Chair
 


News from our Social Prescribing: Coming of Age conference

Our conference was packed out and full of buzz - we have come to expect nothing less these days!  What a great chance to meet up with friends we haven't seen for a while and discuss all things social prescribing.

It was a great pleasure to open the conference with Michael, to review the incredible momentum gained and also the challenges going forwards.  We were then joined by Arabella Tresillian as she shared her journey of social prescribing and provided an articulate and poignant reminder of why we are all working so hard. 

We were also delighted to welcome Tom Coffey from the Greater London Authority (GLA) to tell us about how The Mayor of London has put social prescribing at the heart of his new Health Inequalities Strategy.  As if that wasn't exciting enough, we then welcomed the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Rt Hon Matt Hancock, who publically backed the use of social prescribing.  In particular, it was great to hear acknowledgement of all the work by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing for their Creative Health report and to hear Matt Hancocks vision for social prescribing -

"I see social prescribing growing in importance, becoming an indispensable tool for GPs, just like a thermometer or a stethoscope may be seen today".

You can access a transcript of his full speech exactly as it was delivered hereYou can also watch the recordings of the speeches here




Our Social Prescribing Student Champion, Bogdan Civa Giurca shared with us the growing involvement of medical students within the social prescribing movement.  He went on to launched National Social Prescribing Day which will be 14th March 2019.  We are thrilled that social prescribing has reached this point of nationwide recognition and look forward to using this day to draw people together and spread further awareness.  Watch his presentation about the medical student social prescribing network here.


 

We were delighted to hear from Tony Doherty who gave us an overview of social prescribing in Northern Ireland, and from Della Powell who explained the plans that are underway for social prescribing in Wales.  We also held breakout sessions on the A: safety and quality in social prescribing, B: Technology, C: link worker development, D: Outcomes,  E: Arts and Health, F: Housing.  The presentations and information about the presenters can all be found by clicking this link.

Finally Zoe Williams gave us a very encouraging and motivational presentation on her experience of social prescribing and the future of general practice  using social prescribing.  You can watch it again by clicking here



We also have two tools to share from Elemental.  Firstly, there is the Digital Maturity Index webinar will show you how you can assess your organisations level of digital maturity using an online and interactive assessment and also how best to evaluate your results and the next steps to take.  

There is also an online quiz 'The Digital Maturity Index Assesment' to find out how digitally mature your social prescribing programme is and can be.


Research reports and publications

Social Prescribing in Secondary Care

I am pleased to share with you two new reports about the Social Prescribing pilot in Homerton Hospital, London. The Proactive Care team at Healthy London Partnerships commissioned Family Action to deliver this social prescribing service between Dec 2017-June 2018. There is a far more extensive evidence base for social prescribing in the GP/primary care space and so we hope this focus on secondary care will be welcomed and of real interest to wider NHS organisations nationally, as well as the research community. 
 
The ‘How to Guide’ aims to practical advice to commissioners looking to develop social prescribing in secondary care and what an effective model looks like, and the evaluation report outlines the outcomes of the pilot with patient case studies and an indication of the wellbeing value of the service.
 

Learning, work & health: the next 70 years

To mark the 70th birthday of the NHS, Learning and Work Institute asked 3,000 adults in England about their health, their understanding of how to stay healthy, and what changes they think would positively contribute to their health. Click to download

In the polling, when asked about their top three priorities for future spending, just over one-third of adults (36%) called for more investment in hospitals and medical services, while one-quarter of adults (24%) identified a need for better health information and education.

One in five adults suggested: better in-work support for people with health problems and disabilities (21%); and said that health professionals should play a greater role in encouraging healthy living (21%). There should be more opportunities for people to learn and be active in their communities (19%); and an expansion of community services (19%).

Respondents’ ages contributed to the answers they gave: people under the age of 25 tended to put a higher value on preventative models, such as social prescribing and community health initiatives, rather than investment in hospitals and medical care. Around a quarter of adults aged under 45 said they would like more opportunities to learn and be active in their communities, and the same number wanted better information and education about their health compared to just 16% of the whole population.  


Upcoming events

2nd International Social Prescribing Network Conference
Our first two-day conference will be 11th-12th July 2019 at the University of Westminster, London.  Save the date and we will update you with further details and booking options when available.  You can register your interest for this conference by emailing us.

North West Regional Social Prescribing Network Conference 
This free event on 13th December is for anyone who wants to be involved in shaping the future of social prescribing.  It will be of interest to CCGs,  public health, voluntary and community organisations, local authorities, general practitioners, academics, community groups, community organisers and other key stakeholders.  Registration is now available.
 

Yorkshire & Humber Regional Social prescribing Network Conference
Save the date 21st January 2019.  Further details and booking to be announced.  

2nd Annual Arts Health Research Intensive 
A 5-day residential course 4th-8th February 2019 at Snape Maltings in Suffolk.  This will provide a rich introduction to the evidence base around the arts in health and fundamentals of evaluation and research.  For more information and to apply, visit Arts Health Early Career Research Network


Dudley Social Prescribing Peer Learning Programme
This is a 10-day peer learning programme delivered over 3 months from February to April.  For more information and to book, contact Kate Green on 01384 573381or buildingblocks@dudleycvs.org.uk.


Media interests

Social prescribing in the news
There was a flurry of media interest in social prescribing following the King's Fund conference thanks to the announcements made by Matt Hancock.  In case you missed them, here are some of the articles.

BBC News
The Telegraph
The Guardian 'Bingo & dancing' 'Playlists for dementia' 'Arts on prescription' 'Poverty & ill health'
The Daily Mail
 


Join the conversation every Wednesday 8-9pm #socialprescribing

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 andLocal Authorities - discussing key themes, news andtopics 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.

Copyright © 2018 Social Prescribing Network, All rights reserved.


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