What is social prescribing?

Social Prescribing is becoming increasingly accepted as an effective approach to improving people's lives compared to conventional medication. It can even be used to help people be warmer and healthier at home. This business engagement workshop explained more about it and how it could apply to organisations, including trials for “Warmth on Prescription”.

An expert-led workshop

Social housing landlords, the NHS and voluntary sector organisations came together to learn from Julie Pollard, Social Prescribing Co-ordinator, Volunteer Cornwall and Edmund Hunt, Design Lead at the Energy Systems Catapult how social prescribing is becoming increasingly accepted as an effective approach to improving people's lives compared to conventional medication and how it can used to help people be warmer and healthier at home.

More about the experts…

Julie Pollard

Since 2018, Julie has successfully co-ordinated Volunteer Cornwall's 7 strong charity delivery partnerships for Social Prescribing in Cornwall. The delivery development has expanded beyond the Department of Health & Public Health’s original pilot, to being available in almost every surgery in the County since the NHS roll out across England. Currently, their partnership is trialling a Social Prescribing Community Development Worker role, meaning that the link workers are placed in their 6 communities, working closely with primary care networks. This now global movement with a personalised care approach is supporting the primary and secondary care system and the NHS Long Term Plan.

Edmund Hunt

Edmund Hunt and his team of user experience and user research specialists help research and develop new energy propositions for our low carbon energy transition. He designed the Energy System’s Catapult Heat as a Service concept (Heat Plans) and established design capability within the team to create great energy experiences that people love.

Summary of workshop agenda

• Outline of Cornwall’s role as a pilot region in 2018 with social prescribing now widespread across England with more than 1 million prescriptions in 2021

• Explanation of what social prescribing is, how it works and how it is funded as well as mechanisms for nurturing community assets, enabling collaborative working across voluntary sector partners, local authorities and health practitioners.

• Outline of heat as a service and how it can help consumers have the comfort they want at home, whilst enabling the transition to a low carbon economy.

• Warmth on prescription was a successful trial with Severn Wye NHS which kept people warm at home and reduced pressure on the NHS

• Ways to bring the Warm Home Prescription initiative to Cornwall.

Watch: A full recording of the workshop