Social Prescribing in England

Social prescribing fits a number of policy, practice, and system development in England well; from the move towards Personalised Care, to changes in commissioning arrangements. On top of this, significant investment was made in rolling out the link worker model of social prescribing and the last decade has seen this approach integrated more into English health systems than anywhere in the world. In this chapter, we chart the health and policy history that led to ‘modern’ social prescribing, the roll out of the link worker role through the NHS, and how practice has matched the intention. We will draw on practical examples to explore the benefits, tensions, and occasional drawbacks of social prescribing in the English context. We will also look at the key organisations, actors, and processes for delivering social prescribing, as they are understood in the English situation.