Social Prescribing in Wales

In 2021, the Welsh Government embarked on a journey to develop a National Framework for Social Prescribing in Wales. This was as a result of increasing support within Welsh Government policy documents which were all founded on a model which recognises the impact of social determinants on health and wellbeing and draws on all sources of help and support. Part of that journey included a baseline study of social prescribing in Wales where we learned that it is utilised, defined, and runs variably across the country. Most social prescribers are based in the Local Authority and third sector organisations with few based in primary care. The number of referrals and the workforce have been growing year on year and expectations are high. The aim of this chapter is to explain the policy context and how a cross-sector and translational approach has helped to develop the evidence base in Wales and support the new National Framework for social prescribing and other developments such as the glossary of terms and an evaluation/monitoring framework.