26 March marks National Social Prescribing Day, a moment to celebrate the incredible impact that social prescribing has on people’s health and wellbeing in York and across the country.
Many people visit their GP or other health services with issues that are primarily social rather than medical – things like loneliness, isolation, housing worries, or financial stress. That’s where Social Prescribing comes in.
What is Social Prescribing?
Social Prescribing links individuals to non-medical sources of support, helping them take greater control of their own health and wellbeing. This might include community groups, creative activities, physical activity opportunities, benefits or housing advice, or local voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector services.
At York CVS, our Primary Care Link Workers are Social Prescribers based directly within GP surgeries across the city. They work alongside individuals to understand their needs, build confidence, and support them to improve their health and wellbeing.
Our Social Prescribing team at York CVS take time to understand what matters to each person. They work one-to-one to help people access local VCSE organisations and statutory services, empowering them to make small changes that can have a big impact on their quality of life. During 2024-25, the team supported 2382 individuals.
Support following a cancer diagnosis
Following a three-month cancer care review, a newly diagnosed client was identified as managing her diagnosis alone while balancing childcare and wider family responsibilities. She was experiencing isolation and financial uncertainty while off work.
The Social Prescriber provided practical support, connecting her to the Macmillan benefits advice line and introducing her to the York Cancer Care Centre. During an initial visit, it became clear she had not attended her prosthetic breast fitting and was still using an uncomfortable temporary prosthesis. An appointment was arranged immediately, and the Social Prescriber accompanied her to build confidence.
The client now attends the centre weekly, has built social connections, and feels more confident attending appointments independently.
I just wouldn’t have known where to find any of the info, and having someone come round and explain it all to me made it so much simpler, especially when I have so much going on.
– Social Prescribing Client
Social prescribing created time and space to identify non-clinical needs, strengthening recovery and emotional wellbeing alongside her cancer care.
Tackling loneliness
Loneliness is one of the biggest concerns that we support our clients with, whether this is the reason for the initial referral, or it is an underlying issue causing other problems leading to referral.
The Social Prescribing team run a small craft group in York once a month, which is for those who are working with a social prescriber to access. We keep the group small, and use it as a stepping stone to integrate people back into the community and build confidence to attend some bigger groups / attend groups without a social prescriber present.
A woman who was recently bereaved, lonely, and struggling to make friends and adapt to life with no full-time care responsibilities was referred to the Social Prescribing team. The social prescriber used this craft group as a starting point to allow the individual to build confidence by attending, explore her hobbies and interests and build meaningful relationships with others.
Another woman who was feeling lonely, and was struggling with the change of being in work to retirement was also referred to our team. Again, the craft group was used as a first step for the lady to work out what she would like from social prescribing, if groups are for her and whether she would be confident attending a group alone.
From this group both the above clients have now created a solid friendship, they help each other out in their own ways and they now have each other to do things with…even if that is natter and eat the odd slice of cake!
Social Prescribing created a space for people to connect and socialise. This friendship has meant that they both now get out more, which is good for their physical health, as well as feeling less lonely which is a benefit to their mental health and wellbeing.
Who do we support?
Our team supports anyone aged 18+ living in the area served by City of York Council.
Get in contact: If you would like to access the service or find out more, please contact us on: 01904 437 911
Referrals can also be made through your GP surgery.
Thank you for your help. It’s an amazing job you are doing and it’s great to know the service is available to people.
– Social Prescribing Client