Social prescribing enables all primary care staff and local agencies to refer people to a link worker. Link workers give people time and focus on what matters to the person as identified through shared decision making or personalised care and support planning.
They connect people to community groups and agencies for practical and emotional support. They work within multi-disciplinary teams and collaborate with local partners to support community groups to be accessible and sustainable and help people to start new groups.
Social prescribing complements other approaches such as ‘active signposting’. Link workers typically support people on average over 6-12 contacts (including phone calls, meetings and home visits) with a typical caseload of 200-250 people per year, depending on the complexity of people’s needs and the maturity of the social prescribing scheme.
100% of actual salary plus defined on-costs, up to the maximum reimbursable amount of £42,437 over 12 months.
This video was created by NHS East of England.
Providing personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to take control of their wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes.
Developing trusting relationships by giving people time and focusing on 'what matters to them'.
Taking a holistic approach, based on the person's priorities, and the wider determinants of health.
Co-producing and supporting delivery of a simple personalised care and support plan to improve health and wellbeing.
Introducing or reconnecting people to community groups and services.
Evaluating the individual impact of a person's wellness progress.
Recording referrals within GP clinical systems using the national SNOMED social prescribing codes.
Drawing on and increasing the strengths and capacities of local communities, enabling local VCSE organisations and community groups to receive social prescribing referrals.
Listening and communication skills
Empathy
Emotional resilience
Work in a person-centred, non judgemental way across whole, diverse communities
Collaborative working
Work from an asset-based approach
Motivational coaching and interview skills
Data collection and monitoring skills to assess impact
Further competencies will emerge as the role is developed and embedded in primary care.
To access to the Future NHS Personalised Care Collaborative platform, search for this in "workspaces". This is where NHS England & Improvement share all the latest information and resources on personalised care.
Learning, Developmental and Peer Support
NHS England is developing learning and support for link workers, including regular webinars, an online learning programme, regional training workshops and informal peer support within Integrated Care System areas. It is outlined in the DES for all Social Prescribing Link Workers to attend the peer support networks delivered at place or system by the ICS in the region.
To get access to this learning and become part of the online learning community, please email england.socialprescribing@nhs.net and tell us that you’re a link worker, which PCN you’re part of and your contact details. You can find out more about this here.
The online learning programme will offer a standardised training package for PCN social prescribing link workers. It will include the core elements and skills required to do the job and to deliver social prescribing as part of a PCN’s multi-disciplinary team. Online collaboration NHS England has set up an online community of people involved in social prescribing. We call this our ‘collaborative platform’. You will be encouraged to join it so that you can participate in forums with other link workers, share best practice and access resources provided by the national team.
No prerequisites but Level 3 Qualification available, and many alternatives available.
Level 3 - 151 hours of guided learning
NHSE/HEE have developed on online training total of 9 modules take approx. 3 hours to complete in total. New models launched in 2021:
7 Supporting people with their Mental health through social prescribing
8 Social welfare, legal support and money guidance.
To follow:
9 Supporting children and young people through social prescribing
Online SP Training
For social prescribing services sub-contracted by a PCN to another provider, the PCN may claim a contribution towards additional costs charged by the sub-contracted provider of up to £200 per month (£2,400 per year) for each WTE that the sub-contracted provider has apportioned to the PCN related activity. The overall contribution claimed cannot exceed £200 per month and the total amount claimed must not exceed the maximum reimbursable amount for a social prescribing link worker.
e-Learning for Healthcare
The following resources can be accessed via e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH). E-LfH provides free e-learning programmes which can support you in your professional development.
If you do not already have an account, click here to register using your NHS email address. If you already have an account, please use the same link to firstly log in to access the following resources.
The below courses provide support surrounding the Universal model for Personalised Care::
Social prescribing: This e-learning resource has been developed for social prescribing link workers and includes the core elements and skills required to do the job and deliver social prescribing as part of a PCN multi-disciplinary team, including:
The below resources have been devised to help link workers in working and developing within their role:
Social Prescribing – Learning for Link Workers: This e-learning resource has been developed for link workers and includes the core elements and skills required to do the job and deliver social prescribing as part of a PCN multi-disciplinary team. This covers:
Signposting: The MECC e-learning programme is designed to support learners in developing an understanding of public health and the factors that impact on a person’s health and wellbeing. It focuses on how asking questions and listening effectively to people is a vital role for us all.
These lists are not exhaustive and the programmes available are regularly updated, so we recommend visiting the e-LfH portal and reviewing the available resources via using the “View full catalogue” function, or the “Search the e-learning" function.
Year of Care
Year of Care is accredited by the Personalised Care Institute to deliver the key learning from the year of care pilot programme.
Supervision and Training
A PCN's Core Network Practices must identify a first point of contact for general advice and support and (if different) a GP to provide supervision. This could be provided by one or more named individuals within the PCN. Clinical Supervision of Link Workers can be conducted by:
Experienced Health and Wellbeing Coach
Experienced Social Prescribing Link Worker
GP
ACP (3+ years)
In addition to support received from their GP supervisor, SPLWs should have monthly access to clinical supervision with a relevant health professional. PCNs must provide SPLWs with access to GP IT systems to enable them to see patient notes and record referrals using the SNOMED codes. Social prescribing referrals must be recorded in order to achieve thresholds required for payment under the investment and impact fund (IIF).
The Personalised Care Institute (PCI) was launched September 2020 convened by the Royal College of General Practitioners has the primary role of setting the core curriculum and training standards for all healthcare staff in personalised care, based on the Universal Personalised Care Model.
PCNs should ensure that training for social prescribing link workers is provided only by PCI-assured training providers or providers who are in the process of applying for assurance.
Some employers may ask for basic numeracy and literacy plus some IT skills and relevant work experience. Link workers will require NVQ Level 3, Advanced level or equivalent or working towards.
Currently enrolled in, undertaking or qualified in training to obtain a level three occupational standard.
100% of actual salary plus defined on-costs, up to the maximum reimbursable amount of £42,437 over 12 months. A PCN can also claim reimbursement for the time Social Prescribing Link Workers spend out of practice undertaking some activities.
National Association of Link Workers is the UK professional membership body for Social Prescribing Link Workers. They are ran as a social enterprise and work to provide resources, events and courses for link workers / members.
The personalised care institute sets the standards for evidence-based personalised care training, providing a robust quality assurance and accreditation framework for training providers and commissioners, with a central learning hub for health and care professional learners.
This document has been created to increase understanding of what good social prescribing looks like and the outcomes of this for people, their families and carers.
This provides information on setting up social prescribing services including support for recruitment, induction and supervision. It also outlines what quality assurance measures are necessary, and how information can be gathered to help develop a consistent evidence base for social prescribing.
These are the slides from a presentation given covering Personalised Care roles in Primary Care Network giving an overview of the roles, skills and competencies, training, supervision and support.
This new framework provided by NHS England provides guidance for people employed as a link worker and those employing them. It will help increase the understanding of the role and where link workers can have most impact in supporting and empowering people to improve their health and wellbeing. It also sets professional standards and competencies, gives guidance on supervision, training, and continuous professional development.
A newsocial prescribing short guide for anyone working at a local carer support organisation to explain what social prescribing is, how it can help unpaid carers, and how you can get involved in social prescribing projects.
A short guide has been produced for anyone working at a local carer support organisation to explain what social prescribing is, how it can help unpaid carers, and how you can get involved in social prescribing projects.
The Kings Fund have conducted research around four ARRS roles including Social Prescribing Link Workers, to address the experiences of people working in these roles, and the people managing them, to address any lack of understanding and ambiguity. Read the short summary here.
Jobs
If you are looking for a new position related to this role, we recommend checking both NHS Jobs and HealthjobsUK.
