North West Social Prescribing Network
The North West Social Prescribing Network (NW SP Network) is part of a national network which is supported by NHS England and coordinated by the University of Westminster. In the North West it is hosted by VSNW and co-chaired by Jo Ward, Changemaker, and Warren Escadale, Chief Executive of VSNW.
Our core objective is to be at the forefront in social prescribing and we aim to:
- Engage and support health and social care leaders and decision-makers
- Develop the evidence base for excellence in social prescribing
- Build stronger working relationships between acute, primary, community and social care and effective, sustainable, local community action
Want to know more about Social Prescribing?
We have developed a set of resources. There is also an excellent article from healthcare charity The King's Fund, 'What is social prescribing', which succinctly explains the term.
Different potential sources of support for referrals
Become a member of the network
We are particularly interested in public sector leaders and decision-makers (from organisations such as the NHS, CCGs and councils), local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) strategic leads and those running or playing a lead role in social prescribing schemes operating in the North West. Plus anyone who is advancing the evidence base for excellence in social prescribing.
To become a member or discuss being a member please contact Jo Ward by email: jo@jowardchangemaker.org.uk or telephone: 07708 428096, or you can complete our registration page and sign-up online.
Calls to action
We have two initial ‘calls to action’ for our NW SP Network members.
Firstly, we want to emphasise the importance of a ‘vibrant community’ in social prescribing. Social prescribing will be successful if it is supported by its community. And we need to understand how to drive forward this work, in particular through local voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCSE) activity.
Aligned to this, we need a clearer understanding of how we include the VCSE sector, support the right investment frameworks, and develop a social prescribing agenda that drives not only new models of care (where there's a shift in control to the public) but that also supports an effective population health agenda capable of articulating its merits to emerging Integrated Care Systems in the North West.
Secondly, we plan to adopt a regional commitment to deliver the first free social prescription to support maternal well-being and the best start in life for a child. This should engage non-healthcare sector partners in a social prescribing conversation that cuts across policy silos and draws collaborators in from across the nation. It also provides a link to a potential wider conversation with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Arts, Health and Wellbeing about alignment with their national recommendations.
Further Links
· NW SP Conference 2017: presentations
· NW SP Conference 2017: report (launched in Parliament)