In 2024, researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Manchester and Newcastle-upon-Tyne interviewed patients, healthcare workers and community link workers (CLWs) in Scotland and their equivalent social prescribing link workers in England.
These interviews were part of a National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded project, led by the University of Manchester, into the impact of social prescribing link workers across the UK. Roisin Hurst, Project Manager of the Scottish Community Link Worker Network (SCLWN) was a member of the research advisory group and community link workers and programme leads from the Scottish Community Link Worker Network were intereviewed as part of the study.
The publication of the most recent research paper from the team has found that referrals to Social Prescribing Link Workers (SPLWs) are associated with an initial increase in healthcare use, followed by a reduction in GP appointments within a year, suggesting social prescribing may help people access more appropriate forms of support while addressing previously unmet needs. The key takeaway from the report suggests that social prescribing appears to help address unmet need while supporting a modest reduction in GP appointments.
First national analysis of healthcare use and costs: researchers analysed anonymised healthcare records from more than 168,000 patients referred to social prescribing between July 2019 and April 2022, comparing them with over 1.3 million matched patients who were not referred.
Initial increase in healthcare use: the study found that people referred to social prescribing had around 2.25 additional healthcare contacts during the first six months after referral, largely driven by increased primary care and outpatient activity.
Fewer GP appointments after one year: by the one-year mark, patients who had been referred recorded slightly fewer GP appointments than comparable patients who were not referred.
Costs remained largely unchanged: healthcare costs increased only marginally following referral and were considered clinically insignificant by the researchers.
Supporting people with complex needs: link workers help connect people with community organisations and support services that address wider social determinants of health such as loneliness, housing, finances and wellbeing.
Evidence for personalised care: the findings suggest social prescribing supports the NHS’s ambition of delivering more personalised care and may help people access more appropriate support pathways.
Improving future evaluation: researchers call for better integration between social prescribing platforms and healthcare records to allow more robust evaluation of uptake, outcomes and cost-effectiveness.
“The findings suggest social prescribing may help patients manage non-clinical issues more effectively, leading to more appropriate and sustained use of healthcare services over time.”
Two members of the research team, Eddie Donaghy from Edinburgh University’s Usher Institute and Anna Wilding from the University of Manchester, will be presenting on some of the key findings from the five- year research study at the Scottish Community Link Worker Network Annual Conference and Awards on 22 September at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh.
