Social prescribing recognises how social, economic and environmental factors affect people’s health, where medication alone is unlikely to provide a sustainable improvement. It connects patients with support in their local community to help address their health issues holistically and give them greater control of their own health and wellbeing.
TCV’s Green Gym programme is part of the social prescribing process, reflecting its positive impact on both physical health and mental wellbeing.
We lead part of the national development programme on social prescribing, working closely with VCSE colleagues, the NHS, universities and interested groups across, and produced a guide to support social prescribing programmes in England.
Find out more about Social Prescribing, which has been supported by the National Lottery Community Fund.
Enabling the potential of social prescribing
A summary of the issues affecting longer-term Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector funding for social prescribing including views from before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two surveys were conducted – the first survey component of this report before the outbreak of COVID-19, and the second not long after the first peak had passed. This summary reflects the fact that the extent of the pandemic’s effects on social structure, the economy, public wellbeing and the VCSE sector is just starting to emerge.
Download the report [PDF]