Social prescribing programme could lead to 4.5 million fewer GP appointments per year, according to new analysis by NASP
New academic summaries of the evidence on social prescribing, also released today, show that social prescribing can have a positive impact on a wide range of outcomes, including reducing loneliness and improving wellbeing and mental health.
Today – Social Prescribing Day – The National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) is releasing new evidence summaries from its academic partners, alongside additional analysis.
NASP’s analysis estimates that NHS England’s social prescribing link worker programme can reduce GP appointments by 4.5 million per year.* In addition, NASP’s academic partners have concluded, after looking at the evidence, that social prescribing can improve the mental health and wellbeing of participants.**
Together the evidence summaries and analysis indicate that social prescribing is not only an effective way of helping people access community support, but can also reduce pressure on the NHS, in real terms.
By 2023/24 a full cohort of 4,500 link workers across England will have been employed by the NHS to help provide a more comprehensive approach to wellbeing, bridging the gap between health and social care.
It is generally estimated that one in five GP appointments are made for essentially non-medical reasons*** – like loneliness, isolation or debt. Link workers are able to spend time with patients and to understand the physical, financial or social problems which might be having a knock-on effect on their health. Once they have a fuller picture of their unique circumstances, they can then ‘prescribe’ appropriate support and activities provided in their community.
NASP’s analysis, a forecast drawing on the findings of one of the new academic reviews of existing evidence, suggests that the full roll-out of NHS England’s link worker programme could lead to 4.5 million fewer GP appointments in England per year.
Dr Radha Modgil, a practicing NHS GP, Ambassador Lead at NASP, and media broadcaster has experience of the impact link workers can have on both patients and for clinicians in busy GP surgeries.
She said: “Social prescribing enables clinicians to signpost people to a link worker who can be best placed to listen, spend time and work with them to find out what matters to them. As a broadcaster who advocates for wellbeing, I know the impact that connection and community can have on how people feel, especially for their mental and emotional wellbeing. Social prescribing really is the revolution in healthcare and wellbeing that we have needed for a long time - something we have forgotten about but is innately beneficial for us.”
The evidence summaries also identified a range of positive impacts on participants which may also be behind the decline in need for GP appointments. These concluded that social prescribing can lead to improvements in wellbeing, mental health and social connections, and reduce loneliness.
Brendan, who has been taking part in social prescribing activities run by The Heeley Trust in Sheffield, is able to shed light on the story behind the research and how social prescribing improves his wellbeing.
Brendan cares for his mum who was diagnosed with dementia a few years ago. It was when she was socially prescribed a workshop for people with her condition that he ended up speaking to link worker about his own health. After talking a bit about his struggles he was prescribed a creative workshop for men, run by a local artist. He said: “I’m not usually a creative person but I enjoy having a go at things. The difference the group made to my mum is incredible, so I thought something like that might be good for me too.
“The creative workshops are brilliant. They put me at ease. It’s made me realise how important these services are.”
Maxine Bowler, Link Worker at The Heeley Trust, said: “I believe that link workers absolutely have the ability to reduce pressure on GPs. Doctors have such a small amount of time to talk to patients, whereas we are able to sit with them and get to the bottom of what troubles them, whatever that may be.
For people like Brendan, it can be quite isolating caring for someone, so these sessions can be a fantastic way of speaking to people in similar situations and taking time to care for yourself.”
James Sanderson, CEO of NASP, said: “This research demonstrates what we have long known to be true at NASP, that social prescribing has the ability to improve both the health of our country and the capacity of the NHS. Thanks to the many fantastic link workers already embedded in our communities, people have access to more personalised care. This evidence shows, in real terms, the extent of what social prescribing can achieve.”
To read the full Evidence Review Document Click Here
Clean Air Plan Update - February 2022
Government has agreed that the Greater Manchester charging Clean Air Zone (for HGVs, buses, coaches, and non-GM licensed taxis and private hire) will not go ahead on 30th May 2022 as originally planned.
Greater Manchester’s clean air leaders to consider steps towards new Clean Air Plan for the region
Original plan’s withdrawal means Clean Air Zone charging will not go live from May 2022
Greater Manchester working with Government to deliver a new Plan for clean air by July 2022
Greater Manchester’s clean air leaders will meet next week (February 28) to consider the steps towards a new plan for clean air in the region.
A report prepared ahead of the Greater Manchester Air Quality Committee meeting updates members on the government’s withdrawal of a legal direction requiring Greater Manchester to implement a charging category C Clean Air Zone.
Daily charges for the most polluting vehicles that don’t meet emission standards – HGVs, buses, non-Greater Manchester licensed taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs) – had been due to begin on 30 May 2022 but will now not go ahead.
The withdrawn legal direction would have led to charges for non-compliant vans, Greater Manchester-licensed taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) from June 2023. Private cars, motorcycles and mopeds were exempt.
Concerns about financial hardship for local people and the availability of compliant vehicles led the Mayor of Greater Manchester and Greater Manchester local authority leaders to ask government to lift its legal direction.
The government agreed with Greater Manchester that the original plan for clean air in Greater Manchester was unworkable within the 2024 timescale and could have created financial hardship for local people due to changes in the availability and affordability of cleaner vehicles. It could not therefore have delivered legal requirements on clean air.
The legal direction would have required Greater Manchester to implement a category C charging Clean Air Zone across the region to comply with the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide on local roads as soon as possible, and by no later than 2024.
A new government direction now requires Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities to bring nitrogen dioxide on local roads to within legal limits as soon as possible and by no later than 2026.
Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities have until 1 July 2022 to work with government to develop a new plan that will clean up our air while protecting livelihoods.
As well as updating on the latest status of the GM Clean Air Plan, the report to the GM Air Quality Administration Committee – comprising representatives of Greater Manchester’s ten local authorities - asks members to note that:
Wording on already installed Clean Air Zone signs stating the original opening date of 30 May 2022 will be covered.
Applications for funding for light goods vehicles, minibuses, taxis and PHVs, and discounts or exemptions under the previous plan have been paused because of its withdrawal.
HGV and bus funding remains open to support people to upgrade and help deliver improved air quality. HGV funding for small businesses is to open from 5pm on the afternoon of Monday 28 February.
And the Committee have been asked to agree that:
ANPR cameras that have been installed will be utilised, under agreement with government, to gather ‘real time’ data to inform the new plan, including monitoring vehicle fleet renewal trends and specific traffic mix at key locations where nitrogen dioxide levels are in breach of legal limits.
Greater Manchester remains committed to cleaning up the air its residents breathe – but in a way that helps people to make the change and does not put jobs, livelihoods and businesses at risk.
High levels of air pollution from road traffic have a major impact on people’s health across Greater Manchester.
Poor air quality contributes to nearly 1,200 premature deaths in Greater Manchester every year [1] and is increasingly seen as a contributor to breathing problems - like asthma - heart disease and some cancers.
A Clean Air Greater Manchester spokesperson said: “It is important that people are aware of the current status of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan. “Please sign up for updates on the latest information relating to the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan at www.cleanairgm.com.”
More information about how the new plan will be developed will be made available in the coming weeks. Sign up for updates at www.cleanairgm.com
Call for contributions: Share your experiences and learning from failure (Manchester)
Ever messed-up? Yep, we have too.. we just don’t often talk about it.
We are looking for people from the VCSE sector in Greater Manchester to share their experience of failure and the valuable lessons learned from this as part of our event, ‘Learning from Failure’ on Thursday 23rd June 2022, in Manchester.
We’re interested in hearing about when things haven’t gone to plan in your field, what contributed to this, what did you learn from it, how you responded to it and what you did next. Each person will be given the stage for a couple minutes to share their experience with the audience.
It doesn’t have to be an epic adventure tale or end in success - although it could be these things as well. We are also interested in mundane experiences of failure - the everyday things that happen, ordinary ‘mistakes’ that lead to small golden nuggets of learning that we collect along the way when we mess up.
We want the event to create a space for people working in, with and funding the VCSE sector to talk about:
When things do not go as planned
How we can learn from things going wrong
The value of looking at failure in research and evaluation
How to get involved:
Association of Charitable Foundations
The association is undertaking a review and is seeking the views of stakeholders. This is the first review since 2016 and, as most major charitable funders/grant making trusts are members then stakeholders may well include you!
There is a set of questions for each of the next four weeks. The link, above, will take you to them.
Seeking the other point of view
On occasions we make ourselves feel comfortable by sticking with people that we know and agree with. In this talk Zachary R. Wood, a former President of Uncomfortable Learning at Williams College, author of Uncensored, and free speech advocate, advocates listening to those with opposing, or even personally offensive views.
In this talk he observes that we get stronger, not weaker, by engaging with ideas and people we disagree with.
In an important talk about finding common ground, Wood makes the case that we can build empathy and gain understanding by engaging tactfully and thoughtfully with controversial ideas and unfamiliar perspectives. He also addresses issues of unconscious bias and racial stereotyping. This is a brief (11 minutes) talk with a huge number of thinking points. Well worth a listen over a “mugga” and then a further listen which is then used to work out how to introduce these into your operation.
Financial returns and beyond - how does your organisations money work
Our friends at Civil Society Media quite often send us advertising features. It helps keeps their news service affordable (enabling VSNW membership to remain free) and, frankly, we ignore much of what is sent. However, just occasionally something that is useful arrives. One such is below.
Within the constraints of not offering financial advice we do note that this is one of the main bodies used by Charities (they are the second C in the company name) for investing reserves.
For some of our members a financial year end has just happened. For many it maybe that the year end is March. In either event trustees need to think about investment policies. This thinking needs to be beyond a financial return. How do investments, that we may have, align with our mission and core purpose? Can our investments be used to influence those whom we would like to influence? There will be many other questions.
Thank you to Civil Society media for prompting a ponder around investment policies
https://www.ccla.co.uk/
How charities/not for profits recruit
The day after VSNW held it’s unconscious bias in recruitment training day the website Charity Job published the results of a survey which looked at recruitment in general. With a sample of well over 300 it has value, despite the limitations observed by the CEO of the company. A link to the survey can be found here.
How UK Charities Recruit - CharityJob Recruiter Blog
One third of charity respondents to the survey said they engaged managers in equality, diversity and inclusion efforts when it came to recruiting and just over 32% arranged for an employee to undertake diversity or bias training. Some 37% of respondents said that their recruitment processes had been audited since the start of 2020. The report suggests: “At just more than one in three, this seems low given the importance of recruitment and of diversity, fairness, and effectiveness, and how much the world has changed since the start of 2020. However, it could reflect other priorities and the need to concentrate limited resources elsewhere”
Before finalising a job advert, 9% of those surveyed had an equality, diversity and inclusion expert assess it. To make judging candidates fairer, 59% of respondents had an interview panel with a diverse member of the panel present. Notably, just under 3% of the respondents admitted to positive discrimination by recruiting someone because they had a protected characteristic, such as being part of an ethnic minority, a woman, someone who is LGBTQ+ or someone with a disability.
The report reads: “Some argue that treating all candidates equally, removing identifying information to focus just on skills, is fair. Others argue that focusing on skills without considering the context in which those skills were developed is unfair. For many jobs, making a hiring decision irrespective of gender is fair, but for some jobs it is necessary that someone with certain protected characteristics is appointed”.
CharityJob concludes “there is no single step that will ensure fairness in recruitment” but many things that could be done to increase it. One of these is advertising a job publicly so it has a wider reach and can be seen by all rather than only accessed by a select few. Anonymous recruitment may also be effective in making charity recruitment fairer, the report said. This is where CV and cover letters have the candidate’s personal details removed so no conscious or unconscious bias can affect a judging panels decision.
VSNW would be interested to hear of your recent experiences, and processes, of recruitment.
Tackling homelessness & rough sleeping - speakers: Lord Kerslake, OHID, & Centre for Homelessness Impact - WSPF policy conference - 28th March 2022
For those working in Homelessness and Rough Sleeping this may be an interesting conference to attend. The email, below, sets out speakers and the agenda for a very full morning.
At £210.00 + VAT it is not cheap but somewhat cheaper than having to travel to London to hear such a panel of speakers. The event will be recorded and sent out to delegates.
However, to get the best value it may be an idea for you to gather a team together so that you can view in relay, under one registration. That way the “zoom myopic torpor” won’t take over and you are all on form to maximise information assimilation. (in other words you won’t be drifting so will hear what is being said and able to take sensible notes!)
Next steps for tackling homelessness and rough sleeping
Morning, Monday, 28th March 2022
Westminster Social Policy Forum keynote seminar:
This full-scale conference is easily accessed online for full participation
with
Lord Kerslake, Chair, Peabody; and Chair, Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping
Dr Lígia Teixeira, Chief Executive, Centre for Homelessness Impact
Paul Dennett, Mayor of Salford; and Portfolio Holder for Housing, Planning and Homelessness, Greater Manchester Combined Authority
and
Rachel Johns, Deputy Regional Director, North East & Yorkshire, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Department of Health and Social Care
Gill Leng, Health and homelessness adviser, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Department of Health and Social Care
Osama Bhutta, Director of Campaigns, Policy and Communications, Shelter
Dr Sarah Marwick, Associate Medical Director, NHS Midlands; and GP, Homeless Health Exchange, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
and
Michelle Binfield, London Councils; Emma Cookson, St Mungos; Cym D’Souza, Arawak Walton Housing Association; and BMENational;
Neil Munslow, Newcastle City Council; and Councillor Sharon Thompson, Birmingham City Council
How to protect your mental well-being online - from a Gen-Zer
Whether you have one follower or a million, we've all witnessed nastiness and hate speech on social media. YouTube content creator and mental well-being motivator Peachy Liv advocates for a kinder, more respectful digital world -- and urges us all to reflect before we share our thoughts online. Hear her tips for dealing with cyberbullying and personal insights on how we can all make the internet a safer place.