Authors: Marianne Rozario for Theos.
Overview
The NHS and social care services in England are stretched to breaking point, grappling with record-high demand for GP appointments and secondary care services. Yet, one in five GP appointments are not for medical reasons, but rather requests for help with issues like loneliness, housing, or debt.
Social prescribing – connecting people to community-based activities to benefit their wellbeing – can be part of that preventative solution. Churches and faith groups not only contribute significantly to social prescribing, offering networks and resources, but with their focus on community, relationship and holistic wellbeing, they can play a foundational role in preventative healthcare.
Ultimately, this report highlights the contribution of faith groups in social prescribing and puts forward recommendations for proactive collaboration between faith groups, the NHS and wider healthcare networks at the level of “neighbourhoods”, “places” and “systems”.
This was a short summary of the original article
which can be downloaded in full as a PDF below
