Fuel banks, sometimes called warmbanks, are simple but innovative solutions to protect people from fuel poverty. No one should be forced to choose whether to put food on the table or heat their homes.
It is estimated that currently, between 4.1 million and 7.3 million households are living in fuel poverty, with half of these households expected to be family homes with young children.
Living in cold homes can be detrimental to both an individual’s physical and mental health regardless of their age and it is estimated that fuel poverty is costing the NHS an estimated £1.4 billion a year.
Fuel banks therefore offer a solution to enable individuals to live in happier, healthier, and warmer homes by addressing how someone’s health starts at home and offering solutions to overcome the current housing issues facing the UK to prevent further deterioration of health.
But what are fuel banks? How do they work? And how can they reduce the increasing public health pressures on the NHS?
By the end of this article, you should know everything about fuel banks including how they work, who funds them, and most importantly who can use them and where to find them. In this article, we will also explain how social prescribing in housing can also help fuel banks develop further so more people in need can be helped to prevent further dependency on primary and emergency care.
Fuel poverty can be defined in multiple ways across the UK. The fuel poverty strategy across England specifically focuses on prioritising low-income households for energy efficiency support aimed at reducing income poverty.
It is estimated that 6 million UK households are currently in fuel poverty, unable to afford to heat their homes to a temperature needed to keep warm and healthy, a 2 million household increase since 2021.
But what is fuel poverty? What causes fuel poverty, what are the impacts, and how can fuel poverty awareness be raised to help increase funding and tackle fuel poverty so everyone can live in warmer, healthier, and safer homes?
At Access Elemental Social Prescribing, we know how the wider social determinants of health impact physical and mental wellbeing, with housing being a main example.
This article will explain how fuel poverty is defined and measured, what causes it, the outcomes, and methods to tackle fuel poverty to improve quality of life.
By explaining the benefits of social prescribing in housing, this article will explain how providing the right support helps to tackle fuel poverty by not just supporting households now but in the future too.
Green social prescribing is an example of a pillar of social prescribing that concentrates on helping individuals improve their health and wellbeing through harnessing nature-based activities.
The introduction of green social prescribing escalated because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But since then, its growth has stagnated, predominantly due to limited awareness of its impacts.
It is estimated that with continued growth, it can save over £635 million for the NHS through reducing health inequalities and providing alternative mental health support for children and youth people, as well as adults.
But how does it work? Who funds it? And most importantly how can individuals take part?
This article we explain how green social prescribing works and how it has developed, why it is important, examples and outcomes of different green prescribing pilots, as well as the challenges and barriers to be aware to ensure you can implement the best green prescribing project possible.
Reducing hospital admissions and the dependency on primary, secondary, and emergency care is a huge priority for health and social care professionals. Many organisations, hospitals, and NHS Trusts are looking to find new ways to reduce admissions as well as reduce re-admission after discharge.
With over 500,000 patients experiencing emergency admissions last year and over 42,000 of them waiting over 12 hours to be admitted, more action is needed to find better methods to prevent hospital admissions and re-admissions, including unnecessary admissions.
Shifting from reactive care models to preventative ones is one method that is being used more frequently. Many different preventative and early intervention methods can be used, but which are the most effective?
At The Access Group, we want to help local authorities, primary care, secondary care, and NHS Trusts to reduce the increasing demand by using effective population health management to reduce health inequalities and deliver more targeted support for at-risk patients of continuous re-admission.
This article will review why admissions are on the rise and the impact this has on the individual as well as the wider health and social care market. Ways to prevent hospital admissions will also be discussed to help you deliver better coordinated, person-centred, and preventative care that always concentrates on the individual.
Children's mental health is rapidly declining. Some experts and researchers argue we are in a children’s mental health crisis. Currently, 75% of children and young people who experience mental health problems aren’t getting the help that they need.
At least one in six children and young people aged 7 to 16 years have a probable mental health disorder which increases to 1 in 4 in 17 – 19 years old. So, what are the factors and wider social determinants of health that impact children’s mental health and wellbeing? What is being done currently to tackle these issues? And what more can be done?
To find the best solutions, we must get to the heart of the problem and understand why children’s mental health is declining.
At Access Elemental Social Prescribing, we know that social prescribing has been well established and successful when used by both adults and students. We have worked with a number of different organisations across health and social care, housing, and education to deliver better preventative and early intervention services which can easily be adapted to apply in children and young people (CYP) too.
This article will review what factors have caused the mental health in children to decline, the current mental health problems in children, what support is available, as well as explore how social prescribing in children can be a proactive alternative to improving mental health support for our children and young people.
Social determinants of health (SDH) are non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. Numerous factors can affect people’s health and wellbeing. Currently, 1 in 5 GP appointments are for addressing social issues.
With the World Health Organisation identifying that social issues can be more crucial than lifestyle choices and can account for up to 55% of health outcomes, there has never been a more important time to improve the health and wellbeing of the individuals in your community.
The wider social determinants of health must be addressed to overcome the health inequalities and health inequities across different communities. But, what exactly are they, how do they affect people’s health, and most importantly how best can you overcome them?
Social prescribing offers an alternative non-clinical method to improve an individual’s health and wellbeing.
20% of patients consult their GP for primarily social issues putting more pressure onto the NHS. Social prescribing is a scheme to help alleviate that pressure.
There is evidence that when a social prescribing scheme is run correctly it can both alleviate pressure on the NHS and improve patients’ wellbeing. Here at Access Elemental Social Prescribing, it’s our passion to help social prescribing services achieve great outcomes from the hard work they put in. We know social prescribing works and we love to help other social prescribing projects prove that whilst putting your clients at the heart of everything we do to help improve their wellbeing.
Here is a review of the evidence that has been collected so far, and tips on how to avoid mistakes others have made.
Student retention has dropped dramatically over the past few years. In fact in the academic year of 2019-2020 5.3% of young students who were at their first year of university didn’t continue into their second.
With the number of higher education students dropping out of university with mental health problems more than doubling in recent years, improving student retention has never been so important.
But what is student retention and how can we measure it? Like most colleges and universities you may want to discover new ways to measure and understand it, to help prevent student dropout rates in the future, and ensure students have the best higher education experience possible.
At Access Elemental Social Prescribing, we are passionate about helping universities and colleges improve their student retention. We understand the reasons students drop out, and how complicated it can be, and the impact wider determinants of health can have on students' experience.
In this article, I will review what student retention is and why it is important for universities, colleges, and students themselves. This article will also address why drop-out rates are increasing and what are the best ways to reduce them to give you some great ideas to improve student retention.
Social Prescribing Day is an opportunity to drive extra awareness of social prescribing and what it can do. It has been argued that 2019 was the year of social prescribing after the NHS Long Term Plan was published. It was promised that at least 900,000 people would benefit from social prescribing by 2023.
Now in 2024, social prescribing has continued to develop year after year. In 2020 the first ever annual social prescribing day was held. But you are probably wondering what that is and why it is important?
Social Prescribing Day, sometimes called International Social Prescribing Day, or National Social Prescribing Day, has helped social prescribing continue to develop and become more well-known across the UK to expand and reach out further than the healthcare sector.
Now, social prescribing is helping people of all ages and backgrounds including in the housing sector, education sector, and in some prisons.
Here at Access Elemental Social Prescribing we understand how social prescribing is branching out to different sectors and how the annual social prescribing day is helping promote social prescribing further. We want to help you to be able to accommodate the increase in demand successfully and be fully resourced for the uptake of referrals.
This article will explain the history of social prescribing and how it has developed over the last couple of years, as well as what is social prescribing day and how it can be supported to promote the hard work of all those involved in social prescribing.
Mental health social prescribing is important because statistically 1 in 4 people experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England, and these people suffering with different mental health conditions continue to be a significant public health issue for NHS England.
Demand for mental health services is increasing, and the number of medicines being dispensed for various mental health conditions has doubled in the past 10 years, but mental health trusts have been experiencing continuous budget cuts which means waiting times are longer and people are suffering.
Social prescribing offers a solution to manage mental health by taking a holistic approach to wellbeing and to address the wider determinants of health. This means providing care in more ways than just trips to the GP surgery or outpatients at the local hospital.
In this guide we will explore mental health in the UK, and the involvement of both primary care and secondary care, before expanding on social prescribing and the ways it can improve people’s mental health and reduce pressure on the NHS – two huge benefits that must be pursued.
