Best Ways to Get Social Prescribing Funding
Social prescribing funding is crucial in helping social prescribing across different sectors grow and develop across the UK. To secure funding for social prescribing, social prescribing services and organisations must demonstrate the true value and benefits of social prescribing.
As social prescribing continues to grow and becomes more embedded within communities across various sectors including, PCNs, housing, and education, everyone involved must be aware of what social prescribing is and its benefits, as well as why social prescribing funding is important.
But what current funding is available for social prescribing and do the funding opportunities differ depending on your region?
At Access Elemental Social Prescribing, we know that social prescribing works, and for social prescribing to grow it is vital that programs and services receive regular funding to carry on supporting individuals to improve their mental health and wellbeing. We know that one of the most important ways to secure funding is being able to record, monitor, and track social prescribing journeys effectively to show the true value of social prescribing.
This article will review what social prescribing funding is, why it is important, the issues in securing funding, what funding opportunities are currently available across the UK, as well as how we can help secure future funding for your service at Access Elemental Social Prescribing.
Social Prescribing funding – what is it?
For social prescribing to thrive in communities it needs investment. Social prescribing funding, therefore, is the financial support provided to different social prescribing programs, groups, and services, to support their development and expansion.
Funding for social prescribing can cover several different types of costs including staff salaries such as Social Prescribing Link Workers, the resources needed, data collection and monitoring, and the coordination of the services themselves.
Funding can also come from a variety of different sources including governmental grants, charitable foundations, local authorities, local organisations, and private sector partnerships.
Since social prescribing became embedded in the NHS’ Long Term Plan, there have been lots of opportunities for different organisations to secure significant amounts of funding. In fact, in December 2022, it was announced that more than £3.6 million of government funding was being awarded to the National Academy of Social Prescribing to build upon its previous successes and continue to build robust evidence for social prescribing and the benefits it can bring to the nation’s health.
Why is social prescribing funding important?
Social prescribing funding is important for several different reasons. The main overarching reason why it is important, however, is to help social prescribing services, programs, and organisations be able to develop and expand their services to continue improving communities' overall health and wellbeing.
1. Improve community health
Through securing funding for social prescribing, organisations can continue to grow and support more individuals, which in turn provides sustainability and better continuity of care that concentrates on what matters to the individual.
Securing future funding helps play a vital role in addressing the wider social determinants of health and fosters community resilience by connecting individuals to support systems within the community. Having funding also allows social prescribing services to have the flexibility to adapt programs and address emerging health and wellbeing challenges within the community so no individual goes without the support they need.
The mental health charity, Mind, has been running a social prescribing service in Wales for several years and found that 95% of people who were helped by social prescribing said they achieved at least some of the goals they wanted to achieve.
Equally, Maria Caufield, the Minister for Mental Health and Women’s Health stated that:
“Mental health is a priority and people must have access to the tools and support they need… Funding will provide much-needed help to people with a wide range of needs, as well as easing pressure on GPs and free up appointments.”
James Sanderson, The Director of Personalised Care and Community Services at NHS England, also stated that:
“Giving people more choice and control over their health and care was an important part of the NHS Long Term Plan, and we have already exceeded our ambitions, providing personalised care including social prescriptions to millions of people.”
Social prescribing funding is important for community health therefore as it helps to reduce health inequalities and enable new opportunities and strategies to be used to continuously improve services in the future and consistently allow individuals to reach their goals.
2. Reduce Healthcare costs
Another reason why social prescribing funding is important is because it reduces healthcare costs. When implemented correctly, social prescribing has the potential to reduce healthcare costs by allowing individuals to manage chronic health conditions better, prevent further health implications, and reduce the burden on the healthcare system.
Future funding then helps to maintain and expand these cost-effective initiatives by reducing both GP and unscheduled care attendance.
Healthy Options, for example, found once individuals had participated in social prescribing their GP attendance reduced by nearly 20% in the first year alone saving them over £8,000 in healthcare costs. They also found that they generated a collective 5-year cost saving from £212,743 to £888,654.
3. Expand and provide better support and preventative measures for PCNs and GP Practices
Funding for social prescribing is also important as it helps services expand and continue to develop amongst a variety of sectors, including PCNs.
Through securing social prescribing funding within PCNs, GPs have the funding to pay a Social Prescribing Link Worker to help support patients with their non-clinical and social needs. This, in turn, allows Link Workers to work collaboratively with members of the PCN and GP practices to create a stronger multi-disciplinary team concentrating on organising and delivering the best support to their patients.
Here data can be collected and analysed from clinical systems to deliver a proactive population health management approach so no individual goes without the help and support they need and want. With 1 in 5 GP appointments currently being used for non-clinical issues, having funding to have link workers embedded within PCNs helps to reduce workloads and pressure on GPs when demand is already intense.
Action Together, for example, found when they used their funding to continue to grow social prescribing in their PCN, 94% of individuals who used their social prescribing service noticed an improvement in their health and wellbeing.
4. Expand and provide better support and preventative measures for the housing sector
Another sector that benefits significantly from securing social prescribing funding, is the housing sector. Here social prescribing in housing helps address the wider social determinants of health which can decline an individual’s mental health.
Funding in this sector helps to acknowledge that health starts at home and provides support for individuals struggling to manage their homes and the stresses of daily life. This could be providing support to help individuals through the cost-of-living crisis such as financial help to avoid both fuel and food poverty, to community supermarkets to help individuals to get back on their feet, as well as DIY classes to help individuals be proud of their homes, reduce their loneliness, and connect people back into their communities.
Warm Wales found that through securing social prescribing funding they have been able to set up multiple projects across Wales and deliver over 7,600 interventions to allow 74% of people who have engaged in their service to become more satisfied with life.
5. Provide better mental health support to young people
One of the final reasons why social prescribing funding is important is because it helps support young people with potential mental health and wellbeing issues.
Student drop-out rates have been on the rise in recent years so many colleges and universities are looking for different ways to improve student retention, social prescribing being one of them.
Through embedding social prescribing in universities, student drop-out rates can be reduced and universities can experience significant cost savings which can be used to continue to improve their support services further so every student receives the support they need without long waiting lists.
The improvement in student retention offers the opportunity for universities to secure more funding for social prescribing in the future and work within the community to continuously improve the mental health and wellbeing of their students.
Equally, funding for social prescribing also helps to support children and young people to reduce their feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Barnado’s calculated that every £1 spent on social prescribing delivers long-term benefits of about £1.80 in terms of reducing pressure on mental health services, antisocial behaviour, A and E attendance, housing problems, and children being taken into care as well as preventing truancy. The Open Data Institute estimated that social prescribing could reduce the number of GP appointments needed each year by up to 3 million.
Securing social prescribing funding is important therefore as it allows a stronger co-production approach to be used within different organisations and sectors to develop and expand the services available to concentrate on what matters to the individual and improve their health and wellbeing.
Is there any current funding for social prescribing?
As discussed above, social prescribing funding can come from several different organisations. When applying for social prescribing funding you do not always need to be a registered charity, however, for many grants, you will need to provide a full year’s accounts.
It is also important to be aware that relying on one single funding stream will not give your social prescribing service the potential it could have to grow. It is vital therefore for your service to be successful in expanding it uses multiple funding streams.
To do this it is always useful to secure a few smaller grants first. Not only can it help you understand the application process better you can also develop several different relationships with different organisations both small and large to allow your service to continue to develop.
Smaller grants can be made a lot more easily, for example, the National Lottery currently offers grants up to £10,000. Equally, since social prescribing has been embedded in the NHS’ Long Term Plan over the past 5 years the UK Government has been slowly increasing the funding they have to offer to social prescribing services to ensure it is a success.
There are also opportunities to seek social prescribing funding and grants within your sector or for specifically your group. For example, if your project is for vulnerable people living with dementia contact Age UK in your region or your local council to see what support and funding they can provide.
Another opportunity to secure smaller pots of funding is through different retail chains, groups, and supermarkets. Gaining funding through supermarkets can be a competitive market, however, so you must build a relationship and work closely with local stores.
More recently the Department of Health and Social Care has released its Accelerating Reform Fund for adult social care. Here this fund is to help local authorities adopt a range of scaling programs to improve the quality of care in adult social care. This fund is open now until the 12th January 2024 and is open for local authorities to use as long as it supports their top 12 priorities for 2024 and 2025, which social prescribing is a part of.
The DHSC Accelerating Reform Fund will accept applications from local authorities to engage in social prescribing services or to start one up to connect people with information, advice, activities and services within the community.
What is exciting about the announcement of this fund is that all local authorities can apply for it and for any local authority that opts out the money will be shared out to the remaining local authorities who want to be involved. For more information on this fund and the DHSC’s other priorities visit the Accelerating Reform Fund’s page today.
There are several different resources that can help you locate and find the most up-to-date places to apply for more funding including:
Social prescribing funding opportunities in Wales vs Scotland – What’s the difference?
As in England, there are several different funding opportunities both Wales and Scotland can get involved in both large and small.
Having the resources available is fundamental to creating sustainable social prescribing pathways that address every need. Social prescribing funding has equally been increasing in both Wales and Scotland to ensure all regions across the UK can reduce health inequalities and improve mental health.
Social prescribing funding in Wales has been given by the Welsh government for example to help develop four main areas of their social prescribing model including:
- Identifying a baseline of social prescribing activity
- Developing and launching an online resource portal to support social prescribing activities across Wales
- Develop a national skills and competency framework for the social prescribing workforce across Wales
- Continue to work in partnerships to develop the evidence-based and outcomes framework for social prescribing
Social prescribing funding in Scotland on the other hand, has recently awarded 12 organisations over £85,000 from the PHP (Primary Health Properties) Community Impact Fund to provide support for social prescribing services in the community.
This funding granted in Scotland has enabled a range of health and wellbeing programs for local communities including young mental health support, social inclusion, art therapy, as well as investment in green social prescribing activities such as gardening.
Social Prescribing Funding issues – what are they?
As with funding for most things, budgets are getting more and more restricted, and social prescribing funding is no different. Many social prescribing services may rely on one funding stream or multiple short-term grants which may not provide the long-term funding and stability needed to continue growing.
Additionally, as social prescribing across different sectors is getting more popular some initiatives may have to compete with other social prescribing services for the same pool of funding making it challenging to secure the funding necessary.
There is also a lot of uncertainty in where the next load of funding is coming from so many social prescribing services have to work years ahead of themselves to ensure they have the funding needed to continue to grow year on year and carry on building the relationships needed within multiple different organizations.
A lot of the time social prescribing services need to demonstrate the effectiveness and impacts of social prescribing to convince the provider that the investment will be worth it. Ensuring you can consistently collect and present the data needed can be time-consuming and challenging when you don’t have the money to invest in the tools needed. This leaves many organisations relying on multiple spreadsheets, paper, and manual processes to retrieve the information needed.
Another major factor that can make securing social prescribing funding difficult, especially within PCNs and GP practices, is the ability for social prescribing services to integrate into existing healthcare systems. This can be complex and not all services will have the capability to do that which in turn can put PCNs off investing their time, effort, and money into the project.
Finally, and arguably the most important social prescribing funding issue is the lack of awareness of what social prescribing is and the benefits it can have on individuals and their communities. A lack of public awareness and advocacy for social prescribing can hinder efforts to secure funding so it is vital that in the bidding process awareness of social prescribing is raised to generate more support.
There are several funding issues different social prescribing services can experience. To address these issues services need to diversify their funding streams and use a multi-funding stream approach to build strong relationships and ensure long-term sustainability for their social prescribing project.
Best ways to secure funding for social prescribing
As discussed above there are many different organizations both small and large which your social prescribing service could seek funding. Below is a list of 10 top tips for the best ways to secure social prescribing funding for both now and in the future.
- Use multi-funding streams – always diversify funding sources and never rely on one single funding source
- Collaborate with healthcare providers and other community organisations to build relationships and increase the likelihood of future funding opportunities
- Engage the community – make public campaigns to raise awareness and gain support from communities
- Develop your grant writing so it aligns with the goals of your potential funders
- Advocate for social prescribing at local, regional, and national levels
- Focus on how your social prescribing service can help the individual
- Make long-term partnerships and commitments with potential funders
- Consistently network with different organsiations by attending conferences, seminars, and events related to social prescribing
- Be flexible and adaptable to the changing needs of your social prescribing service or community
- Demonstrate financial responsibility to build trust with funders
How can digital social prescribing help secure future funding?
One of the final ways your social prescribing service can secure better future funding is through digitally transforming your processes. Not only does digital social prescribing ensure every individual experiences a safe and assured pathway, but every step of their social prescribing journey can be tracked, measured, and monitored to show the effectiveness of social prescribing.
At Access Elemental Social Prescribing, we go one step further by allowing our customers to create bespoke dashboards and track the information they need in one centralised place. Here our social prescribing software can be adapted regardless of the sector it is being used in to continuously improve your community’s health and wellbeing.
We know how important it is to track social prescribing data to secure future funding and we want to help save you time. This is why we make it easier to manage social prescribing referrals by allowing our social prescribing platform to integrate with clinical leading systems such as EMIS Web and System One. Here Link Workers can send multiple SNOMED codes to explain an individual’s journey and send free text back to inform and show everyone within a PCN the true benefits of social prescribing for both the individual and the PCN themselves.
Likewise, similar benefits can also be recorded to show the benefits of social prescribing in both housing and higher education by examining the reduction of GP attendance and the improvement in wellbeing scores.
At Access Elemental Social Prescribing we know how important it is to regularly measure and report the outcomes of social prescribing, especially since the establishment of the social prescribing standards. We have recently become the first official social prescribing partner of the PRSB and are working hard to become the first social prescribing platform to be conformant to the new standards so we can help your service secure more future funding and create a sustainable service that helps individuals both now and in the future.
For more information on the best ways to implement digital social prescribing download our social prescribing guide today.
Summarising the importance of funding for social prescribing
In this article, I have addressed what social prescribing funding is and why it is important for the individual, PCNs, the housing sector, and the education sector.
Through evaluating how securing social prescribing funding can help services develop and expand to continue to improve community health, this article has explained how the funding can be used to cover a variety of costs and help encourage a collaborative working approach where everyone involved is working towards the same goal.
This article has addressed the different funding opportunities that are currently available across the UK and why it is essential that every social prescribing program uses multi-funding streams and never relies on one funding source as it reduces their service to be sustainable in the future.
Through addressing the social prescribing funding issues this article has explained 10 top tips on how to both secure funding now and in the future, and how one of the most essential things to do is invest in digital social prescribing, especially since the establishment of social prescribing standards.
At Access Elemental we know that social prescribing works and we want to help all our customers raise awareness of the importance of social prescribing so they can share the benefits their service has provided their communities to secure more funding, and most importantly continue to improve community health and wellbeing.
For more information on how our social prescribing software can help you secure funding from multiple sources to create a stronger and more sustainable social prescribing service contact us today.
Let us help you start applying for more social prescribing funding today by showcasing all of your service’s greatest achievements all in one place.
