Organisations and groups invited to event to find out more about supporting people’s health and well-being in Bridgnorth

Organisations and groups who provide services or activities in Bridgnorth that benefit people’s health and well-being are invited to come to an event in the town on Wednesday 22 August 2018.

The Social Prescribing information and sharing workshop will be hosted at Castle Hall on West Castle Street, Bridgnorth from 12.45pm to 3pm.

Social Prescribing

Attendees will have the opportunity to take part in a workshop and find out more about Shropshire’s Social Prescribing programme, how it’s going to be rolled out in Bridgnorth and how they can get involved.

Shropshire’s Social Prescribing programme

Shropshire’s Social Prescribing programme is being led by Shropshire Council, the council’s Help2Change service and Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group. The programme involves working with a range of organisations such as GPs and community and voluntary organisations to provide non-medical support for people to help them take greater control over their own health.

Social prescribing in Albrighton

The overall aim is to prevent worsening health for people with long-term health conditions, reduce the number and intensity of costly interventions in urgent or specialist care, and offer an alternative to those people with non-medical conditions presenting at GP practices.

Who should attend the workshops?

• Anyone who is looking for non-medical/clinical support for the people they are working with.
• Voluntary and community groups.
• Charities and social enterprises.
• Commissioned services that provide activity for people in Bridgnorth that supports people to stay healthy and independent.
• People delivering community-based services, eg. libraries, creative groups and community centres.
• Practitioners and staff working in primary and secondary care – general practice teams, community health teams and pharmacies.
• People working in social care, mental health care, public health and health commissioning.

Social Prescribing in Albrighton

Lee Chapman, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for adult services, health and social housing, said:

“Our Social Prescribing workshops offer a great opportunity to raise awareness of the positive benefits Social Prescribing can bring to local communities. I hope the event also encourages those who attend to see how they could get involved and contribute to our programme.

“We look forward to seeing everyone at our event on 22 August to explore how we can work together to develop and deliver Bridgnorth’s Social Prescribing programme.”

Dr Stuart Wright of Bridgnorth Medical Practice added:

“This is a great opportunity to work in partnership with other agencies for the benefit of our patients. We are pleased to be working with Shropshire Council to bring Social Prescribing to Bridgnorth, and hope that this is just the beginning of a much closer collaborative working relationship.”

It is estimated that around 20% of patients consult their GP for what is primarily a social problem rather than a clinical problem.

Shropshire’s Social Prescribing programme will enable doctors to refer those patients to a Social Prescribing adviser who will work with the individual to access services and support in their own communities. This could be anything from taking part in group learning sessions, sports, arts activities, volunteering, gardening, befriending services to healthy eating advice.

To register for the event please contact Tracy Johnson: tracy.johnson@shropshire.gov.uk or call 01743 254683.

Further information

Shropshire’s Healthy Lives programme

Social Prescribing forms part of Shropshire’s Healthy Lives programme, which supports individuals, families and communities to take more control over their health and reduce their risk of chronic disease. The scheme also links to the Resilient Communities work being undertaken by Shropshire Council with the support of NHS colleagues and voluntary sector organisations who are working together to design targeted interventions and activity in localities. The aim of this work is to connect up people and activities in our neighbourhoods so that they all know more about what is going on, and have the choice and opportunity to get involved in the things they are interested in, and which can make people happier and healthier.