Organisations and groups invited to event to find out more about supporting people’s health and well-being in Shrewsbury via Social Prescribing

Organisations and groups who provide services or activities in Shrewsbury that benefit people’s health and well-being, are invited to come to a Social Prescribing event in Shrewsbury on Tuesday 19 June 2018.

The Social Prescribing information and sharing workshops will be hosted at the Gateway Centre, Chester Street, Shrewsbury at 12.30pm-2.30pm, and 3pm–5pm.

Attendees will have the opportunity to choose one of the two workshops and to find out more about Shropshire’s Social Prescribing programme, how it’s going to be rolled out in Shrewsbury, and how they can get involved.

Social Prescribing

Shropshire’s Social Prescribing Programme

Shropshire’s Social Prescribing Programme is being led by Shropshire Council, including its Help2Change service. 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.

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 Shrewsbury 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 – GP teams, community health teams and pharmacies.
• People working in social care, mental health care, public health and health commissioning.

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 19 June to explore how we can work together to develop and deliver Shrewsbury’s Social Prescribing Programme.”

Linda Monteith, a Shropshire Council community enablement officer, and organiser of the event, added:

“We look forward to welcoming everyone to Shrewsbury’s Social Prescribing launch event.

“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.”

Social Prescribing in Albrighton

To register on to one of the workshops go to Eventbrite https://social-prescribing-in-shrewsbury.eventbrite.com. Places are limited so please do book up early.

For more information about the workshop or Shropshire’s Social Prescribing Programme, contact Linda Monteith at linda.monteith@shropshire.gov.uk or call Linda on 07990 085443.

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.