Enabling social prescribing to thrive by supporting link workers

The importance of supporting the social prescribing workforce as the service gains more recognition.

Jennifer Neff, Former Community Development Worker and Managing Director of Access Elemental Social Prescribing

As a former Community Development Worker working in some of the most socially deprived neighbourhoods, I am passionate about social prescribing and the impact this can have on communities.

As we face challenges across health and social care with regards to long waiting lists, a growing population with unmet social needs, and an overburdened workforce, social prescribing (SP) has become a crucial way to ensure those that require support, but don’t need to be seen by a clinician, can be empowered to improve their health and wellbeing in their local community.

For the service to thrive and evolve (for example, beyond primary care into other care settings) it’s critically important for people to acknowledge the crucial role of link workers. Without them, SP can’t exist.

Being experts in recognising which services can benefit people and referring them to the right activity, they ensure the process of SP is seamless. They support clients by co-developing personalised health and wellbeing plans which direct them to the support available, measure impact, and track progress.

And whilst it’s promising to see that SP is now widely considered an effective intervention, and recognition for link workers is growing, there is still a long way to go. There needs to be greater investment into training, upskilling, and providing career development to ensure link workers feel empowered, valued and supported - allowing them to offer the best SP support possible.

In 2020, the NHS’ Workforce Development Framework allocated a specific budget for the training and development of SP link workers, which has been fundamental to its success. However, from 2023, this framework bundles link workers into a wider sub-group, along with care coordinators, and health and wellbeing coaches. This means they are at risk of being overlooked and lacking adequate funding to support their professional growth.

There are also added pressures on link workers, such as not having access to the right digital tools, lengthy administration processes, and very few resources to be able to find locally available activities for their clients.

That said, there are some positive developments being driven by individual organisations. For example, this year, Access will be paying a year’s subscription fee for 40 link workers to join the National Association of Link Workers (NALW). The NALW is a vital association for link workers where they can work collaboratively to develop their skills, connect with others and share learnings to innovate across social prescribing.

And collectively, these types of investments can play a significant role in supporting link workers and enabling SP to continue to thrive, at a time when health and social care services are under such intense pressures.