Could you benefit from community based health and wellbeing provision?

To celebrate National Social Prescribing Day Peterborough Council for Voluntary Service (PCVS) and Thistlemoor Medical Centre are inviting local community groups and service providers to meet their social prescribers at an event held on the 29^th of March.

Following the exciting roll out of a novel social prescribing arrangement, where PCVS have partnered with Thistlemoor Medical Centre in hosting two social prescribers to refer patients to community services, community groups are invited to meet these social prescribers and discover the potential that social prescribing has.

According to the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP), there is emerging evidence that social prescribing can lead to a range of positive health and wellbeing outcomes for people, such as improved quality of life and emotional wellbeing. Furthermore the NASP claim that 59% of GPs think social prescribing can help reduce their workload, which in turn could result in less pressure on the NHS.

The newly recruited social prescribers are supporting patients by connecting them to community groups and statutory services, referring them to a broader service range to boost their health and wellbeing. These services include community activities such as art and music classes, exercise and health groups, and healthy lifestyle sessions.

You can meet the recently appointed social prescribers at the virtual forum run by Thistlemoor Medical Centre on March 29. Information will be available for how community members can enhance their health and wellbeing and potentially have their needs addressed within community provision. Health and wellbeing staff from Thistlemoor and PCVS will be on hand to provide further information on the opportunities for working with social prescribers. Local groups will also have the opportunity to share more about the services they offer to community members and to network with other community providers.

Stuart Haw, Community Health and Wellbeing Lead at PCVS stated that "We are delighted to welcome community groups and local service providers to what is the first of many open forums where we will share further information on social prescribing in Peterborough. These forums are a fantastic way for such groups to network, to learn about social prescribing, and to identify ways they can work with patients that are involved in social prescribing. I would advise any community groups who provide support to individuals which improves their health and wellbeing to attend.”

Dr Neil Modha from Thistlemoor Medical Centre said "We are really looking forward to the benefits that our new social prescribers will bring. They are going to be key at helping closer ties between our GP Practices and the community. So much of our health actually relates to other matters and therefore this is a good opportunity to support our patients."

For more information and to book you place on Thistlemoor Medical Centre and PCVS’ “Meet the Social Prescribers” event, please contact healthexchange@pcvs.co.uk