Patients encouraged to share their experiences of social prescribing in national survey

The Patients Association is inviting people who have received support through social prescribing services to take part in a new national survey being conducted in partnership with the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP). 

NASP is a national charity dedicated to championing social prescribing and helping people improve their health and wellbeing through non-medical forms of support. The findings from the survey will help inform NASP’s new organisational strategy and support the future development of social prescribing services across the country. 

The survey is open to anyone who has ever received support from a Social Prescribing Link Worker. These professionals work with patients to understand their individual needs and help connect them with community-based services, activities and support that can improve health, wellbeing and social connections. Depending on the area, they may also be known as Community Connectors, Social Prescribers or Community Navigators. 

By gathering feedback directly from patients, NASP hopes to gain a deeper understanding of people’s experiences of social prescribing. The insights collected will help ensure that future services are designed to meet patients’ needs and provide the most appropriate and effective support possible. 

Healthcare organisations, community groups and patient networks are being encouraged to share the survey widely to help ensure a broad range of experiences are represented. 

The survey can be accessed here. 

Anyone with questions about the survey or the Patients Association’s work with NASP can contact Sarah Tilsed at sarah.tilsed@patients-association.org.uk or Orla Fitzsimmons at orla.fitzsimmons@patients-association.org.uk.